Roma life expectancy ten years below European average

A report commissioned by the EU executive and published on 4 September paints a gloomy picture of the state of health among Roma (around 12 million people) in the European Union, with life expectancy for them being ten years lower than the European average. Rates of infant mortality are particularly high in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. In the latter country, these are due mostly to squalid housing conditions and smoking during pregnancy. In Bulgaria, premature deaths are…