The Impact of Legal Advocacy Strategies to Advance Roma Health: The Case of Macedonia

Across Europe, Roma face exclusion and obstacles in access to health services, resulting in poorer health. While there are legal and policy frameworks for Roma inclusion, implementation often lags behind. Increasing the grassroots capacity of Roma to advocate for accountability in health care and against systemic impediments has been a central focus of Open Society Foundations (OSF) support. This analysis discusses the impact of an OSF-supported legal advocacy project on Roma health rights in Macedonia. The paper uses qualitative indicators to measure the capacity of nongovernmental organizations, accountability for violations, changes in law and practice, and impact on communities. The methodology for assessing the impact of legal advocacy was developed over the course of OSF’s legal advocacy project and used to calculate the baseline and conduct the follow-up assessment to track progress across four strategies: legal empowerment, documentation and advocacy, media advocacy, and strategic litigation. Results show that legal advocacy has led to a notable increase in Roma awareness of their health rights. The number of lawsuits has risen dramatically, and cases are increasingly more sophisticated. Although accountability in health care is still the exception rather than the rule, blatant violations have been reduced. Some structural barriers have also been tackled. At the same time, new challenges require continuous and adaptable legal advocacy.