Healthcare Challenges and Access Among People Who Beg

This paper investigates the healthcare situation of people who beg, a deeply marginalised population often experiencing multiple forms of deprivation. Their involvement in the informal economy, where begging serves as a primary income source, is tightly connected to broader aspects of their lives, including health vulnerabilities and social exclusion. Despite their consistent presence in urban spaces, these severely deprived groups are often absent from large-scale studies and official statistics. Through this study, we aim to address this gap by providing empirical data on this hidden population that is typically underrepresented in poverty surveys. Using an original and comprehensive survey, we document the overall healthcare status among people who beg as well as the intricate relationship between begging as an income-earning activity, living situation and access to essential medical care. Our paper is based on interviews with 358 individuals who were begging between 2021 and 2022 in Brussels, Belgium; approximately 80% of our sample is Romanian Roma. We highlight disparities in self-reported health status and addiction issues across subgroups, particularly between Romanian Roma and non-Romanian respondents. We further explore how personal characteristics such as gender, age and family composition influence medical access and outcomes. By examining these social determinants of health status, we emphasise the need for targeted interventions and policy changes to better meet the healthcare needs of people who beg.