Abstract
Romania is a state situated in the south-eastern region of central Europe. The ethnic composition of the population consists of 89.5% Romanian, 7.1% Hungarian, 1.8% Roma and 1.65% other nationalities (The-World-Bank, September 30, 2003).Romania is a republic, ruled by a president who is elected by a direct vote for a term of five years. Romania is a member of the United Nations (UN), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Council of Europe and a full member of the European Union (EU) as of January 1st 2007 (The-World-Bank, September 30, 2003). The country is currently undergoing a vigorous period of development and investment aimed at improving the living standards of its citizens. However, Romania is still experiencing various problems with poverty, health issues and housing problems among others. This paper will focus on these problems, the policies put in place to try and solve these problems and the necessary recommendations (Kearney, 1998).
Housing in Romania
Romania is a country that has been in transition from a socialist state to a market economy. Presently, it is facing a number of significant housing difficulties. In addition, the country is also experiencing major setbacks to action in recent years and failure to tackle these issues effectively is likely to produce further housing problems which may expand into unmanageable proportions (Kramer, 2010)Nevertheless, the Romanian government, through the ministry of Housing and Planning, has over the years tried to actively involve itself in the formulation of important housing policies. The initiatives, however, though effective and necessary, these initiatives have not been sufficient in tackling the scale and complexity of the country’s housing challenges.
Health in Romania
It is important to note that the life expectancy and other health status indicators have improved tremendously in Romania. Despite their improvement and the positive trend, the health condition is still below the European Union and regional averages (WHO, May 2011). This scenario can be blamed on the low starting point that they had to endure at the beginning of their transition. It has also been influenced by the partial success of the financial reforms together with health reforms in the country. For instance, he infant mortality rate in Romania declined by 10% in 10 years from 26.9 to 13.91 until 2006, and even further to 10.12 (Government-of-Romania, 2008 )in 2009. However, these levels are still graded way above those in the EU countries and the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CCEE) averages. Perinatal conditions and malformations are responsible for about 57% of all infant mortalities (Vladescu, Scintee, & Olsavszky, 2008). Some can also be attributed to diseases of the respiratory system such as pneumonia. Maternal mortality rates have also plummeted significantly in Romania since the 1990s. However, regardless of this positive tendency, the maternal mortality rate still remains in the second quintile in the larger European region. Furthermore, Romania faces a low frequency of communicable diseases yet it has recorded a larger number of cancer and cardiovascular diseases which arise from preventable lifestyle trends such as tobaccos smoking and excessive consumption of alcohol.
Poverty In Romania
In 1990, Romania decided to make a transition from a socialist system to a market economy after a decade of harsh economic and social challenges. During the early stages of the transition, Romania underwent a series of sharp economic declines as it set in place economic and structural adjustments which were essential in order to achieve sustainable growth. Poverty levels surged over this period, mainly due to the sharp decrease in economic production (The-World-Bank, September 30, 2003). Statistically, 21.5% of the population lives below the poverty line. Almost half of the poor people dwell with the employed and unemployed and the rest live in farm and pensioner households (The-World-Bank, September 30, 2003).
Housing Policies in Romania:
One of the positive and welcome move by the Romanian government was the request it made to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe for Romania’s profile on housing. This is a reflection a candid appraisal of the situation. It acknowledges that Romania may benefit from seeking an external hence objective take on its housing problems. In addition, the profile aims at achieving an honest description and evaluation of the housing situation in Romania, that is: its challenges, the rate of success that have been employed so far to tackle these challenges and any more actions that can or should be taken in the future. The greatest impediment facing the housing sector in Romania is probably the failure to recognize the scope and complexity of the issue (Kramer, 2010)This is aggravated by the fact that recent initiatives to salvage the housing situation appear to be beneficial but focused in a very narrow area. There also lies a danger whereby the government might take this as a success and therefore divert all their attention from all the other issues which have not been tackled as yet. This will lead to a state of complacency and contentment by those in charge and the citizens, who are eager to realize real progress, which consequently will prevent any action from being taken until it is too late. The request by the country to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe can nevertheless, be taken as clear evidence that the Romanian government is dedicated and not complacent about the need for change in Romania’s housing industry (Kramer, 2010).
Health Policies in Romania
In Romania, the Ministry of Health is the main, central authority that is responsible for outlining organization and functioning principles for all public health institutions (Vladescu, Scintee, & Olsavszky, 2008). The ministry also develops and finances all national public health programs such as immunizations, data collection and other reports on the health status of the citizens. Generally, primary health care services are usually provided by private doctors. These are independent practitioners, employed by the public health insurance fund but mostly working from their own premises. The health reforms allocated these doctors as ‘gatekeepers’ of the country’s health system.
A system of hospital outpatient branches, diagnostic centers and office-based medical specialists offer ambulatory services as secondary medical care. The inpatient and other tertiary programs are carried out in public hospitals. Though some initial health reforms have been carried out, there is need for additional streamlining, strengthening and upgrading population based public health care services and individuals (Vladescu, Scintee, & Olsavszky, 2008).
Recommendations: Housing in Romania
In order to reverse the grim housing situation in Romania, I would recommend some certain actions to be taken including:
Rent controls should be abolished or at least devolved and relaxed as a kind of subsidy to the Romanian tenants. They should then be substituted with housing allowances and incentives which can be directed specifically to those with low-income families in all kinds of tenure in order to meet overall housing costs. This should be done in such a manner that it does not increase the budgetary burden and also support a better resource targeting.
Another key factor is to launch a monitor for the local housing market which will enable better understanding of them as they grow and evolve over time. The policy makers cannot work alone and they therefore needs the help of the private sector and hence work together (The-World-Bank, September 30, 2003).
Policies: Poverty In Romania
The Romanian government, since the transition began, has pursued step by step deregulation of both foreign and domestic prices. Through the process, consumer prices have been completely deregulated and the foreign exchange rate liberalized. These policies led to massive inflation rates of up to 300% in 1993 which later decreased to 62% in 1994. The Romanian government then adopted a strong stabilization program in 1993 which saw the improvement of the economic output by 4% in 1994. Inflation fell to 30% in 1995 (The-World-Bank, September 30, 2003). In spite of the process being slow, the Romanian government has managed to actively involve itself in the providence of a solid framework for the development of a strong market economy. It has provided a two-tier banking system and has developed indirect tools of monetary control together with the reform on the tax system (The-World-Bank, September 30, 2003).
Recommendations: Health in Romania
In order to improve the health status of Romanian citizens, I would recommend the following actions:
Proper regulation of both the public and private health sectors, with more preference on the public sector and their interface.
Ensuring a transparent process during the budgetary allocation for health services.
Improvement of the involvement of all the stakeholders in the health sector, to enable a conclusive and more effective solutions to any health challenges.
Recommendations: Poverty In Romania
The following are recommendations to improve the standards of living of Romanians:
Promotion of economic growth: through the creation of jobs and maintaining a sustained growth level, the government can help to alleviate poverty. This can be done through installment of sound fiscal and monetary policies. Furthermore, a reduced government involvement in the financial and product market, a more conducive environment to enable the free growth of the private sector.
Since the highest incidence of poverty is found in the agricultural areas, the country involves agricultural sector reforms. This include land market development, an increased involvement in input supply from the private sector, better distribution channels and marketing.
References
Government-of-Romania. (2008 ). NATIONAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY ROMANIA 2013-2020-2030 . Bucharest: Government-of-Romania.
Kearney, B. (1998). . ‘A review of issues, problems and policy choices facing Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia in their transition to market and the EU’ . ’ p 261-271. .
Kramer, J. (2010). Country Profiles on Housing Sector – Romania. 86-95.
The-World-Bank. (September 30, 2003). ROMANIA:Poverty Assessment. 63.
Vladescu, C., Scintee, G., & Olsavszky, V. (2008). Health Systems in Transition. Romania Health review system, No.10(3).
WHO. (May 2011). Country Cooperation Strategy at a Glance. Bucharest: WHO.
