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Report// Moldova encounters limited information, equipment, human resources and funds during the pandemic period

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“The preparedness stage for this pandemic was covered by fragmented actions and did not ensure a fast and full response to this emergency outbreak. The collective responsibility approach, lack of defined timelines, lack of designated resources creates difficulties in the crisis management process and generates multiple undesired outcomes.” This was one of the provided conclusions of the WatchDog.md Report, implemented with the support of National Endowment for Democracy.

The report analysed the healthcare system readiness and the Moldovan authorities’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic plan of the Republic of Moldova was approved on March,13, covering all important areas for preparedness and response. According to the report, the level of COVID 19 pandemic risk was defined as high. However, the highest risk areas were not mentioned and the risk mitigation measures were not described, as the report specified.

The plan contained three case scenarios. “The scenario number 2 was activated on March 24, after reaching the level of 100 positively confirmed patients.” At the end of April, scenario 4 was activated in Moldova, which basically wasn’t initially mentioned in the plan, whereas the updated version of the plan wasn’t publicly available at the moment the current report was published.

The report revealed that the quality of the response to this pandemic outbreak was influenced by the “low level of awareness of the pandemic emergency on the top level of management of the healthcare sector.”

“The delay in the elaboration of the response country pandemic plan leaded to the delay in the decision-making process and generated several delays in execution of many important action items.”

As a consequence, the delayed actions limited the power of control over pandemic spread in some areas and increased the risk of contagion, especially in the case of healthcare workers, police and custom staff.

There is lack of visibility on the available human resources in the country, for all categories of the healthcare workers. Furthermore, the analysts found that the bio-security of healthcare professionals was mentioned in some orders of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection (MHLSP), however it was not supported with clear guidelines and standard operation procedures (SOPs) in order to protect the medical personnel from contamination.

In addition, the travel restrictions, movement restrictions, quarantine, and social distancing measures that were applied “are efficient in conditions of the strong adherence to the rule and require the high level of trust between community and state institutions.” The report assessed that the process of self-quarantine applied by persons who returned from countries with high-risk of contagion was not properly controlled at the level of primary care.

Another important limitations of the Moldovan healthcare system were low number of available tests along with the limited testing capabilities, as well as limited capacity for the intensive therapy care the medical facilities in Moldova have. “Requests for
ventilators, consumables and some equipment, specific to intensive therapy care department, was disseminated in the public space. All these requests and information about public procurement processes serve as an indicator, that the vital needs were uncovered at the moment of pandemic launch in Moldova.”

Still, the biggest issue the Moldovan healthcare system faced was the protection of healthcare workers – the lack of protective equipment, disinfectants, institutional SOPs, guidance and funding for coverage of these needs. “The high number of contaminated healthcare workers leaded to lockdown of some hospitals,” as WatchDog.md reported.

“Moldova needs support to develop the core public health capacities to prevent, detect, prepare for, and respond to any disease outbreaks.”

In this regard, health facilities would need to increase their capacity for large-scale isolation of patients with highly transmissible respiratory diseases, as the experts’ community recommended in the report. “The communication with the public, partners, and intermediaries as well as between key organisational stakeholders continues to be an important area for strengthening preparedness and response. Without strong, accurate communication efforts, no amount of planning, intervention, or response is likely to be highly effective in the response to a pandemic,” is also mentioned in the report.

“The comprehensive information about pandemic situation is missing, very fragmented, and often confusing for a large audience.”

What’s also needed, is a system to enable the collection, analysis, and dissemination of surveillance data – an essential tool for identifying and understanding patterns and drivers behind a wide range of health threats, according to the document.

While international reports on pandemic outbreaks mentioned the presence of more than 5 Intensive Care Units (ICU) beds per 10 000 population as one of mandatory criteria for the country reopening, there are only 500 ICU beds for 2,6 million people currently in Moldova. “It is urgent and important to focus on the upgrade of ICU in Moldovan hospitals.”

The outstanding report included also calculations on needs of resources required for this emergency situation recovery stage and for an eventual second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. These include the following:

  • 35 000 medical workers would need 7 million antiviral protective screens, 140 million pairs of gloves, 7 million FFP2 and FFP3 protective masks and 7 million protective suits for a period of 100 days of active pandemic outbreak;
  • the renovation of 36 infectious department from the country would need a total estimated budget of 1.8 million euros;
  • The intensive care units from Moldova would need a long-listed upgrade of equipment, including 800 beds, 800 ventilators, 800 monitor systems, 100 intubation systems, etc. as a minimum calculated for a population of 2.6 million.

Photo: AFP 2020| STR

Society

“They are not needy, but they need help”. How Moldovan volunteers try to create a safe environment for the Ukrainian refugees

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At the Government’s ground floor, the phones ring constantly, the laptop screens never reach standby. In one corner of the room there is a logistics planning meeting, someone has a call on Zoom with partners and donors, someone else finally managed to take a cookie and make some coffee. Everyone is exhausted and have sleepy red eyes, but the volunteers still have a lot of energy and dedication to help in creating a safe place for the Ukrainian refugees.

“It’s like a continuous bustle just so you won’t read the news. You get home sometimes and you don’t have time for news, and that somehow helps. It’s a kind of solidarity and mutual support,” says Vlada Ciobanu, volunteer responsible for communication and fundraising.

The volunteers group was formed from the very first day of war. A Facebook page was created, where all types of messages immediately started to flow: “I offer accommodation”, “I want to help”, “I want to get involved”, “Where can I bring the products?”, “I have a car and I can go to the customs”. Soon, the authorities also started asking for volunteers’ support. Now they all work together, coordinate activities and try to find solutions to the most difficult problems.

Is accommodation needed for 10, 200 or 800 people? Do you need transportation to the customs? Does anyone want to deliver 3 tons of apples and does not know where? Do you need medicine or mobile toilets? All these questions require prompt answers and actions. Blankets, sheets, diapers, hygiene products, food, clothes – people bring everything, and someone needs to quickly find ways of delivering them to those who need them.

Sometimes this collaboration is difficult, involves a lot of bureaucracy, and it can be difficult to get answers on time. “Republic of Moldova has never faced such a large influx of refugees and, probably because nobody thought this could happen, a mechanism of this kind of crisis has not been developed. Due to the absence of such a mechanism that the state should have created, we, the volunteers, intervened and tried to help in a practical way for the spontaneous and on the sport solutions of the problems,” mentions Ecaterina Luțișina, volunteer responsible for the refugees’ accommodation.

Ana Maria Popa, one of the founders of the group “Help Ukrainians in Moldova/SOS Українці Молдовa” says that the toughest thing is to find time and have a clear mind in managing different procedures, although things still happen somehow naturally. Everyone is ready to intervene and help, to take on more responsibilities and to act immediately when needed. The biggest challenges arise when it is necessary to accommodate large families, people with special needs, for which alternative solutions must be identified.

Goods and donations

The volunteers try to cope with the high flow of requests for both accommodation and products of all kinds. “It came to me as a shock and a panic when I found out that both mothers who are now in Ukraine, as well as those who found refuge in our country are losing their milk because of stress. We are trying to fill an enormous need for milk powder, for which the demand is high and the stocks are decreasing”, says Steliana, the volunteer responsible for the distribution of goods from the donation centers.

Several centers have been set up to collect donations in all regions of Chisinau, and volunteers are redirecting the goods to where the refugees are. A system for processing and monitoring donations has already been established, while the volunteer drivers take over the order only according to a unique code.

Volunteers from the collection centers also do the inventory – the donated goods and the distributed goods. The rest is transported to Vatra deposit, from where it is distributed to the placement centers where more than 50 refugees are housed.

When they want to donate goods, but they don’t know what would be needed, people are urged to put themselves in the position of refugees and ask themselves what would they need most if they wake up overnight and have to hurriedly pack their bags and run away. Steliana wants to emphasise that “these people are not needy, but these people need help. They did not choose to end up in this situation.”

Furthermore, the volunteer Cristina Sîrbu seeks to identify producers and negotiate prices for products needed by refugees, thus mediating the procurement process for NGOs with which she collaborates, such as Caritas, World Children’s Fund, Polish Solidarity Fund, Lifting hands, Peace Corps and others.

One of the challenges she is facing now is the identifying a mattress manufacturer in the West, because the Moldovan mattress manufacturer that has been helping so far no longer has polyurethane, a raw material usually imported from Russia and Ukraine.

Cristina also needs to find solutions for the needs of the volunteer groups – phones, laptops, gsm connection and internet for a good carrying out of activities.

Hate messages

The most difficult thing for the communication team is to manage the hate messages on the social networks, which started to appear more often. “Even if there is some sort of dissatisfaction from the Ukrainian refugees and those who offer help, we live now in a very diverse society, there are different kind of people, and we act very differently under stress,” said Vlada Ciobanu.

Translation by Cătălina Bîrsanu

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#WorldForUkraine – a map that shows the magnitude of the world’s actions against Russian aggression

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The international community and volunteers from all over te world have launched #WorldForUkraine as a platform that shows the magnitude of the world’s actions against the Russian aggression. In a digital world – it is an interactive map of public support of Ukrainians under the hashtag #WorldForUkraine – rallies, flash mobs, protests around the world. In the physical dimension – it is your opportunity to take to the streets and declare: “No to Putin’s aggression, no to war.”

„Today, along with the political and military support, emotional connection with the civilized world and truthful information are extremely important for Ukraine. The power to do it is in your hands. Join the #WorldForUkraine project and contribute to the victorious battle against the bloodshed inflicted on Ukraine by the aggression of the Russian Federation”, says the „about the project” section of the platform.

Go to the streets — Tell people — Connect and Unite — Become POWERFUL

Volunteers have launched #WorldForUkraine as a platform that shows the magnitude of the world’s actions against Russian aggression. In digital world – it is an INTERACTIVE MAP of public support of Ukrainians worldforukraine.net under the hashtag #WorldForUkraine – rallies, flash mobs, protests around the world. In the physical dimension – it is your opportunity to take to the streets and declare: “No to Putin’s aggression, no to war.” There you may find information about past and future rallies in your city in support of Ukraine. This is a permanent platform for Ukrainian diaspora and people all over the world concerned about the situation in Ukraine.

So here’s a couple of things you could do yourself to help:

* if there is a political rally in your city, then participate in it and write about it on social media with geolocation and the hashtag #WorldForUkraine

* if there are no rallies nearby, organize one in support of Ukraine yourself, write about it on social media with geolocation adding the hashtag #WorldForUkraine

The map will add information about gathering by #WorldForUkraine AUTOMATICALLY

Your voice now stronger THAN ever

All rallies are already here: https://worldforukraine.net

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How is Moldova managing the big influx of Ukrainian refugees? The authorities’ plan, explained 

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From 24th to 28th of February, 71 359 Ukrainian citizens entered the territory of Republic of Moldova. 33 173 of them left the country. As of this moment, there are 38 186 Ukrainian citizens in Moldova, who have arrived over the past 100 hours. 

The Moldovan people and authorities have organized themselves quickly from the first day of war between Russia and Ukraine. However, in the event of a prolonged armed conflict and a continuous influx of Ukrainian refugees, the efforts and donations need to be efficiently managed. Thus, we inquired about Moldova’s long-term plan and the state’s capacity to receive, host, and treat a bigger number of refugees. 

On February 26th, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Moldova approved the Regulation of organization and functioning of the temporary Placement Center for refugees and the staffing and expenditure rules. According to the Regulation, the Centers will have the capacity of temporary hosting and feeding at least 20 persons, for a maximum of 3 months, with the possibility of extending this period. The Centers will also offer legal, social, psychological, and primary medical consultations to the refugees. The Center’s activity will be financed from budget allocations, under Article 19 of Provision no. 1 of the Exceptional Situations Commission from February 24th, 2022, and from other sources of funding that do not contravene applicable law.

The Ministry of Inner Affairs and the Government of Moldova facilitated the organization of the volunteers’ group “Moldova for Peace”.  Its purpose is to receive, offer assistance and accommodation to the Ukrainian refugees. The group is still working on creating a structure, registering and contacting volunteers, etc. It does not activate under a legal umbrella. 

Lilia Nenescu, one of the “Moldova for Peace” volunteers, said that the group consists of over 20 people. Other 1700 registered to volunteer by filling in this form, which is still available. The group consists of several departments: 

The volunteers’ department. Its members act as fixers: they’re responsible for connecting the people in need of assistance with the appropriate department. Some of the volunteers are located in the customs points. “The Ministry of Inner Affairs sends us every day the list of the customs points where our assistance is needed, and we mobilize the volunteers”, says Lilia Nenescu. 

The Goods Department manages all the goods donated by the Moldavian citizens. The donations are separated into categories: non-perishable foods and non-food supplies. The volunteers of this department sort the goods into packages to be distributed. 

The Government intends to collect all the donations in four locations. The National Agency for Food Safety and the National Agency for Public Health will ensure mechanisms to confirm that all the deposited goods comply with safety and quality regulations. 

The Service Department operates in 4 directions and needs the volunteer involvement of specialists in psychology, legal assistance (the majority of the refugees only have Ukrainian ID and birth certificates of their children); medical assistance; translation (a part of the refugees are not Ukrainian citizens). 

According to Elena Mudrîi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, so far there is no data about the number of  Covid-19 positive refugees. She only mentioned two cases that needed outpatient medical assistance: a pregnant woman and the mother of a 4-day-old child. 

The Accommodation Department. The volunteers are waiting for the centralized and updated information from the Ministry of Labor about the institutions offering accommodation, besides the houses offered by individuals. 

The Transport Department consists of drivers organized in groups. They receive notifications about the number of people who need transportation from the customs points to the asylum centers for refugees.

The municipal authorities of Chișinău announced that the Ukrainian children refugees from the capital city will be enrolled in educational institutions. The authorities also intend to create Day-Care Centers for children, where they will be engaged in educational activities and will receive psychological assistance. Besides, the refugees from the municipal temporary accommodation centers receive individual and group counseling. 

In addition to this effort, a group of volunteers consisting of Ana Gurău, Ana Popapa, and Andrei Lutenco developed, with the help of Cristian Coșneanu, the UArefugees platform, synchronized with the responses from this form. On the first day, 943 people offered their help using the form, and 110 people asked for help. According to Anna Gurău, the volunteers communicate with the Government in order to update the platform with the missing data. 

Translation from Romanian by Natalia Graur

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