On 18 February 2026, partners from Healthy Regions gathered with Roma health mediators, coordinators and managers to mark the project’s close, not with a formal conference, but with something that felt more fitting: a working celebration.
After five years of successful collaboration, the RIVER-EU project will conclude with a final public event in Brussels, bringing together communities, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to reflect on key outcomes and discuss pathways for advancing equitable vaccination strategies across Europe.
At the 18th European Public Health Conference (EPHC 2025) in Helsinki, RIVER-EU will host a 1-hour scientific workshop and roundtable discussion on Wednesday, 12 November 2025.
Roma health advocates in Slovakia exemplify charisma and dedication. Their role extends far beyond that of mere health assistants; it involves an unwavering commitment to the well-being of their clients, 24/7.
Within the RIVER-EU project, a series of qualitative studies were conducted to explore health system barriers to vaccination in selected underserved communities. In Slovakia, the study described barriers to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among girls from marginalized Roma communities from the perspective of Roma girls, their parents, and professionals involved in HPV vaccination who serve this population.
Roma are the largest and most disadvantaged ethnic minority in Europe. For centuries, the history of Roma has been marked by intolerance, punitive policies, assimilation and social engineering which has ultimately resulted in the development of marginalized Roma communities.
On 24 June 2021, the country coordinator for Slovakia in RIVER-EU project, Daniela Filakovska, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University (UPJS) in Košice, spoke at the online workshop ‘Finding sustainable funding to build health equity in Europe’.