{"id":448223,"date":"2020-05-02T17:49:29","date_gmt":"2020-05-02T17:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/?p=448223"},"modified":"2020-05-05T19:27:34","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T19:27:34","slug":"report-moldova-encounters-limited-information-equipment-human-resources-and-funds-during-the-pandemic-period","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/report-moldova-encounters-limited-information-equipment-human-resources-and-funds-during-the-pandemic-period\/","title":{"rendered":"Report\/\/ Moldova encounters limited information, equipment, human resources and funds during the pandemic period"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

“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.”<\/em><\/span> This was one of the provided conclusions of the WatchDog.md<\/strong><\/a> Report, implemented with the support of National Endowment for Democracy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The report<\/a> analysed the healthcare system readiness and the Moldovan authorities’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

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<\/span>. However, the highest risk areas were not mentioned and the risk mitigation measures were not described, as the report specified.<\/p>\n

The plan contained three case scenarios. “The scenario number 2 was activated on March 24, after reaching the level of 100 positively confirmed patients.”<\/em> <\/span>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.<\/p>\n

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.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As a consequence, the delayed actions\u00a0limited 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.” <\/em><\/span>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.<\/p>\n

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<\/em><\/span>
\nventilators, 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.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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,”<\/em>\u00a0as\u00a0<\/span>WatchDog.md reported.<\/p>\n

“Moldova needs support to develop the core public health capacities to prevent, detect, prepare for, and respond to any disease outbreaks.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In this regard, health facilities would need to increase their capacity for large-scale isolation<\/strong> 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,”<\/em><\/span> is also mentioned in the report.<\/p>\n

“The comprehensive information about pandemic situation is missing, very fragmented, and often confusing for a large audience.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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

While international reports on\u00a0pandemic 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.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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:<\/p>\n