Public Health Capacity Buliding for Strengthening in South Eastern Europe

Moldova

Contact:

Nataly Ursu-Moraru PhD Country project manager (CPM)

61/4 Alecu Russo str, ap.126

MD-2044 Chisinau, Moldova

Tel: + 373 22 33 72 61

Fax: + 373 22 33 72 61

Email: natyursu@yahoo.com

Links:

• Ministry of Health and Social Protection - www.ms.md
• School of Public Health - www.public-health.md
• Centre of Preventive Medicine - www.sanepid.md

National Meetings

The Moldovian National Meeting on Ratification of the FCTC was held in Chisinau on January 30th, 2006.

The FCTC was signed on 29 June 2004, the ratification process in ongoing.

National Meeting on Capacity Building in Tobacco Control

The National Workshop on “Straightening skills and abilities of policy makers and public health leaders in planning and management of the comprehensive tobacco control” was held in Chisinau, 18 of April 2007.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the public health institutions and the members of Parliament. In addition, Head of WHO Regional Office for Europe, National Health Coordinator and National Counterpart for tobacco control were present. International guests represented UNICEF, USAID / AIHA and EU projects. Media and NGO representatives dealing with tobacco control issue representatives attended workshop with great interests. Totally about 30 participants attended the meeting.

At the end all participants agreed on following:

• Acknowledging that our country has not yet ratified the WHO FCTC and needs urgent action with / and multi-sectorial involvement.
• Recognizing serious public health challenges that tobacco involve in South-eastern Europe and Republic of Moldova, in particular in relation to the high level of smoking prevalence and premature mortality as well as the socio-economic consequences of tobacco
• Public health is having a very important role in tobacco control and its concrete actions can contribute to the improvement of general health statement of the population considering prevention of tobacco use related diseases at different levels.
• The work for strengthening tobacco control policies and legislation should be continued in parallel, and in addition, to the ratification process and in line with the requirements of the WHO FCTC, the recommendations of the European Strategy for Tobacco Control, the status of tobacco policy in the country and the EU legislation.

In general, the participants acknowledged that the meeting was an important step towards the ratification of the WHO FCTC and for strengthening tobacco control in the Republic of Moldova