DIMENSIONS OF VULNERABILITY
http://europeandcis.undp.org/go/vulnerability A new report from UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS At Risk: Roma and the Displaced in Southeast Europe .jpg) |
| "Roma, internally displaced persons and refugees are among the most vulnerable in the fragile, post-conflict Balkan region. Based on UNDP’s pioneering Vulnerable Groups Survey, this report puts forward a new, integrative approach to breaking the vicious cycle of poverty and exclusion that deprive so many Roma and displaced of the opportunity and right to provide for themselves and their families."
- Andrey Ivanov, lead author, June 2006 Media resources |
Chapters | | | Foreword, Acknowledgements, Contents
| | | Introduction
| | | | Part I. Roma | | Part II. Displaced persons | [+] 1.1 Roma in the Balkan context This brief historical review shows the deep roots of Roma vulnerability, which is linked to non–acceptance and lack of respect from society for their cultural specifics, as well as to displacement, and weak education and skill backgrounds that leave them uncompetitive on many labour markets. | | [+] 2.1 Displaced persons in the Balkan context Refugees and internally displaced persons are among the most tragic victims of the violent dissolution of former Yugoslavia. This chapter provides the necessary context to understand the issue of displaced and the challenges they currently face. | [+] 1.2 Poverty In this chapter the incidence and depth of poverty and the extent of inequality among Roma is assessed and contrasted with that of the majority, and the major determinants of this poverty are highlighted. Roma are more likely to be cripped by debt than the majority population, and while the majority population living in urban areas is generally better off than those living in rural areas, Roma suffer higher levels of poverty in both locations (fig. 1-4, 1-5). | | [+] 2.2 Poverty This chapter outlines the levels of risks displaced individuals and households are facing, and describes the determinants of their vulnerability to poverty. It undescores the importance of resolving the legal status of displaced persons and of its links to poverty and exclusion. | [+] 1.3 Education This chapter describes the status of Roma education, contrasts it with that of majority communities, and highlights the major determinants of this lower education status. The data reveal a strong relationship between poverty and poor educational attainment; some 51 per cent of Roma surveyed cited cost as the major reason for dropping out of school (fig. 1-17, 1-19) | | [+] 2.3 Education and Employment This chapter looks at both the frequency and the quality of employment of displaced persons in the region, with a particular focus on the educational determinants of employment. The gap in education attainment is larger in the case of displaced women than displaced men and increases with the level of education. (fig. 2-15 ) | [+] 1.4 Employment This chapter examines the links between employment and unemployment on the one hand and Roma vulnerability on the other. In most countries employment rates for Roma women are below 20 per cent, and Roma women are far more likely than Roma men to be unemployed (fig. 1.30, 1.32). | | [+] 2.4 Health and Security This chapter analyses housing conditions, threat perceptions, and health and nutrition conditions for displaced as opposed to majority households. There is a marked difference in housing quality between displaced and majority populations surveyed; health is also an issue, with almost one fifth of displaced households facing nutrition risk, compared with 4 per cent of majority households (fig. 2-29, 2-35) .
| [+] 1.5 Health and security This chapter analyses the health and nutrition conditions, different threat perceptions and housing situation of Roma and majority communities. Only 73 per cent of poor Roma children received basic vaccinations, compared to 80 per cent of non-poor Roma children. Inadequate information or appropriate medical identification is often responsible for incomplete vaccination coverage (fig. 1-42). | | | | | | | | | | Recommendations | | | | Annexes | | | | Bibliography | | |
Dimensions of Vulnerability - Media Resources Dimensions of Vulnerability - Country Reports
 Albania
Montenegro
Serbia Macedonia Moldova Slovakia
More UNDP resources on Roma and other vulnerable groups Related publications .gif) | | Avoiding the Dependency Trap - This comprehensive study on the situation of the Roma minority in five Central and Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovak Republic) is based on comparable socioeconomic data from a cross-country survey of 5,034 Roma respondents. It addresses such questions as:
• Why has the situation of Roma in Central and Eastern Europe not improved in the last decade?
• What is the status of Roma in the region from a human development perspective? What are the actual levels of unemployment, depth of poverty, magnitude of segregation in education?
• What needs to be done to improve development opportunities of the Roma in a sustainable way? |  | | Faces of Poverty, Faces of Hope - Poverty pockets and excluded, marginalized groups exist throughout Europe, depriving whole communities of equal participation in development. The rate of transition in Central and Southeastern Europe varies widely among different socio-economic groups, with some vulnerable populations, such as the Roma, in danger of being left behind. The primary purpose of this publication is to provide quantitative and comparable data on development problems and challenges of vulnerable groups in general, and Roma in particular, in Central and Southeastern Europe. |  | | Employing the Roma: Insights from Business - Employing the Roma: Insights from Business, published by UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS with Ernst & Young, is based on in-depth interviews with companies in Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic conducted between May and September 2005. The report aims to spark dialogue in the business community on Roma employment, and offers suggestions for how companies can begin to address this challenge. |
On the ground: country-level initiatives for vulnerable groups
Bosnia & Herzegovina
SUstainable Transfer to Return-related Authorities (SUTRA) project website
Bulgaria
New JOBS prospects for Roma
Urbanization and social development of areas with predominant minority populations
National programme for improving the living conditions of disadvantaged ethnic minorities in urban areas
Croatia
Leave no Croatian citizen behind
Poverty, Unemployment and Social Exclusion in Croatia
HIV/AIDS in Croatian Legislation - An Analysis with Proposals for Modifications to Current Legislation and the Strengthening of Human Rights of People Living with HIV
Kosovo
Government Assistance to Returns (GAR)
Poland
UNDP Poland and EQUAL
Romania
Evaluation of programmes for Roma communities in Romania between 1996-2004
Turkey
Support to the Development of an Internally Displaced People Programme in Turkey
Related links
vulnerability.undp.sk - Collecting disaggregated quantitative data is a precondition for developing national policies for sustainable inclusion of vulnerable groups such as the Roma, internally displaced persons and refugees. Since no such data was available, UNDP conducted a survey of the Roma and other vulnerable groups in Central and Southeastern Europe. This site provides access to the full datasets and national-level indicators. roma.undp.sk - Website for UNDP's groundbreaking report, Avoiding the Dependency Trap.
Articles by UNDP experts on Roma and other vulnerable groups
1) Comparative Economic Studies, March 2006, Volume 48, Number 1 Development Opportunities for the Roma in Central and Southeast Europe - Impediments and Challenges by Kalman Mizsei Education and Employment Opportunities for the Roma by Niall O'Higgins and Andrey Ivanov Poverty and the Determinants of Welfare for Roma and Other Vulnerable Groups in Southeastern Europe by Susanne Milcher Microlending to the Roma in Central and Southeastern Europe: Mixed Results, New Approaches by Andrey Ivanov and Sanjar Tursaliev 2) Development and Transition, November 2005, issue 2. pp.14-16
Vulnerability in Southeast Europe: Evidence from a regional survey by Andrey Ivanov and Susanne Milcher
3) Economics Research Journal, Vilnius University. Vol.69, 2005. pp.58-77
The impact of social policies on self-reliance incentives for Roma in Central and Eastern Europe 4) Managing Global Transitions International Research Journal, Vol. 3. No 1, 2005. pp.51-69
Evidence of returns to education among Roma in CEE and their policy implications 5) Local Governance Brief, Autumn 2004
Everyone can reap the rewards of diversity 6) Beyond Transition newsletter, World Bank, April-June 2005
Microlending to vulnerable groups: evidence from a recent UNDP survey
7) Roma Rights Quarterly Journal, European Roma Rights Centre, No. 2, 2004
The United Nations Development Programme's Vulnerability Projects: Roma and Ethnic Data
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