RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

Romania’s rural areas need better medical services

While all citizens are guaranteed access to medical services, there are big differences between the rural and urban areas in this respect.

Romania’s rural areas need better medical services
Romania’s rural areas need better medical services

, 17.12.2014, 12:58

Many people face huge difficulties when it comes to getting the medical care they are entitled to. One reason for this is the small number of family doctors in villages, in spite of the fact that 40% of Romania’s population lives in the countryside. People living in rural areas often have to travel to another village to see a family doctor and many of them cannot afford to pay the transportation fee. Not being aware of their rights in terms of access to medical services is another big problem of the people living in rural areas, as Daniela Buzducea, advocacy director with World Vision Romania has noted:



“There are people who are not aware that children and pregnant women have access to free medical services, no matter if they have health insurance or not. We believe more should be invested in raising people’s awareness of their rights. We also believe that education should start at an early age. Unfortunately, Romania has a problem with unplanned and unwanted teenage pregnancies.”



The lack of health education is reflected in the high infant mortality rate in Romania. Daniela Buzducea:



“In the rural area, the infant mortality rate is almost double in certain areas as compared to the national average. 20% of the families with children aged under 5 have never taken their infants to a doctor, although there are strict guidelines as to the medical check-ups children must undergo before the age of 5. Another problem is the big number of malnourished children.”



Against this background, several initiatives aimed at improving the situation have been launched:



“A number of programmes have already been run and the results are already visible. One example is a programme that combines continuing education for GPs and nurses in rural areas with information campaigns for parents and material support for underprivileged families. This support is not of a financial nature, but tries to develop these families’ capacity to improve their economic skills to be able to provide quality food for their children. Unless we invest in the nutrition of young children, it will be much more expensive to deal with the health problems that may appear later on.”



These initiatives have also found a voice in the European Union. This autumn, MEP Victor Negrescu, from the Group of Socialists and Democrats, secured the support of the European Parliament for a pilot project worth 1 million euros, aimed at involving the European Union in the process of improving healthcare services, those in rural areas in particular. Victor Negrescu explains:



“We will work with health experts and try to find practical solutions that can actually be implemented, so as to improve and increase access to medical services in rural areas. Based on the experts’ proposals, these solutions will be implemented in one or two villages, hopefully in Romania, to see if they work. The solution that works best will receive 3 million euros worth of funding in the following year to implement the programme in different villages and see how it works. If all goes well, in three years at the most, a financing system will become available for the first time to all villages in Romania and the European Union allowing local authorities and doctors in rural areas access to funds for bringing medical services to rural areas, improving the quality of the existing services and purchasing new medical equipment. This is the first step towards a true financing system for medical services in the countryside.”



MEP Victor Negrescu also agrees that education regarding access to healthcare services is extremely important:



“We have to make people aware of their choices, of how to take care of their nutrition and other things that are crucial for their health and can prevent serious medical problems. The second most important thing is prevention. Apart from medical interventions as such, we have to focus on prevention, which implies regular medical checks and going to a doctor when faced with a health problem. These things are very important in rural areas, where people do not have direct access to a chemist’s or a doctor and sometimes find out too late that they have a serious medical problem that can no longer be treated.”

Souce: pixabay@Vertax
Society Today Wednesday, 20 November 2024

Life between work shifts for foreign workers in Romania

According to the latest survey conducted by the Centre for the Comparative Migration Studies, a little over 200 thousand foreign citizens were living...

Life between work shifts for foreign workers in Romania
atac cibernetic securitate hacker foto pixabay
Society Today Wednesday, 06 November 2024

Caution! Social engineering!

October has been proclaimed, at the level of the European Union, the month of cyber security. In 2024, the utopian the European Union has been...

Caution! Social engineering!
(foto: Anqa / pixabay.com)
Society Today Wednesday, 23 October 2024

Access to contraceptive methods in post-communist Romania: 35 years on

Romanian society has a troublesome past regarding reproductive health. The country’s troubled past began in 1966. We recall that back then a decree...

Access to contraceptive methods in post-communist Romania: 35 years on
Photo: pixabay.com
Society Today Wednesday, 16 October 2024

New solutions for old problems: bullying

A study carried out by Save the Children at the beginning of the year showed that one in two students in Romania was a victim of threats, humiliation...

New solutions for old problems: bullying
Society Today Wednesday, 02 October 2024

Romania must redefine itself economically

In 2022, the employed population of Romania was 7.6 million people. Of these, 5.5 million were employees with individual employment contracts. Most...

Romania must redefine itself economically
Society Today Wednesday, 25 September 2024

The Urban Bee Patrol

The concrete walls and trees groomed every season, are sometimes home to bees with honeycombs. Tens of thousands of bees find shelter in ventilation...

The Urban Bee Patrol
Society Today Wednesday, 18 September 2024

Romania’s new faces

Romania has been facing a workforce deficit for quite some time now, created by a negative birthrate, a dramatic ageing of the population and a...

Romania’s new faces
Society Today Wednesday, 11 September 2024

The Second Gender

Among all European countries, Romania has the lowest female employment rate. 45.4% of Romanian women have a job, compared to men, of whom 62.7% are...

The Second Gender

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company