In the last six months, Moldova was transited by over 580,000 people from Ukraine out of a total of more than 6.7 million who left their homes to escape the war. Over 89 thousand refugees from Ukraine are currently in Moldova. Colonel Adrian Efros, head of the Single Crisis Management Center provided the information.

 

"Today, when the neighboring country of the Republic of Moldova marks Independence Day, it is exactly half a year since Russia started the war against Ukraine. Our country has stood by the Ukrainian citizens throughout this period. Tens of thousands of families opened the doors of their homes to their relatives and friends in Ukraine or to people they never met but decided to help. The Government of the Republic of Moldova, by establishing the Single Center for Crisis Management, offered all the necessary support in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis for this region", said Adrian Efros.

 

In February - August 2022, more than 65,000 people were registered and accommodated in the 130 provisional centers and temporary refugee placement centers opened since the start of the war. Today, in the country, there are still 74 active centers with a total capacity of 5,500 places. In all centers, refugees from Ukraine are accommodated free of charge and have access to all necessary services, including the Internet. Thanks to the involvement of external partners and NGOs, all centers are provided with food. During this period, over 1.5 million hot meals provided by development partners were distributed.

 

About 20 thousand requests for primary, emergency or hospital medical assistance were registered during the same period. Of these, no less than 9,201 referred to children and 3,219 to pregnant women. 129 women from Ukraine gave birth in the Republic of Moldova. Also, for the management of the refugee crisis, the Republic of Moldova received considerable medical donations - equipment and medicines necessary for the assistance of all patients both from Ukraine and our citizens.

 

The Government of the Republic of Moldova ensured access to education for children from refugee families. Because the Ukrainian authorities facilitate and encourage the continuation of studies of refugee children in Ukrainian educational institutions through online education, the authorities, together with development partners and on the platform of the Single Crisis Management Center, have ensured free access to the Internet in the Placement Centers for all refugees from Ukraine. Moreover, in more than 10 temporary placement centers with an increased number of children, classrooms were created by equipping them with computers and furniture. Currently, before the start of the school year, almost 6,000 children are enrolled in school. And during the summer vacation, with the joint effort of CUGC, MEC and MMPS, as well as with the support of external partners, over 1000 refugee children were provided with rest in 40 summer camps in the country.

 

On the single treasury account opened by the Republic of Moldova for donations, 162,560,151 lei have been collected so far, of which 73% have already been used. More details about the expenses incurred can be found here: https://bit.ly/3PQzHcu. Our country also offered Ukraine humanitarian aid of 43.7 million lei.

 

So far, Moldova has received 587 humanitarian batches for refugees, with a total value of over 323,000,000 lei. In this regard, more than 30 states have offered and continue to offer support to Moldova.

 

"More than 92 external partners are currently supporting the Government's efforts in managing the crisis, both to support refugees and the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. The role of each international partner is essential and, in this way, we thank you for your involvement and contribution, thanks to which the Republic of Moldova, in the last six months, has been able to respond to the needs of the refugees from the neighboring country and the host community from us", he said.

 

The UN Refugee Agency has so far granted 5 installments of cash payments (with 220,689 one-time payments), which have benefited nearly 67,000 refugees or nearly 28,500 families. In parallel, the World Food Program supported host families from the Republic of Moldova. Currently, almost 11,000 families have enrolled in the program and more than 8,200 have received financial assistance. In total, almost 25 thousand Moldovan citizens will be helped, who host about 33 thousand refugees.

 

Refugees from Ukraine are still invited to access dopomoga.gov.md for useful information or to call the hotline 0 800 800 11, which has so far received 13 743 calls.