Your Excellency, Madam President Maia Sandu,
Your Excellencies, Madam Ambassadors and Mister Ambassadors,
Dear Minister,
Dear colleagues,
I feel privileged to stand before you today as UNICEF’s Representative, bearing a deep sense of responsibility for the well-being and rights of children in Moldova.
Our commitment to ensuring a decent life for every child, steeped in a respect for their rights and best interests, is unwavering. A commitment that can only be achieved with the Government and via a national agenda that seeks the betterment of future generations.
In our pursuit of this goal in 2022, UNICEF and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, identified key priorities for the child protection system through a Memorandum of Understanding and a bilateral Plan of Action. These priorities underscore the urgency of addressing the challenges of the humanitarian refugee crisis, and not faltering or failing in serving vulnerable Moldovans, through a better developed, standardised and needs-centered social welfare system.
Our commitment extends to developing and strengthening support services for families, focusing on preventing separation, promoting family-type services, and enhancing cross-sectoral cooperation to eliminate violence, neglect, and exploitation of children. UNICEF is steadfast in addressing the challenges of preventing the institutionalization of children, including those with disabilities.
We know that poverty, especially in rural areas, remains a significant concern – and, at times, a driver of all these risks to children. While financial support is undeniably crucial given that the absolute poverty rate among rural children stood at 40.5% in 2022, it is also not enough. A holistic provision of social services ensures a full cycle of care, addressing the spectrum of needs from prevention to assistance and post-service monitoring.
Balancing financial aid with a robust social services framework, what we refer to as "cash plus care," forms the bedrock of our commitment to building communities that thrive with comprehensive support and sustainable development. This strategy not only enhances the immediate well-being of children and families but also fosters long-term resilience and self-sufficiency.
In the context of the humanitarian development nexus, where the intersection of immediate relief and long-term development is paramount, the building of human resource capacities, professional supervision, and certification of professional competence are equally important, as they guarantee the uniform development of essential social services nationwide. That means offering the same quality services for children and their families no matter where they live.
Today, we are looking back at the last 18 months, at our response as we navigated the complex realities presented by the influx of refugees from Ukraine – in need of food, shelter, psychological support and other essential services, compounded with the energy crisis in Moldova – and we are reflecting on the most important lessons we have learned as we move forward. If I were to distil all our lessons into one it would be this: the reality is that the core of social and protection services are the frontliners, the social workers and child protection teams – without them, there would be no services.
Despite the persistent shortages and turnover of personnel, and the modest financial motivation that they receive, from August 2022-2023, social workers alone provided support to more than 170 thousand children, including nearly 25 thousand refugee children. That is why we embraced what we call a no-regrets approach and we invested in these frontliners in our attempt to facilitate their daily work, and safeguard the protection of children. We will continue to do so to the best of our capacities in the coming year, with support and top ups to those in service and seeking to identify and recruit more community child protection specialists.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I cannot stress enough the importance of integrating the child welfare initiatives into the broader national agenda. In the larger context of Moldova's commitment to European integration, we pledge our support in strengthening the social welfare and child protection system in accordance with European standards, integrating national legislation with the EU acquis, and ensuring the full respect of human rights in compliance with international treaties and best practices.
Our sincere gratitude to the donors who have supported the enhancement of the social welfare and child protection system so far and I commend the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection for its proactive involvement and initiative in our bilateral partnership, and in leading this ambitious and necessary social sector reform. My appreciation to the territorial structures of social assistance for their efforts at the local level, ensuring that welfare measures are implemented in the best interests of the child. Thank you all.
And thank you for your attention.
