UNICEF Moldova

📢 Breastfeeding matters - and the right policies make it possible. From 27–31 October at the Institute of Mother and Child, experts from across the country are strengthening, monitoring, and enforcing the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes to protect breastfeeding in the Republic of Moldova. 👩⚕️ Pediatricians, neonatologists, family doctors, hygienists, and epidemiologists are learning how to apply and monitor the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes - so that aggressive marketing doesn’t sway parents’ decisions. Dr. Susanna Harutyunyan, an international breastfeeding promotion expert, is explaining the Code’s provisions, how to put them into practice, how monitoring works, and the role of health workers in upholding the Code and protecting breastfeeding. Participants are also discussing the risks of artificial feeding and how marketing influences parental choices. 📍 The event is organized in partnership with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Moldova, UNICEF, and the “Sante” Association of Pediatric Pulmonologists - joining expertise and resources to promote responsible breastfeeding policies and practices. Together, we protect, promote, and support breastfeeding—a direct investment in children’s health and families’ well-being 💙 #ForEveryChild #Breastfeeding #MaternalAndChildHealth

On New Year’s Eve, Iulia and her husband left Ukraine - now in its second year of war - and crossed the border in search of safety, hope, and a place they could once again call “home.” 🤰In Chișinău, they received the news they’d been waiting for: “Soon after, we found out we were going to be parents. In Ukraine, I couldn’t get pregnant, probably because of the stress.” Iulia chose to give birth at the Institute of Mother and Child. In Moldova, one essential factor made the decision easier from the start: refugee women from Ukraine 🇺🇦 can give birth free of charge in public hospitals, with costs covered by UNICEF and supported by the Government of Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea 🇰🇷. 💬“This doesn’t just help young families - it rescues you when you don’t know where to turn. The staff are very responsive. Most importantly, there’s no language barrier. It’s comforting to know you can call anytime for advice. People understand you and are ready to help,” says Iulia. 🔗Read the story of the Ciumac family and their son, Vladislav, born in Chișinău: https://shorturl.at/IhwOT

After months of fear and uncertainty, Irina and Artiom, together with their nine children, found in Nisporeni the peace they thought they had lost. From the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine to the Refugee Accommodation Centre in #Moldova, their journey was long but filled with hope. 🕊️ 🗣️ “My children are my strength. When they’re home, there’s peace,” says Iryna with a smile. With support from the European Union, #UNICEF, AVE Copiii, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the Ludoteca in Nisporeni offers refugee children daily educational, recreational, and psychosocial support activities. It is a place where play, learning, and safety come together, and where the feeling of home is reborn. The story of the Boghiu-Pasenco family reflects the joint effort to provide every #refugee child with a safe and stable environment. 💙 In Moldova, thousands of refugee children are rediscovering the joy of growing up without fear. Since the beginning of the war, more than 1.8 million refugees have entered the Republic of Moldova, and nearly half of the 135,000 refugees currently living in the country are #children. 📖 Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/d9A6dt9U

👩🏫“I’ll never forget my first day as a teacher. I walked into the classroom full of emotions, realizing that everything I had studied at university was so different from the reality of school life. The children looked at me with curiosity, and I asked myself: Will I manage? Very quickly, I understood that the gap between theory and practice is huge… without support, I would have felt lost.” - Ecaterina Ciubeică, primary school teacher at “Mihai Viteazul” Gymnasium, Strășeni. 💙What helped Ecaterina find her confidence was the mentoring programme, an initiative through which experienced teachers become guides for those just starting out. The support, advice, and encouragement she received from her mentor, Aurelia, made all the difference: they turned her early-stage anxiety into confidence, courage, and a desire to grow. 🤝With financial support from the European Union in the Republic of Moldova, #UNICEF contributes to strengthening the culture of mentoring in schools across the country. This includes training sessions, experience exchanges, and the development of a national network of mentors coordinated by the National Institute for Education and Leadership. The initiative is part of the programme “Promoting Quality Education and Lifelong Learning Opportunities for All,” implemented by #UNICEF and UNDP Moldova in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova, with financial support from the European Union. 👉 Read the full story of Ecaterina and Aurelia and discover how mentoring is transforming schools from within: https://lnkd.in/dPmHfSjx

1 in 5 students in Moldova face bullying every week — most often physical, and in the remaining cases, verbal. When we speak openly about it, fear and labels begin to fade, making room for empathy and the courage to step in. 💙 Since 2024, UNICEF, Ministerul Educației și Cercetării al Republicii Moldova, and the Republican Center for Psycho-Pedagogical Assistance have run the “Learning Together” campaign to promote the inclusion of children with disabilities and special educational needs, as well as refugee students and those from ethnic minorities. Students travel across the country with social theatre performances: they bring real school situations to the stage and invite their peers to become part of the solution - as spectators, actors, and authors of change 🎭 Dialog Alternativ organizes the social theatre shows with support from the Government of Norway Norad - Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. Since its launch, approximately 5,000 students and 190 teachers from 40 schools have participated in the performances. Students’ confidence to intervene when they witness bullying has increased from 50.8% to 87.6%. An inclusive school is built together — students, teachers, parents, community 🤝

🛡️ Every child deserves safety. 💙 Every survivor deserves support. In Moldova, 2 in 5 women have experienced physical or sexual violence since the age of 15. Even more alarming, 10% of children have been subjected to sexual violence. To strengthen the national response, #UNICEF, together with the NGO ”Health for Youth”, has trained 390 professionals across justice, health, education, and social sectors to provide survivor-centered care for children. 🤝 📚 These trainings were delivered by 16 certified trainers who completed an international Training of Trainers program, ensuring alignment with global standards.🌍 The Assistance for Child Survivors of Sexual Violence (ACS) package was adapted to Moldova’s context to reinforce a coordinated, empathetic, and rights-based response for all children and adolescents, including refugees. Together, we’re building safer spaces and better services for those who need them most. 🌟 This initiative is part of the #UNICEFMoldova – #UNFPA joint programme “Break the cycle of violence against children and women”, supported by the UK Government through Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and implemented in partnership with NEOVITA, the Ministry of Health, and the National Agency for Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Family Violence.  ➡️ Find out more in the press release: https://lnkd.in/dAXxEzYr   #ChildProtection

At the end of a quiet country road in Cimișlia, a modest building in the village of Javgur 🏥 has become a place of hope and growth. What used to be a small treatment room is now an Early Childhood Development Office - a warm, colorful space 💙 where health is learned through play, where parents find guidance and trust, and where every child is supported to thrive. 🥼 “For remote communities, any support feels like a blessing. We are grateful when someone remembers us and invests in a healthy future for our children,” says Dr. Elena Ciobanu, family doctor and Head of the Javgur Health Center. With support from the Government of Germany, through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) & German Development Bank KfW, and in partnership with Lumos Moldova, UNICEF established this space to bring health care, counseling, and early intervention services closer to home - for every child, including those from refugee families. 🌻 In Javgur, a small blue room proves that meaningful change often begins in the most modest places - where compassion meets care, and prevention becomes part of everyday life. 📖 Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/dDgxvejN #ForEveryChild #EarlyChildhoodDevelopment #SocialImpact #HealthForAll #CommunityCare #RefugeeResponse Mariana Rotaru; Lorenz Gessner; Lea Stuff; Maha Damaj; Angela Capcelea; Sergiu Gutu; Jonas Rathfelder; Dr. Verena Zell Hans Rieck;

🚨 From sirens to school bells: Cristina’s journey is one shared by many mothers fleeing war in search of safety and dignity. When rockets hit her hometown of Shabo, southern #Ukraine, Cristina made a life-changing decision: to leave everything behind and protect her children. They arrived in Moldova in 2022, with no plan, just hope. Today, her daughter Eva and son Vlasii are enrolled in school in Chișinău, building new memories in classrooms, not under tables. 🏫 👩🏫 Cristina now works as a social pedagogue at the Divertis Centre with AVE Copiii, helping refugee and local children through play, learning, and psychosocial support.  💬 “Work gave me more than a salary, it gave me purpose. I didn’t wait for pity. I asked questions, solved problems, and grew stronger,” Cristina shares. Cristina’s journey is more than a story of survival, it’s one of #transformation: from fleeing war to rebuilding daily routines, from living in fear to finding stability, and from temporary shelter to a meaningful, integrated life in Moldova. #UNICEF and the European Union, together with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Moldova and AO AVE Copiii, are making this possible through the project “Children First: Protection and Support”. 🧒 Through 25 #child-friendly spaces across the country, more than 590 children, both local and refugee receive daily support.  This is what integration looks like:  - Schools that welcome, not separate; 📚   - Jobs that offer purpose, not pity; 💼   - Days shaped by routines, not alarms. 🏠 For Cristina, success is simple: that her children remember a school recital in Chișinău, not the whistle of rockets. Let’s keep working toward a #Moldova where every child has a reason to dream again.🧡 👉 Read more about Cristina's story: https://lnkd.in/dnxhXjXy #UNICEFMoldova #ForEveryChild #ChildProtection #RefugeeVoices #AVEcopiii #SocialInclusion  

🌍 Around 412 million children worldwide live in extreme poverty (on less than ~3 USD a day), and nearly 900 million face multidimensional poverty — lacking essential needs such as food, water, education, or healthcare. In Moldova, according to the latest 2024 data from the National Bureau of Statistics: ➡️ 1 in 3 children lives in absolute monetary poverty, ➡️ and 17% experience extreme poverty. 🧒 No child should have to choose between food, school, or health. Today, we call on the international community and the private sector to join our efforts to break the cycle of poverty through: ✅ Strategic financing of social protection programmes for children and families; ✅ Sustainable investments in early education, healthcare, and safe housing; ✅ Innovative partnerships that bring expertise, know-how, and digital solutions for social inclusion. 🤝 Through lasting and trusted partnerships, we can turn UNICEF’s initiatives from plans into tangible realities for the most vulnerable children. 💙 #ChildrenCannotWait - they deserve action now. #EndChildPoverty #InternationalDayForEradicationOfPoverty #ForEveryChild

🎉 New hope for young children in #Chișinău.   Children aged 0-5 with developmental delays or disabilities now have access to free, specialized early intervention services right in a public medical facility. In September, #UNICEFMoldova, in partnership with Lumos Moldova and with generous support from the Government of Norway (via Norad - Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation in Moldova), inaugurated the first Early Childhood Intervention Centre integrated into a public health institution in the capital: AMT Centru Chișinău. 🏥 At the new center:  - Children benefit from early assessment and personalized #therapy;  - Parents receive professional guidance and emotional support;  - Multidisciplinary teams provide care through a child-centered approach;  - A sensory room fosters learning through play in a safe and inclusive space. 💬 “Every child has the right to a hopeful start in life. This centre is more than a service, it's a promise to families who need support the most,” said Angela Capcelea, Health Specialist at UNICEF Moldova. The first three years are crucial for a child’s #development. By identifying risks early and offering professional support, this initiative helps prevent or reduce long-term difficulties and builds brighter futures for Moldova’s youngest citizens. 🧠 This effort is part of #UNICEF’s broader program to expand early childhood intervention services across the country, with centers already active in Fălești, Cimișlia, and 12 development offices in other districts. Together with national authorities, Lumos, and our donors, we bring services closer to families. 🤝 👉 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/deemrBpP #ForEveryChild #EarlyIntervention #ChildDevelopment #HealthForAll #Inclusion #SocialProtection