The doctors were my guardian angels: The story of Alina, a refugee from Ukraine who gave birth in Moldova

At the maternity ward of the IMSP Municipal Clinical Hospital “Gheorghe Paladi” in Chisinau, women give birth in comfortable and safe conditions, thanks to the facilities provided by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The medical institution benefited from state-of-the-art equipment, and services that are enjoyed not only by women from the Republic of Moldova but also by refugees from Ukraine.

Alina Orlioglo became a mother for the fourth time. The first three births took place in Ukraine, and the last child was born at the maternity hospital of the Clinical Hospital. All expenses for medical assistance at birth and after the birth of the child were borne by the UN Population Fund, as part of the humanitarian aid in the context of the war in Ukraine.

The new mother admits that she had great emotions to give birth to the child in a foreign country, but everything was at the highest level, both the modern conditions in the ward and the attitude of the doctors.

“All services are free, that’s the most important thing, the attitude is very good. No one dares to say that you are from Ukraine and pay for services, everything is on a level, and it is very pleasant. I don’t know what the doctors here did for me, they were like my guardian angels, this birth was super easy for me.” says Alina, before she was discharged from the maternity hospital.

In the same way, thanks to the investments of the UN Population Fund, newborns in critical conditions will have a better chance of survival thanks to the modern equipment installed in the intensive care units throughout the country, claim the doctors of the maternity hospital.

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“We received all the equipment needed to care for children weighing less than 500 grams and serious children in the intensive care unit. This includes the thermal incubators that are indispensable for the care of premature babies. We also received ventilators which are essential to the survival of these children. These devices are more modern, have more sophisticated functions, and are much more physiological for these children. Services for refugees, perinatal, obstetric, and neonatal services, or gynecological services are absolutely free.” Dorina Rotaru, head of the neonatology department of the perinatal center, tells us.

During 2022, UNFPA has fully equipped 22 delivery rooms, which will ensure the safe birth of about 15,000 children. Newborns in critical condition will be saved thanks to modern equipment that will be installed in the intensive care units of 8 hospitals, and 14 operating rooms will be completely modernized. Also, a new room equipped for gynecological interventions at the Oncological Institute in Chisinau will cut in half the waiting time for performing female oncological operations.

As part of the response to the humanitarian crisis, generated by the war in Ukraine, UNFPA provides extensive support to the reproductive health system by equipping medical institutions with the latest medical equipment. As a result, the local population and refugees will have access to quality medical services. In addition, UNFPA delivered financial resources to the budget of the National Medical Insurance Company (CNAM), to cover the services in the field of reproductive health provided by medical service providers, included in the system of compulsory health insurance, thanks to this partnership, refugees from Ukraine benefit from free gynecological and obstetric services.