One in two Roma ethnics lives in extreme poverty, according to the “Roma in Moldova” survey, launched on Friday, December 7, in Chisinau. The report presents basic quantitative data and statistics about the situation of the Roma people in Moldova for different fields – poverty, health, living conditions, security and migration. Stefan Secareanu, chairman of the Parliamentary commission on human rights, told the study presentation ceremony that the state, Government and civil society and all citizens have to jointly contribute to the elimination of the social exclusion of the Roma ethnic group. He pointed out to the need for more firm steps to be taken towards poverty elimination, creation of decent living conditions and providing representatives of this minority with real economic development conditions. The survey shows that the poverty incidence among Roma people is double compared to the rest of the population in Moldova. One third of the Roma people belong to the 20-percent group of the poorest population in Moldova. Incomes of the Roma households do not cover even half of the minimum existence level, and most of them come from the money transferred from abroad or from unofficial incomes (collecting used objects, gambling, begging, fortune-telling etc). Data show that most of the adult members of a poor Roma household are usually unemployed or perform occasional jobs. The unemployment rate among the Roma people is twice higher than among the rest of the population. Only 23 percent of the interviewed Roma ethnics have mandatory health insurances. The living conditions of the Roma people are mostly inadequate. One third of the Roma households live in an unsafe residence. Over 80 percent of households do not have running water, toilets, bathrooms and sewerage network. As for literacy, the study shows that one in two Roma ethnics cannot write or read, and only 4 percent of the Roma people have higher education, compared to the 38 percent of the non-Roma people. The migration of the whole family is specific for the Roma people and is a phenomenon which partially explains the incidence of the school abandonment among the Roma children. Artur Cerari, the baron of the Roma in Moldova, says that the worse that Roma people daily do is not taking their children to school. According to the report, Moldova is home to over 15,000 Roma people. The Roma population is younger than Moldova’s average; it has a higher birth rate, but a lower life expectancy, 65 years, by three years less than average. The study Roma in Moldova was commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), within the Decade of Roma Inclusion (2005-2015), to close the gap of objective data on the Roma people’s situation in Moldova.