Health Systems in Transition - Hungary - World Health Organization ...

Health systems in transition Hungary 15
Aside from Hungary lagging behind the EU27 and even the EU12 averages
for many health indicators, the persisting geographical and social inequalities in
health within Hungary itself are also a matter of concern. For instance, the gap
between regions with the highest and lowest healthy life years was 8.1 years for
men and 7.7 years for women in 2008 (HCSO, 2009a). Unfortunately, reliable
morbidity and mortality data are not available to describe the health status of
the Roma minority, but it can be assumed that their health status is considerably
worse than the population average (Ádány, 2008). A recent survey comparing
the health of people living in Roma settlements to that of the general population
found that the self-reported health status of the former group was substantially
worse than that of the latter. Moreover, the share of people who indicated that
they felt they could do much to promote their own health was 13% to 15% lower
among individuals living in Roma settlements than in the general population,
and smoking and unhealthy eating habits were 1.5 to 3 times more prevalent
than in the lowest income quartile of the general population (Kósa et al., 2007).
The highest concentration of Roma in Hungary can be found in the region
known as the Northern Great Plain. Unemployment is much higher among this
group than among ethnic Hungarians, and many live in slum conditions without
running water or sewerage (Kósa, Daragó & Ádány, 2009). Infant mortality
rates among the Roma are thought to be high, and life expectancy at birth is
presumably far lower than for the rest of the population (Ádány, 2008).
The Hungarian vaccination system is well organized and serves the public
health needs of the population. Among children, measles immunization
coverage was 99.8%, in 2009, which is an outstanding result among all OECD
countries and also in the WHO European Region. Coverage for immunization
against diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus is equally high (WHO Regional Office
for Europe, 2010).