Assessing water and health (in)security in Europe’s marginalized communities
Vulnerable groups at the margins of societies in Europe, such as Roma people, often live in informal settlements, where they experience water and health insecurity. Living in large extended families and semi-nomadic lifestyles under oftentimes precarious and unhygienic housing conditions in segregated communities concentrated in small areas, away from the rest of the population, with stray dogs, rodents and wild animals, without access to water, sanitation and waste management services, they also face numerous health risks arising from water contamination. Basic infrastructure is often lacking in their settlements, including safe water supplies and biological waste disposal amenities which would prevent the outbreak and spread of a number of infectious diseases.
Understanding the extent of related high health risk, and providing assistance through targeted interventions, are complicated by the invisibility of this group, and the inaccessibility of reliable, up-to-date information.
In our ongoing project funded by the Dutch Science Foundation, we assess water insecurity and related health risks in Roma communities in Slovakia based on an innovative integrated approach, using geospatial engineering, social science and parasitological research methods.
An MSc research project could build on our novel findings, and explore one or more of the multiple new paths opened up by our research. These include the
- application of the approach beyond the study area, to potentially gain insights on water and health insecurity among Roma communities at a national, and even Europe-wide level.
- adjustment and application in other marginalized communities in similarly challenging living conditions, such as people experiencing homelessness.
- replication in challenging contexts other than water insecurity, e.g. hazard-prone or humanitarian settings.
Anthonj, C., Setty, K.S., Ezbakhe, F., Manga, M., Hoeser, C., 2020. A systematic review of water, sanitation, hygiene and environmental health among Roma communities in Europe: Situation analysis, cultural context, and obstacles to improvement. Int J Hyg Env Health 226 (113506). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113506
Földes, M.E., Covaci, A., 2012. Research on Roma health and access to healthcare: state of the art and future challenges. International Journal of Public Health 57, 37-39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0312-2
Ravasz, A., 2020. Atlas rómskych komunít 2019 [Atlas of Roma communities 2019]. Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities in Cooperation with the Institute for Labor and Family Research (IVPR). Bratislava, SR, VEDA, 95 pp. Available at: https://www.minv.sk/?atlas-romskych-komunit-2019.
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), 2019. Situation analysis of the equity of access to water and sanitation services based on the Equitable Access Score-card. Available at: https://www.unece.org/env/water/pwh_work/equitable_access.html.
van den Homberg, M., Crince, A., Wilbrink, J., Kersbergen, D., Gumbi, G., Tembo, S., Lemmens, R., 2020. Combining UAV Imagery, Volunteered Geographic Information, and Field Survey Data to Improve Characterization of Rural Water Points in Malawi. ISPRS international journal of geo-information, 9(10), 59.