Strengthening water and health security in Europe’s marginalized communities through integrated social, geographical, medical and technological approaches

Vulnerable groups at the margins of societies in Europe, such as Roma people, often live in informal settlements, where they are excluded from access to safe drinking water, sanitation and waste management. One challenge in understanding the extent of potential health risks is the invisibility of Roma. With a history of persecution, discrimination and criminalization, and with a taboo attached to being Roma, the acquisition of reliable, up-to-date information from this group remains difficult due to their distrust in authorities and research activities. Available information fails to reflect reality, and data gaps complicate assistance through targeted interventions.

We aim to improve the acquisition of information on water insecurity and related health risks among Roma communities, and develop an innovative assessment system that integrates social, medical, geoinformation and earth observation science methods.

The project explores ways to gather and integrate local health-related knowledge with water quality information, wastewater and parasitological analysis, geoinformation and remote sensing of water infrastructure. The respective field work is being carried out in Roma settlements in eastern Slovakia, where we established strong collaborations with research institutes, social workers, and communities.

This presentation will provide insights into and updates to all work packages, including
WP 1. State of the art of assessing water insecurity in Europe's marginalized communities.
WP2. Making water and sanitation visible: A geo-tech approach.
WP3. Understanding health risks resulting from water and sanitation behaviour: A socio-med analysis.
WP4. Integrating socio-geo-tech-med approaches to water and sanitation insecurity in marginalized groups.