On Monday, 16 July, Chisinau Municipal Directorate for Child Rights Protection (MDCRP ) and UNFPA, the UN Population Fund, signed a Memorandum of Collaboration to improve the situation of adolescents, in particular those most vulnerable from Chisinau. The Memorandum aims to actively promote the rights of adolescents to age-appropriate health information, education and services, both for girls and boys.

‘We are grateful for the initiative to sign this Memorandum, which setts out the guidelines for the collaboration between UNFPA and LPAs to extend the access of the adolescents from vulnerable groups to quality and age-appropriate health and education services. Thus, we take another important step towards achieving the 2030 Agenda in Moldova, where no one is left behind, and every young person's potential is fulfilled’, said Rita Columbia, UNFPA Representative in Moldova.

Lucia Caciuc, Interim Head of MDCRP of Chisinau Municipal Council, noted in this regard that the subjects related to education and health of young people and adolescents are very important. ‘We commit to fully engage with our partners in all the activities and initiatives to come. Our possibilities are modest, but the desire to participate is huge’, said Lucia Caciuc.    

The Memorandum between Chisinau Municipal Directorate for Child Rights Protection and UNFPA was signed for a two-year period and stipulates the areas of collaboration in the context of the new UNFPA Country Program (2018-2022).

The Parties will collaborate to increase the access of adolescents to quality, age-appropriate and gender-sensitive health education during the educational activities conducted by Directorate’s subdivisions; raise awareness among Directorate’s staff of the importance of health education for adolescents; strengthen the partnership among the Directorate and Youth Friendly Health Centres, Youth Centres, Youth Councils, Y-PEER Network and other civil society organizations to promote healthy behaviours among adolescents, with focus on the most vulnerable. 

UNFPA supports the promotion of a healthy lifestyle among adolescents and young people and the development of demographic policies adapted to the country’s realities. As part of the 2013-2017 Country Program, with the organisation’s support, more than 50,000 pupils across the country were informed about their health and rights through information and awareness-raising campaigns.