Laura Langelaar

vrouwI'M HELPING HELIUS

for equal health opportunities

‘I feel privileged to live in a country where health care is so readily available. If I – or one of my children – get sick, I get the care I need. But I sometimes wonder whether we’re able to offer this same kind of care to everyone in the Netherlands. I’m going to start training to be a midwife soon, and I know that the risk of death for unborn children is much higher in non-Western ethnic groups than it is among the ethnic Dutch. Maternal mortality is also more common in these groups. To me this is unacceptable. While I know that cultural differences certainly play a role, there are also large health differences between ethnic groups that can influence this. HELIUS is conducting research into what causes these differences. More knowledge about this will help pave the way to equal health opportunities. This is why I’m helping HELIUS!’