Projects

Short Description:

Overall goal

The Government of the Republic of Moldova and its people successfully overcome the immediate and long-term adverse health, social and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Expected results

Result 1: Approximately 2,700 people in vulnerable situations, including elderly persons, persons with disabilities and their families, left behind children from both banks of Dniester, have improved their resilience against COVID-19; at least 50 staff and volunteers of NGOs from both banks of Dniester working at the national and local level, who are members of the NGO Task Force on COVID-19 and Human Rights, are better enabled to provide direct social support services in response to the immediate needs of people in vulnerable situations.

Result 2: Approximately 100 unemployed persons (young seasonal workers and returned women migrants due to the COVID-19 crisis, in particular from the care economy in Western Europe) benefit from enhanced self-employment and income opportunities.

Target group / Beneficiaries

Result 1: Approximately 2,700 people in vulnerable situations, from rural and urban areas, including elderly people, people with disabilities, families in vulnerable situations, children without parental care, who are beneficiaries of the NGOs from both banks of Dniester, members of the NGO Task Force on COVID-19 and Human Rights; at least 50 staff and volunteers of NGOs from both banks of Dniester working at the national and local level, who are members of the NGO Task Force on COVID-19 and Human Rights.

Result 2: At least 100 people unemployed due to COVID-19 (young seasonal workers, women returnees due to the COVID-19 crisis, etc.) who will benefit from enhanced income opportunities.

Activities

Activities to achieve Result 1 are:

1. Identification of exact needs for PPEs, and hand sanitizers for the staff, as well as the needs for food, hygienic and sanitary products for their beneficiaries in vulnerable situations;

2. Procurement and distribution of PPEs and hand sanitizers for NGOs members, from both banks of Dniester;

3. Procurement and delivery of food, hygienic and sanitary products, and of medicine for the target groups – approximately 2,700 people in vulnerable situations;

4. Informative sessions on the use of PPEs as well as on how to prevent the spread of the virus, for at least 50 NGO staff and volunteers, members of the NGO Task Force on COVID-19 and Human Rights;

5. Equip at least 50 staff and volunteers of NGOs, who provide direct social support services and response to the immediate needs of people in vulnerable situations are equipped with the necessary PPEs and hand sanitizers and knowledge how to use them.

Activities to achieve Result 2 are:

6. Capacity development for the National Employment Agency to be able to quickly provide segmentation and referral to Active Labour Market Programmes of unemployed directly affected by COVID-19;

7. Entrepreneurship and technical training, mentoring support, small grants and legal support to business registration to 50 program beneficiaries (based on ILO training tools and methodology which also entails elements on business continuity and resilience to COVID-19 disruptions);

8. Enrolment of 50 program beneficiaries in the National Employment Agency's subsidy scheme to enable them to take up a job as a result.

The activities will be implemented by UN Women and the ILO as Participating United Nations Organizations in the UN Moldova 2030 SDG Partnership Fund.

Context

The Republic of Moldova is currently facing multiple developmental challenges. To help address these issues, the UN Moldova 2030 SDGs Partnership Fund serves as an instrument for UN joint resource mobilization.

The COVID-19 crisis affected all sectors in the Republic of Moldova. People from underrepresented groups face a double burden due to the virus spread and mostly lack food, hygienic and sanitary products and protective equipment. NGOs working with these groups lack financial resources for PPEs and hand sanitizers and their staff and volunteers face fear and stress of infection and spread of COVID-19.

An increase of unemployment due to COVID-19 is expected as the rates of circular and seasonal labour migration will likely rise. High records of returnees suggest growing pressure on domestic job markets. Moldova’s migratory patterns have created a class of vulnerable family members left behind, many of who are now cut off from remittances which are often a principal source of disposable income. Moldova provides provisional state income-support programs to vulnerable workers like self-employed, seasonal workers, workers in atypical forms of work, returning migrants who lost their job due to the crisis. However, the access to these support measures and to active labour market programs, in general, has been heavily hampered by weak technological capacities of the National Employment Agency who is unable to timely register and profile the unemployed and provide targeted support to increased flows of jobless people, including returning migrants, temporarily unemployed and/or in search of new jobs due to the COVID-19 crisis.