Health reforms in Moldova
Health reforms in the Republic of Moldova in line
with Regional priorities
The WHO
Regional Office for Europe reports:
Dr Hans
Kluge, Director of the Health Systems and Public Health Division of WHO/Europe
and Special Representative of the Regional Director on multidrug- and
extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (M/XDR-TB), visited the Republic of
Moldova on 11–14 February 2013, on the invitation of Dr Andrei Usatii, Minister
of Health. The agenda of the visit included a series of public lectures,
meetings and discussions on priority issues in public health and health systems
under the current and forthcoming collaborative agreements, modalities of
collaboration, strategic partnerships and resource mobilization opportunities.
In a
debriefing meeting on 14 February, both leaders noted that reforms in the
Republic of Moldova are in line with Regional and global health policy
developments, including the recently adopted European health policy Health 2020
and ongoing dialogue on universal health coverage.
Lecture series
Dr Hans
Kluge addressed university staff and post-graduate students in a lecture on the
future of public health and health systems at the State University of Medicine
and Pharmacy “N. Testemitanu” on 12 February 2013.
A second
lecture on health care reforms in the era of economic crisis was delivered on
14 February for primary health care managers, hospital directors and public
health specialists. This lecture was followed by a vivid dialogue on the
ongoing and planned reforms in the country and a series of interviews on the
same topics with local media.
“The
recently initiated health reforms in the Republic of Moldova are in line with
the priorities set up for the whole European Region and WHO will further
support the Ministry of Health in their implementation,” mentioned Dr Kluge in
one of his interviews with a television channel.
Special focus: health worker mobility and
tuberculosis
Special
attention was paid during the visit to the issues of health professionals’
mobility and tuberculosis control. Dr Kluge attended the European Union
supported Human Resources Mobility initiative discussions on how to respond to
country needs and to accelerate project implementation as well as ensure
sustainability of WHO’s interventions in this challenging area.
The
Director’s visit coincided with WHO’s country mission for evaluation of the
National Tuberculosis Control Programme. The Director met with the evaluation
team and discussed the most relevant preliminary findings. Dr Kluge also met
with the Minister of Health and Minister of Justice to highlight the importance
of addressing the issue of TB in the penitentiary system.
Both Dr
Hans Kluge and Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative, highlighted the very high
importance of tuberculosis control in the whole country and the need for a
turning point brought about by tangible and measurable results in the
short term.
Debriefing
All the
issues addressed during Dr Kluge’s visit to the Republic of Moldova were
discussed in the debriefing session with Dr Andrei Usatii, Minister of Health.
This meeting was also attended by heads of departments and institutions, as
well as contact persons of WHO-supported activities at country level.
In
addition to national priorities, the role of representatives of the Republic of
Moldova and their contributions to Regional and global health initiatives were
discussed. Dr Usatii expressed high appreciation for WHO’s continuous and
strategic support in promoting the reform agenda in the health sector of the
Republic of Moldova and reiterated high commitment in continuing the ongoing
initiatives.
