The authorities should analyze the learned lessons as regards the ensuring of medical and social assistance for the vulnerable groups of people during the COVID-19 pandemic and should adjust the policies in this regard, by including resilience measures for the emergency period. They should also create conditions for improving access to information that is useful to the persons with different types of disabilities, recommends a study carried out by the Alliance of Organizations for Persons with Disabilities of the Republic of Moldova and Keystone Human Services International Moldova.

Within the study, almost 50% of the persons with disabilities said they didn’t have access to information about the pandemic, while 51% said they felt much more nervous in the period.

In a news conference at IPN, Keystone Moldova project coordinator Natalia Cojocaru said a part of the study centered on focus groups with representatives of civil society organizations. The representatives of the organizations said that mainly the persons with sensory and intellectual disabilities have limited access to public information, while in some of the cases the access is fully absent. According to them, there are several important information areas, namely as regards the determination or confirmation of the disability degree. Among other areas are the payment of social benefits and the right to work.

In the period, the civil society organizations managed to provide support to persons with disabilities and their families. They offered essential products, such as food, hygiene products and drugs, and provided distance services, online or by phone. The beneficiaries were informed about COVID-19 and protection methods. The persons with disabilities were offered psychological support, legal assistance and guidance, including for parents who look after children with disabilities.

The Alliance’s executive director Galina Klimov said social assistance personnel management policies should be developed in crisis periods. Also, groups of experts should be created in the social assistance sector to assist the central public authorities in working out methodological instructions and guidebooks for different vulnerable groups of people.

The study authors consider the central and local public authorities should cooperate with civil society so as to combine forces and more efficiently plan the measures aimed at supporting the vulnerable groups during the state of emergency.