CHILDREN OF MOLDOVA
unite for children
Moldova is a small Eastern European country,
slightly larger than Belgium. Bordering the
European Union, Moldova is located between
Romania and Ukraine.
The population of Moldova is largely rural;
65% of all children live in villages, where
services are fewer and poverty much more
common than in the cities. Family and national
income remains low: in per person terms,
about the same as Bolivia. Employment is
scarce and greater opportunities elsewhere
beckon: Moldova has one of the highest rates
of migration in the world, and children often
remain at home with relatives.
CHILDREN OF MOLDOVA
The country gained its independence from the
Soviet Union in 1991. It is home to some 3.5
million people; over 20% are under 18 years.
An additional half million people, including
over 100,000 children, live in the breakaway
region of Transnistria. The country sees itself
as part of Europe; though still has far to go to
create the living conditions and opportunities
for its children that are norm in the region.
The population of Moldova is largely rural;
65% of all children live in villages, where
services are fewer and poverty much more
common than in the cities. Family and national
income remains low: in per person terms,
about the same as Bolivia. Employment is
scarce and greater opportunities elsewhere
beckon: Moldova has one of the highest rates
of migration in the world, and children often
remain at home with relatives.
The country gained its independence from the
Soviet Union in 1991. It is home to some 3.5
million people; over 20% are under 18 years.
An additional half million people, including
over 100,000 children, live in the breakaway
region of Transnistria. The country sees itself
as part of Europe; though still has far to go to
create the living conditions and opportunities
for its children that are norm in the region.
Moldova is a small Eastern European country,
slightly larger than Belgium. Bordering the
European Union, Moldova is located between
Romania and Ukraine.
unite for children
Special Challenges
Protecting the rights of children in Moldova means paying attention to the most widespread or serious risks they face. A
few of these are described below, along with some examples.
Marginalisation and discrimination – Economic growth
and improved services often fail to reach those most excluded from society. The poorest children, children with disabilities and Roma children are worst off.
x Over four in ten Roma children do not attend school
x More than sixty percent of children with disabilities do
not attend school
x Children from poor families seek medical care half as
often as children from non-poor families
Migration and lack of family care – Many parents can nd
work only outside the country, leaving children with family
but often without the emotional support they need. And
for poor families without migrant parents, residential care
remains too commonly used.
x Twenty percent of Moldovan children grow up without
the care of one or both parents due to migration or
family breakdown
x Ninety-seven percent of children in institutions are not
parentless
Violence, abuse and trafcking – Moldova is one of the
main countries of origin for women and children trafcked
for sexual exploitation to other parts of Europe, Russia and
the Middle East. Violence at home is widespread and fuels
the trafcking trade.
x Eighty percent of trafcking victims from Moldova
were exposed to family violence as children
x Children who grow up in institutions are ten times
more likely to be trafcked than other children
United Nations Children’s Fund in Moldova
131, 31 August 1989 Street, UN House, Chisinau, Moldova
Telephone: 373 22 220 034; Facsimile: 373 22 220 244
E-mail: [email protected]
www.unicef.md
Lack of services for adolescents – Limited access to
information and services means that adolescents are increasingly vulnerable to risky practices in sexual behavior
and drug usage and to falling outside the law through petty
crime.
x Five percent of youth aged 15 – 24 report their rst
sexual experience as forced
x Only fty percent of adolescents with a health related
problem used medical services
Despite these challenges, Moldova is committed to change.
UNICEF works hand in hand with Government, communities, civil society and, of course, children to help create a
brighter future. Our work focuses on:
x Health and nutrition
x Education
x Child Protection
x Social Policy and Advocacy
Structure or child population by presence of parents
17%
One or both
parents are absent
from the household due to the
other reasons
67%
Both parents
living in the
household
16%
One or both parents
are absent from the
household due to migration
Source: Household
Budget Survey, 2009
Child Population, as of 1 January 2011
Moldova on the map
Children under 18 - 745.606
(21% of total population)
35%
Urban
65%
Rural
Alexandra Yuster,
UNICEF Representative
for Moldova
“Moldova is a small and young country, previously
the smallest of the Soviet republics. The poorest
country in Europe, Moldova is home to nearly one
million children who face challenges very different
from most of their European peers.
A typical Moldovan child lives in a rural area, in a
house with no inside toilet or running water. The
poorest families are those with many children,
and in winter when their own crops are no longer
available, they struggle to buy sufcient food and
pay for heating fuel – much needed in the cold
winters here. Moldova was hard hit by the global
economic crisis, and such families suffer the most.
Most children attend school, and the small class
size might lead us to think they are getting a high
quality education. But improvements are long
overdue: few teachers have been trained in the
child friendly techniques that we know makes
learning more effective as well as enjoyable; most
schools have only outside toilets and poor quality
drinking water, and parent participation is not yet
the norm. And of course, ‘most’ is not ‘all’: children
with disabilities and from ethnic minorities are frequently excluded or discouraged, and end up with
little or no education.
Another big challenge for Moldovan children is
the ‘parent drain’. Even very young children are
frequently raised by grandparents or neighbours,
their parents having migrated in search of work.
The impact of parents’ absence is felt by teenagers too, who struggle without their guidance: all
the more grave in a country with a growing HIV
epidemic, concerns about drug and alcohol abuse,
and notable trafcking risks for young people.
Far too many children continue to grow up in institutions, a legacy of the past. Almost 7,000 children
call such places home. Children with disabilities
are especially over represented.
Despite these challenges, Moldova is also a place
where it is possible to make a difference. The government has made strong public commitments to
supporting the poorest families through revamped
social protection; moving children back to their
families and redirecting funds towards community
social services – steps which will also help in the
ght against trafcking. Health authorities are
working to expand Youth Friendly Health Services
throughout the country.
UNICEF has encouraged and witnessed growing
commitment to children from teachers, doctors,
parents, community leaders and government.
We support NGOs and Moldovan authorities to develop their vision. We encourage our partners to nd
out the truth and use evidence to invest in the best
policies and programmes; and to use their resources
wisely. We support the involvement of children,
parents and communities in deciding what is needed
and making it work. We work directly with children’s
groups, to help them express themselves, and be
vocal about their concerns.
Moldova is at a turning point, and there has never
been a better time to invest in its children. We
hope you enjoy learning about the lives of children
here, and continue to support their dreams for a
better tomorrow”.
Source: National Bureau of Statistics
Progress and Challenges
Poverty and living conditions
General statistics about Moldova paint a somewhat encouraging picture, with a modestly growing economy and poverty
in slow, but steady decline. These benets though do not
reach all, and children are often last in line. Overall, about
one quarter of Moldovans live in poverty; but this rate rises
quickly for children in rural areas, from large families, or living
in single parent households.
Half of Moldovan children are raised on less than 2.5 dollars
per day.
Child Poverty
60
53,3
50
37,7
40
31,5
30
20
10
12,8
13,6
0
Child poverty
URBAN
Child poverty
RURAL
Households
with 3 and
more children
CITIES
Households
with 3 and
more children
TOWNS
Households
with 3 and
more children
RURAL
Source: Household Budget Survey, 2009
Daily features of a child’s life are an interesting mix of old and
new: cell phones are common everywhere, and one in three
people use the internet. Meanwhile, only ve percent of rural
families with children have inside toilets, and even running water is a rarity, enjoyed by less than one in four such families.
Differences between village and city life are especially apparent in the winter, when unpaved roads turn to mud or ice, and
poor indoor heating as well outdoor sanitary facilities create
additional hardship.
Health and Nutrition
Children in Moldova benet from universal health insurance
and a well-developed health system, which continues to look
for ways to improve. As a result Moldova has a lower child
mortality rate than other countries of similar economic levels,
and good rates of immunization as well as antenatal care.
Progress is uneven however and much remains to be done.
Mortality rates in rural areas are much higher than in the cities. A poor child or a child from the Roma community is less
likely to have access to health services and more likely to die
young. Although health care for children is free, medicines
must be paid for by the family for children over age ve, and
is often beyond the reach of poor parents. Also, parents often
lack knowledge of the signs of ill health, and may not seek
care in time.
Poor nutrition is a risk for many Moldovan children. One
in seven children from the poorest families shows signs of
chronic malnutrition (stunting) which in turn affects their ability
to learn and earn later in life. Poor families struggle to provide sufcient nutritious food for their children. Iodine and iron
deciencies are present in Moldova and are more prevalent
amongst poor rural families.
While data is generally lacking for the Transnistria region,
both access to health care and the quality of care provided
tend to be lower, and thus the risks even higher for the children who live there.
HIV remains a concern in Moldova, particularly for
young people. Rates in Transnistria are particularly high.
The introduction of Youth Friendly Health Services has
been an important step in the right direction, and needs to
continue, hand in hand with greater openness and support for
adolescents’ development and decision making by parents,
teachers and other adults.
Education and Early Learning
Moldova is working to improve the quality of its schools and
increase access to early learning. Good progress has been
achieved in modernizing the curriculum and introducing child
centred teaching methods. Access to pre-school education
has also increased in recent years to over 75%.
Despite these gains education remains an area where
Moldovan children are far behind their peers in many ways,
and far from the European standards the country seeks.
Primary school enrollment has declined in the last ten years
to only 90%.
Children most likely to be out of school are those from poor
families, those with special needs and those from minority
groups such as the Roma community. Forty three per cent
of Roma children aged 7 – 15 are not enrolled in school. The
pre-school attendance disparity is stark with over 90% of
urban children attending falling to just over 60% in rural areas.
The quality of education overall has also declined. Many
teachers lack appropriate training and schools are ill equipped
with out dated text books and limited resources. Most schools
are in a poor state of repair, and in rural areas in particular
water and sanitation are dismal.
Child Protection
Children everywhere are exposed to risks from which they
need to be protected. Issues of particular concern in Moldova
include high rates of alcohol and drug use, family violence,
and trafcking. These risks are compounded by the absence
of parents for many, often due to migration, and the lack of
sufcient services to support families.
As is common in the region, Moldova has traditionally relied on
institutionalization of children as a protection measure. Poverty
and limited family support services at community level led to
placement of thousands of children from poor families and of
children with disabilities in residential care. This is beginning to
change, and the country has made great progress in reforming
the system; with 40% fewer children in residential care now
than just four years ago. But overall numbers are still high, and
young children and those with disabilities or special needs are
particularly affected. System reform is far less developed in
Transnistria, where the proportion of children living in residential care may be among the highest in the world.
Corporal punishment remains common in Moldovan society
and violence still continues at school and in families. Physical
punishment and verbal humiliation is still considered by teachers an acceptable method of disciplining children in schools.
Many parents also resort to beating as a form of disciplining
or punishing the children. Corporal punishment is used even
with children less than one year. By the age of 6 or 7, more
than half of children have experienced beating.
Moldova has made progress in its treatment of child offenders,
and the numbers sentenced to prison has declined. Progress
is still needed to avoid long stays in detention awaiting trial,
and to provide good alternative services to help children stay
on the right track. And while the country has recognized the
need for more child friendly procedures by law enforcement
and judges in dealing with child victims, little has been done
to bring these about.