The Chisinau City Hall, UNICEF Moldova and the Alliance of Active NGOs in the Field of Social Protection of Family and Child signed a memorandum for consolidating the municipal children’s rights protection system on August 3, IPN reports.
This way, UNICEF will support a project to assess the way in which the municipal children’s rights protection system meets the needs of vulnerable children. An assessment report and a roadmap are to be worked out and endorsed by the Chisinau Municipal Council by the end of this year. The project will be implemented by the Alliance of Active NGOs in the Field of Social Protection of Family and Child.
Acting mayor of Chisinau Ruslan Codreanu said the signing of the memorandum is very important as the municipal child protection systems has been continuously reformed during 20 years. Even so, problems continue to be experienced as regards the protection of street children. “We want a Municipal Children’s Rights Protection Division that would promptly react to all the needs and requests so as to ensure the safety of children in difficulty,” he stated.
“We are glad to be here together and to establish a long-term partnership that can bring swift, efficient and high-quality services for children,” stated UNICEF Representative in Moldova Desiree Jongsma, expressing her hope that this promising initiative has all the necessary ingredients for bringing tangible results not only for the children in Chisinau, but also for those all over the country.
Liliana Rotaru, president of the Alliance of Active NGOs in the Field of Social Protection of Family and Child, said Chisinau is a city that offers advantages and benefits, but also generates many challenges for families with many children or families in situations of risk. “We hope to have this map in front of us in six months,” stated Liliana Rotaru, referring to the documents that are to be drawn up.
The project is an initiative aimed at developing better social child protection services at the local level. It matches the UNICEF priorities for 2018-2022 to protect children from exploitation and violence and to prevent abandonment, separation from the family and neglect.
More than 5,000 children annually benefit from the services of the municipal children’s rights protection system.
