Ukrainian refugees to benefit from free of charge reproductive health services

Chisinau, 19 April /MOLDPRES/ - The people refugees from Ukraine starting from today will benefit from free of charge medical assistance in the reproductive health sector at all medical centres of Moldova, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.  

The United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) has taken over the financing services which were earlier compensated by the state. Thus, just as the citizens of Moldova, Ukrainian women will continue to receive assistance for free before and after birth, as well as services dealing with family planning, births, Caesarian sections, treatment of diverse infections, carrying out of the cytological test for the prevention of the cervical cancer.    

Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita and UNFPA Resident Representative in Moldova Nigina Abaszada made statements to this effect at a visit to the Cimislia district hospital.  

The spending is to be covered by UNFPA, through the National Health Insurances Company (CNAM), based on an agreement on budgetary support between the two institutions.    

During discussions with the hospital’s medical staff, the PM stressed that, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the cabinet had put emphasis on ensuring the access to medical assistance for the refugees. The Commission for Emergency Situations (CSE), in its decisions, established that all refugees from Ukraine would receive emergency medical aid. ‘’Our efforts to this end will continue, in order to provide to people an as wide as possible spectrum of medical services, to which they can appeal for free. Starting from today, we enjoy also the support of our partners within UNFPA or the taking over of this range of expenses implies that we will be able to redirect the budget money for providing quality medical services to our citizens,’’ Natalia Gavrilita said.    

For her part, Nigina Abaszada appreciated the quick answer of the government to the refugees’ crisis and the authorities’ efforts to ensure the access of people who flee the war to the essential health services. ‘’Women get pregnant and give birth including in crisis time or war situation and their right to health and qualitative medical assistance must be guaranteed. To meet the specific needs of women refugees of reproductive age, of pregnant women and girls teenagers, UNFPA supports the government, so that each woman or girl can continue their lives with dignity,’’ Nigina Abaszada said.      

Sixty five per cent of the Ukrainian refugees are women and 25,000 of them are of reproductive age. At the same time, according to UNFPA’s estimations, 1,760 women are pregnant and 590 of them will give birth in the next three months.     

Photo: Government