Artiom Sici, UNICEF Specialist in Social Policies

Thousands of children and their families live on the brink of existence in Moldova. More than 10% are extremely poor, lacking basic human rights including food, clean drinking water, sanitation, healthcare, shelter, and education.

In 2022, more than 100,000 children benefited from social protection benefits and financial allowances. However, in the last five years, the minimum subsistence level for children has increased by 42%.

We discussed how we can improve the lives of children and their families with Artiom Sici, UNICEF Specialist in Social Policies. Artiom joined the team with 12 years of experience in social protection, mainly acquired internationally within UN agencies. Throughout his career, he has worked on social protection projects in various regions and countries (such as Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan). Additionally, Artiom served as Secretary of State for Social Protection at the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection in Moldova.

What is the focus of your work at UNICEF as a Specialist in Social Policies?

In general, my main purpose, which is also one of the objectives outlined in UNICEF's mandate for the period 2023-2027, is to provide the necessary support to develop policies aimed at reducing child poverty. The social protection system must be managed in a way that all those considered vulnerable to social risks have access to necessary social services, cash benefits, public services, and other facilities.

What are UNICEF's priorities in the social sector?

One of the priorities is to maintain the support we already provide for the implementation of the RESTART reform, as well as to identify the additional actions needed to improve the social protection system and the efficient management of public finances for children's needs.

We have several concrete actions we aim to implement, including aligning social protection with European standards, as well as developing new mechanisms that currently require significant improvement. For example, one of the mechanisms is the digitalization of social protection or the integration of new vulnerable categories into the national social protection system. The system needs to be improved to respond to new types of crises, such as those related to climate change and those caused by people (armed conflicts and wars).

Furthermore, we need to ensure that there are efficient implementation mechanisms, which would involve ensuring that the rights stipulated in social protection legislation are respected. This requires an independent and transparent mechanism. For example, a mechanism that guarantees that if a person disagrees with the service provided, does not understand why the service was provided in a certain way, does not know if such services exist, or assumes they do but does not know how to access them, the citizen could request a review of the service provided. 

Do UNICEF's objectives align with those of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection?

Social protection is very important for children in Moldova, as evidenced by the budget allocated to this area. Nearly 40% of the national budget was allocated to social protection in 2022.

Last year and this year, the Ministry has stated several times that one of its top priorities is reducing poverty among children. However, the situation of children varies significantly depending on their place of residence. In rural areas, children are exposed to a much higher risk of poverty than children in cities. In 2022, the absolute poverty rate among children in rural areas was over 40.5%, compared to 14.9% for children in urban areas. These are extreme challenges, and UNICEF, along with its partners, has them as top priorities.

With the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and the refugee crisis in Moldova, we began to apply a quite innovative approach for our country - to provide budget support. This helps us ensure that the policies we develop together with our partners are financially supported.

What social protection projects are on UNICEF's agenda?

With the support of the Swiss Government, we are implementing a unique project for the Republic of Moldova. For the first time, we had the opportunity to include new categories in the national social protection system, such as refugees from Ukraine with temporary protection. Through this measure, we ensured that persons from Ukraine who have taken refuge in our country following the war, especially children, have access to national social protection services. This is an innovation for Moldova.

Currently, refugees with temporary protection benefit from a childcare allowance from 0 to 2 years - 1000 lei/month, a one-time childbirth allowance - 20,000 lei, and a disability allowance for children.

Likewise, one of UNICEF's key actions is the RESTART Reform, planned for four years and set to be implemented until 2026. Within this project, we are working on a systemic reform that the country has not experienced in the last 30 years. It is an extremely important reform for Moldova, which sets major goals and expectations for the national social protection system.

We aim to reorganize the social protection structure, especially social assistance, to identify the basic social services to be provided at the local level for vulnerable groups, and to develop an efficient and inclusive method to proactively identify beneficiaries without them having to apply for a certain social service. 

How do we measure the effectiveness of social policies? How do we ensure we are doing things right?

It is a complex question, and of course, we cannot refer only to quantitative indicators, such as the population's poverty rate. In the Republic of Moldova, one of the indicators that speaks about success in the field of social policies is the adoption of legislation, which is subsequently put into practice. For us, success is when the technical assistance provided to the Government translates into legislation and is adhered to.

You mentioned that one of the indicators for measuring results in the social sector is child poverty. Can we talk about positive results in this area?

Unfortunately, due to multiple crises, poverty not only among children but also among adults has increased. In 2022, the overall poverty rate was 31.1%, children were poor at 28.4%, four percentage points higher than in 2021. It is a negative result, but I believe this indicator could have been much higher if the Ministry, the Government, UN agencies, and other institutions had not collaborated to develop social policies oriented towards the well-being of the population. At least we can be proud that we managed to mitigate a major increase in this indicator, and of course, we continue to make efforts to reduce poverty across the country. Our goal is to reduce child poverty to 22% by 2027. 

Are UNICEF's efforts in the social sector exclusively focused on children?

Children are at the center of the assistance provided by UNICEF. However, we have a quite flexible approach, so we work with families and households with children. The policies we develop are also aimed at members who have a direct connection with children. For us, the final impact on the child is what matters, regardless of the family structure in which they live. For UNICEF, it is imperative that every child has access to a decent life, education, health, and social protection.

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UNICEF thanks the Government of Switzerland for the support provided in strengthening the social protection and child protection systems in the Republic of Moldova.