Health
UNICEF works to improve children’s health and nutrition in Moldova
The challenge
In partnership with the government and other stakeholders, UNICEF supports creating healthy lives for children by firstly focusing on the well-being of pregnant women and the safe delivery of their children through increased knowledge of child health care and improved access to health services.
As a result, child mortality has reduced remarkably, but the rate of under-five deaths is still high.
One in five child deaths at home in Moldova is from preventable diseases.
Poor nutrition is also linked to poverty. Because the poorest families struggle to provide sufficient food, one third of poor women and children are anaemic. The poorest children are two times more likely to be anaemic and four times more likely to be stunted - too short for their age - than the wealthiest ones.
While the vaccination threshold is still high in Moldova, there are signs of decreasing inoculation among urban families.
Finally, in Moldova the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among young people is high and adolescents’ lack of sufficient knowledge and risky behaviours make them particularly vulnerable.
The solution
UNICEF contributes to the training of health workers on child and maternal health care nationwide, enabling them to provide better quality services and communicate with parents about danger signs in pregnancy and child health, in addition to development milestones.
UNICEF supports motivating social and health workers to identify and provide additional services to vulnerable children and pregnant women. UNICEF Moldova pays special attention to the role of home-visiting nurses in child development, while linking families with referral systems and other social services to strengthen nurturing care.
While the vaccination threshold is still high in Moldova, there are signs of decreasing inoculation among urban families.
In Moldova adolescents lack sufficient knowledge and risky behaviours make them particularly vulnerable.
UNICEF advocates for breastfeeding and other good nutrition practices, such as salt iodization and flour fortification with iron.