The cooperation between the medical entities of Romania and the Republic of Moldova to develop joint projects in the medical field in order to obtain European funds is an important and beneficial initiative for both countries. Through joint projects, the medical entities will have the opportunity to use the available resources, to exchange good practices, to contribute to the improvement of the health systems in both countries. The purpose of this cooperation is to increase access to quality medical services for citizens on both banks of the Prut River and to make use of the financial resources available through the agency of European funds. The participants in IPN’s public debate “Cooperation in healthcare sector between entities from both banks of the Prut River in order to absorb European funds in mixed Moldovan-Romanian teams” discussed the EU instruments and programs intended for the healthcare systems and projects that can be developed within the Moldovan-Romanian cooperation in healthcare.

Oleg Canațui, a member of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, said that in recent years the authorities have invested about 2.4 billion lei in the renovation of municipal and district hospitals. Nine maternity hospitals in were outfitted with modern equipment and about 120 new ambulances were purchased and distributed to districts. Also, 387 million lei was invested in the modernization of the infrastructure of district hospitals after their transfer under the management of the Ministry of Health. All these results would not have been achieved without the support of the foreign development partners, namely the European Union and Romania.

“The Republic of Moldova, as a candidate country for EU membership, has the opportunity to benefit from significant financial resources through the grant programs offered by the EU. That is why it is imperative to learn from Romania’s good practices and adapt them to the context in the Republic of Moldova, to promote cooperation between the institutions we lead in order to create a favorable framework for the efficient absorption of European funds. Interinstitutional partnerships and the exchange of experience with partners in Romania contribute significantly to the achievement of this common goal. Romania went through a similar process, covering a road full of challenges and achievements. Over the years, it has developed strong interinstitutional partnerships that today represent a cornerstone of any sustainable development and efficient use of external funds,” stated Oleg Canațui.

Andrei Uncuța, director of “Timofei Moșneaga” National Clinical Hospital of the Republic of Moldova, said that in fact the cooperation began through interpersonal relationships of the institution’s specialists with counterparts from Romania. Then an invitation to participate in a conference in Buhuși came and a number of issues related to the provision of healthcare and the quality of medical assistance were discussed there. At that time, a large delegation participated in that conference, laying a solid foundation for cooperation with counterparts from Romania, who had already created the Association of Public Hospitals of Romania. “Timofei Moșneaga” Hospital was invited to become a member. Thus, it is the first public medical and sanitary institution in Moldova to become a member of this association of Romania. In this connection, conditions were created for much wider communication with guests at various scientific events and conferences that were organized by the Association of Public Hospitals of Romania, with many more people starting to participate in these conferences.

“At the same time, given that we are a member of the Association of Public Hospitals of Romania, in the Republic of Moldova we continue the rather close cooperation with the Institute for Development and Expertise of Projects. This cooperation with counterparts from Romania and the possibility of benefiting from all the training seminars and programs that IDEP developed was a good sign. In this way, we managed to strengthen the capacities within our institution so that our specialists benefit from specific training in project writing and management. On the other hand, we can get acquainted with the experience of the counterparts from Romania who already had such bodies for many, many years. They had a history of absorbing European funds, implemented projects. In this way, for us, during these two years we had a pretty good occasion to understand, to train and to create preconditions for accessing European funds,” stated Andrei Uncuța

Iurie Calestru, program director at the Institute for Development and Expertise of Projects, said that since 2013, IDEP Moldova has systematically organized training seminars to create skills in various areas, namely in terms of project management. Since 2022, things have changed significantly, following the submission of the application for EU membership by the Republic of Moldova. In that context, IDEP launched monthly training seminars involving experts from Romania, for public institutions, but also for the NGO sector of the Republic of Moldova. The training seminars focused in particular on project management, public procurement within projects with European funding, prevention of irregularities in projects with European funding, etc., From January 2022 until now, about 1,450 participants have been included. The seminars were always combined with practical knowledge and fact-finding visits.

“Of course, we believe that these partnerships and these multifaceted cooperation relations, especially in the healthcare sectors, are urgent. The COVID pandemic also shows that investments in healthcare are particularly important. So, we know well that these efforts and these steps will result in applied projects, won projects, implemented projects and, if you wish, with common support for all the entities, the management teams of institutions, including medical institutions from both banks of the Prut, for absorbing European funds. This would further propel the Republic of Moldova towards this European integration aspiration because all together they will lay the foundation stone to bring the European standards to the institutions, entities, localities of Moldova and through this, European integration will become a natural, normal process,” stated Iurie Calestru.

Silviu-Vasilică Rusu, president of the Association of Public Hospitals of Romania, said that together with his colleagues, they worked and gained experience in attracting EU funds. “At the beginning, when Romania joined the European Union, we were in your situation. And this was the purpose of the Association of Public Hospitals. That’s why it was founded as only together we can succeed. We have gained a lot of experience in attracting European funds... During seven days we managed to submit eight projects and I hope that from these eight projects, we can get a higher score,” stated Silviu-Vasilică Rusu.

First vice-president of the Association of Public Hospitals of Romania Olimpia-Maria Oprea said that she has been working for over 30 years at the Timisoara Municipal Emergency Clinical Hospital and her history with European funds began in 2009. It was then that she was involved in a €5 million project regarding equal opportunities. “It was a challenge to write the first project and it was a Romania-Hungary cross-border project. The big surprise was that a project written by a doctor with no experience until then, ranked third in Budapest, being assessed out of 200 projects. The project addressed female infertility and the babies were the most beautiful results of the project. It was a challenge and this prompted me to write the next, Romania-Serbia project, to the value of €2 million. We rehabilitated a building, bought equipment and that’s how I ended up earning over €7 million for the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department by 2016. While I served as a manager between 2016 and 2020, I created a development and external financing department where we hired three people with experience in writing and implementing European projects,” related Olimpia-Maria Oprea.

In her opinion, training the people is the key to success because it is a special effort on the part of a doctor to carry out the professional duties and to simultaneously get involved in projects. But the effort was worth it because the hospital at the moment has over €100 million attracted through nice European projects. “We rehabilitated the building, bought high-performance equipment which we had no chance to purchase with funds from the Ministry or from the local budget. But, as I said, we hired three experienced people who are not doctors, but are economists, engineers. We also organized training courses for all those interested from the institution, not only doctors, but all those who wanted to learn to write and implement projects. Surely, a team is needed in the implementation of a European project, as rewards the financial part, procurement and medical activities that are very important in cross-border projects,” said the first vice-president of the Romanian Association.

Constantin Poiană, manager of “Prof. Dr. Eduard Apetrei” Hospital, Buhuși city, Bacău County, Romania, said that six years ago, the institution was not equipped and did not have infrastructure and doctors. Today their equipment is not only the necessary one, but the top one in the European Union. “We started from scratch, but we managed during the six years, with the help of the local council to which we are subordinated, to access a lot of European projects. We are talking about approximately €20 million, including implemented projects. Lately, the hospital has accessed its own projects. Several days ago, I submitted a new project concerning microbiology. We are working on another new project regarding the outfitting of the hospital’s integrated packer offices,” stated Constantin Poiană.

The manager remembered that at first he looked with skepticism when someone told him about the opportunities to access European funds, but now he is grateful for the impetus received within the Association of Public Hospitals of Romania. “Attracting European funds is the only solution that can lead to the rapid development of a unit. Because, if a hospital is equipped, if a hospital has a conducive work environment, doctors will automatically come, medical staff will come, without whom it is not possible. So, it is a conjuncture – we have facilities, we have infrastructure, we have doctors. If we don’t have one of these elements, we have absolutely nothing. These major investments that were made in recent years resulted in superior performance indicators. From this point of view, I want to tell you that you will have a lot of money during the European period, non-reimbursable funds that you definitely must access. You must do everything possible, and we provide you with our experience, so that you don’t miss any project,” noted the manager of “Prof. Dr. Eduard Apetrei” Hospital of Buhuși.

Oleg Belbas, head of the Public Medical and Sanitary Institution “Ungheni Health Center”, the Republic of Moldova, said that his experience in attracting European funds is very small. Particularly, the experience of submitting joint projects together with medical institutions of Romania is only one year. Thus, in February this year, they submitted a joint project with the Iasi Clinical Rehabilitation Hospital within the Interreg NEXT Romania-Republic of Moldova program. Its value is about €1.5 million and the medical institution in Ungheni is to benefit from 12-13 million lei out of this sum.

Oleg Belbas noted that these European funds will be used to renovate a spa pool intended for post-stroke, post-trauma neuromuscular rehabilitation. The manager of the health center is confident that the project submitted together with his counterparts from Iasi will be selected and financed. According to him, the Ungheni Health Center is currently preparing three more projects. One of them refers to the establishment of a regional center for the early detection of mammary, colorectal and cervical cancer. The Ungheni Health Center has the necessary spaces, but the medical equipment is the most expensive necessary element.

The public debate entitled “Cooperation in healthcare sector between entities from both banks of the Prut River in order to absorb European funds in mixed Moldovan-Romanian teams” was the 14th installment of the project “Double integration through cooperation and information. Continuity”, funded by the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova. The content of this debate does not represent the official position of the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova.