Pandemic and the access to healthcare: Economic inequality and marginalisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia

Abstract

Access to healthcare for Roma people and older adults (65+) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Croatia has been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. In responding to the pandemic, neither BiH nor Croatia have sufficiently addressed the complex and nuanced vulnerabilities of these social groups. By employing a comparative approach between the two countries, the article presents in-group and between-group differences based on gender, ethnicity, age, place of residence and legal status. The marginalisation of the Roma and older people is traced back to the structural inequalities associated with transitional state apparatus, corruption and neoliberal policies in both countries. While similar discriminatory trends are observed in both countries, the data indicate that the Croatian state apparatus is more organised in securing access to healthcare than that of Bosnia and Herzegovina.