Promotion of healthcare assistance for refugees and emergency preparedness among health workers are at the core of the intervention that aims to provide quality health sevices to vulnerable populations fleeing the Ukranian conflict in Moldova.
CUAMM Doctors with Africa in partnership with The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), launches a project in Chisinau, Moldova, to promote healthcare assistance for refugees and boost emergency preparedness among health workers in peripheral facilities hence strengthen the capacity at national level.
Refugee families, vulnerable groups and mothers and children fleeing the Ukranian conflict can now access safe and quality healthcare assistance in Chisinau where two health centres are being supported with provision of lifesaving drugs, essential supplies, consumables, PPEs and medical equipment. The centres also offer vulnerable groups access to multiple services such as informative sessions and distribution of informative materials on health and hygiene promotion plus specifically child-tailored materials, routine immunization, health checks on vaccination coverage and NCDs prevalence to vulnerable populations. The centres accommodate between 150 and 250 people (the number varies depending on the refugees’ movements), mostly of Roma ethnicity and/or from Azerbaijan or Armenia. These are women, men, children, and the elderly.
Lack of human resources and specialized professionals in peripheral facilities can undermine the response capacity putting people who seek healthcare services at risk. For this reason education is a key component of the intervention implemented by CUAMM in collaboration with UNICEF that encompasses a training programme in Emergency Preparedness with the ultimate goal of improving medical teams’ emergency response capabilities at all levels.
Following consultations with the Ministry of Health and in partnership with UNICEF, emergency preparedness trainings and assessment have been designed to foster health workers’ capabilities. A 20-hour training paths of mentors (key medical and non-medical staff) in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in each of the three targeted hospitals will be offered to ensure adequate response in case of health-related disasters while in the same facilities trained mentors will deliver a 10-hour mentoring paths to 100 medical and non-medical staff under the supervision of CUAMM. Additionally, assessment of management and clinical gaps in emergency preparedness and disaster response in the 3 concerned hospitals, establishment of an emergency medicine consultative coordination body at the hospital level (in each of the 3 hospitals), and development of a training package for hospitals’ staff will be included.
This comprehensive training program seeks to achieve a multiplier effect both establishing and institutionalising mentoring as a model of continuing professional development and leading to a significant and sustained impact on emergency preparedness hence enabling the healthcare staff of the Institute of Mother and Child, the Emergency Hospital, and the Republican Hospital in Chisinau to effectively respond to the ongoing refugee crisis and address future emergencies.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Moldova have sheltered the largest number of refugees: 89.000 refugees have been registered in the country. Starting from April 2022, CUAMM has been operating in Chisinau – the capital of Moldova – where the team provided basic medical care to the Ukrainian population through Emergency Medical Teams. The assistance offered aims not only at ensuring continuity of treatment and follow-up to Ukrainian refugees, as well as preventing the deterioration of minor illnesses; but also preventing the already fragile Moldovan health structures from being overwhelmed by the influx of refugees.
