Integrating health and communication to achieve better results for routine and COVID-19 immunization in Moldova

About

Strengthened health systems and community engagement are essential for reaching the most marginalised children and women, sustaining progress, and  increasing the resilience of both delivery systems and communities. Although COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the lives of people in Moldova and across the world,  the fact that the pandemic kick started the momentum to upgrade the national cold chain infrastructure, build capacity of its national health workforce, and develop the COVID-19 vaccination registry has meant a positive outcome for both COVID-19 vaccination and routine immunization activities. With a strengthened system  in place, including a robust data monitoring that will be expanded further to capture COVID-19 vaccination of children aged 5–11 years and routine immunization, and with strong community outreach activities, government can start to rebuild the population’s trust in vaccines. The strengthened supply chain and enhanced capacity of health workers through trainings are helping to advance the immunization landscape in Moldova. Additionally, innovations such as the ‘Health bus’ demonstrate the potential of how integrating efforts  can lead to improved health outcomes for children  and families.