Chisinau, February 25, 2019 – Seven institutions for medical education from the Republic of Moldova, including the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Nicolae Testemitanu”, the “Raisa Pacalo” Medical and Pharmaceutical Excellence Center, the medical colleges from Orhei, Balti, Ungheni and Cahul and the Centre for Continuing Medical Education for Medical and Pharmaceutical Personnel received modern training equipment in the field of prevention of cervical cancer services, such as gynecological simulators. In addition, the Cytological Laboratory of the Republican Center for Medical Diagnostics has benefited from laboratory microscopes and high performance lenses for the examination of cytological smears.
The equipment was procured by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), with financial contribution of more than 21,000 USD from the Romanian Agency for International Development (RoAid) within the framework of the "Cervical Cancer Prevention project 2017-2020".
“As UNFPA Moldova’s partner in this project, we are particularly pleased to see the concrete results of our contribution, and we hope it will benefit as many women as possible. This project is part of Romania's commitment to cooperation development with the Republic of Moldova in various sectors, including facilitating access to quality health services,” said Catalin Harnagea, General Manager RoAid.
“RoAid's support complements national cervical cancer prevention efforts aimed at improving the access and quality of cervical screening and population information services, and we are grateful to our Romanian partners for supporting our cause, ” said Rita Columbia, UNFPA Moldova Representative.
The gynecological simulators will be used to improve the practical skills of students, residents, nurses, and health practicioners.
Tatiana Sulima, head of the department at the “Raisa Pacalo” Center of Excellence, said: "One of the competencies of students studying in colleges is to perform cervical screening, including cytological smear tests, so cutting-edge simulators will essentially improve the quality of the training process".
Tatiana Cuzneţova, a cytopathologist coordinator at the Cytological Laboratory of the Republican Center for Medical Diagnostics, said that microscopes and state-of-the-art accessories ensure the quality of the cytological examination and the accuracy of the results. "Every day, 50-60 cytological tests from across the country are analyzed in this Laboratory", she added.
The project “Cervical cancer prevention 2017-2020” is carried out by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection with support from UNFPA and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, in partnership with the International Association for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer and RoAid. It aims to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer and mortality. Every year in Moldova, about 160 women die because of cervical cancer, which can be prevented.
