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Government of Moldova
Moldova’s Report on IADGsimplementation
National Voluntary Presentation for the Annual Ministerial Review of the ECOSOC

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AMR – Annual Ministerial Review

CEDAW – Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women

CEC – Central Electoral Commission

EGPRSP – Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

EUMAP – EU-Moldova Action Plan

GDI – Gender-related Development Index

GDP – Gross Domestic Product

HBS –Household Budget Survey

HDI – Human Development Index

IADGs – Internationally Agreed Development Goals

ITC – Informational technologies and communications

MCRG – Ministry of Construction and Regional Development

MDGs – Millennium Development Goals

MEc –Ministry of Economy

MEd – Ministry of Education

MEn – Ministry of Environment

MF – Ministry of Finance

MH – Ministry of Health

MTEF – Medium Term Expenditure Framework

MTRI – Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure

NALFE – National Agency for Labour Force Employment

NARIT – National Agency for Regulating Informational Technologies

NBM – National Bank of Moldova

NBS – National Bureau of Statistics

NCFM – National Commission for Financial Market

NMB – National Bank of Moldova

NDS – National Development Strategy

NGES – National Gender Equality Strategy

NHRAP – National Human Rights Action Plan

NSPCPM – National Scientific-Practical Centre of Preventive Medicine

NVP – National Voluntary Presentation

ODA – Official Development Assistance

PPP – purchasing power parity

PRGF – Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility

PRSC – Poverty Reduction Support Credit

TB – tuberculosis

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CONTEXT

PART A. IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND POLICIES

I.Key Features of the National Development Strategy

II.Progress in achieving IADGs/MDGs

Goal 1: Reduce poverty and hunger

Goal 2:Achieve universal access to general compulsory education

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other diseases

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

PART B. GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

I.Gender and national development strategy

II.Major challenges in the area of gender equality

Women on the labour market

Women subject to domestic violence

Women subject to human trafficking

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

ANNEX A. Attainability of MDG targets for 2010 and 2015

ANNEX B. MDG monitoring indicators (DevInfo)

ANNEX C. Selected indicators, including disaggregated by gender

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this Report is to assess Moldova’sprogress towards the Internationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGs) and,in particular,the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Report represents the National Voluntary Presentation (NVP) for the fourth Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) of ECOSOC in 2010. The Moldovan Government, with the support of UN agencies, initiated the process of preparation of the NVP in November 2009. To this end,aparticipatory draft Comprehensive IADG/MDG Report was prepared, involving representatives of the Government, civil society, the donor community and other stakeholders. It assessed the impact of national reforms and selected policies, as well as projects implemented by country development partners on the MDG targets, focusing on gender equality and empowerment of women. The main findings of the Comprehensive IADG/MDG Report are summarized in the NVP.

The objective of the NVP is to analyze and provide an assessment of how Moldova has implemented its national development strategies to achieve the IADGs. It provides a summary of successes and failures, lessons learned, and challenges in achieving existing commitments. The NVP also provides feedback on the country’s performance and enables the development community to understand its policies and development circumstances. The thematic focus of the NVP is on “Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regards to gender equality and empowerment of women”. Taking into account this thematic orientation, the NVP assesses overall progress towards the achievement of each of the eight MDGs, including through the lenses of gender equality. Besides providing background information on Moldova’s development during transition, it comprises two major parts, namely: 1) General Chapter, which discusses the major national development strategies, implemented by Moldova over the last decade and assesses overall progress towards IADG/MDG implementation, and 2) Thematic Chapter on gender equality and empowerment of women.

CONTEXT

For almost two decades, Moldova has engaged in the process of transition to a market economy. In 1991, it seceded from the Soviet Union and became a sovereign and independent parliamentary republic.The commencement of the transition period was accompanied by Transnistria’s self-proclamation as an independent state. This event impacted Moldova from both a political and economical perspective, as Transnistria accounted for a third of the total industrial production of the country and almost its entire energy production. Due to a lack of proper economic and social reforms, accompanied by political instability in the first ten years of transition, Moldova was subjected to deep economic recessions, which led, among other adverse events, to a growth in poverty.

Only after 2000 was the economy of Moldova able see growth, due largely to remittances, which represented about one-third of GDP in 2008 (see Annex C). Over the period 2000–2008 the economy registered cumulative growth of 67.2%, although this only represented 56.9% of total output in 1990. Repeated external shocks (droughts, floods, export restrictions) experienced by the country over 2006–2008, followed in 2009 by the deepest economic crisis experienced since the beginning of transition—the GDP collapsed by 6.5%—have undermined the authorities’ efforts to effectively influence the pattern of economic growth.

The economic growth that did occur by 2009, driven by migration and remittances, contributed to a reduction in poverty and an increase in the population’s income; thus helping to establish improved access to healthcare and education. In spite of these positive developments, massive migration created problems on the local labour market. During the transition period, Moldova’spopulation decreased by more than one-fifth, and the emigration of almost a quarter of the economically active population has diminished the labour market, causing a fall of almost one-fifth in the size of the active and employed populations. At the same time, the economically inactive population increased dramatically in size. While the unemployment rate has fallen gradually, this has largely been a function of emigration of the labour force. From the human and gender development perspectives, as reflected by the Human Development Index (HDI) and the Gender Development Index (GDI), Moldova is one of the least advanced countries in Europe and among transition states. There are also important internal differences―women live longer than men and show higher enrolment ratios in higher education, while men own significantly larger economic resources.

Considering that the level of implementation of the IADGs is directly connected to the level of human rights in a country, we can identify the subsequent problems the Moldovan authorities are facing in this domain: poor detention conditions in most of the penitentiaries and pre-trial detention facilities; trafficking in human beings; an overextended pre-trial detention period; a low level of judicial independence; restricted exercise of the right to freedom of religion; insignificant participation of women in the main decision-making roles in the public and private sectors; resorting to abortion as a means of contraception; and discrimination faced by some minorities (e.g. Roma). The year 2009 was marred by the events of April7, with severe violations of human rights taking place against protesters participating in rallies that followed the parliamentary election. Shocking rights abuses were recorded, including arbitrary arrests, torture, ill-treatment and even the deaths of detained persons. These events have yet to be investigated.

PART A. IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND POLICIES

  1. Key Features of the National Development Strategy

The Government first officially addressed poverty in 2001 by approving the interim Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (iEGPRSP). This was followed, in 2004, by the full Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper that covered a two-year period to 2006, but was extended for a further year. The country’s major external partners, particularly USA, the World Bank, the EC, Sweden and Germany, accounting for approximately 79% of gross ODA in 2003–2004, aligned their medium-term assistance strategies to the EGPRSP, which was built on three major priorities: 1) sustainable and inclusive economic growth; 2) reduction of poverty and inequality and increased participation of the poor in economic development; and 3) human resource development.

Although the welfare of Moldovan citizens increased considerably during this period, the impact of EGPRSP on economic growth and poverty reduction was marginal. First, EGPRSP implementation was delayed for about one year, due to a lack of institutional arrangements within the Government to undertake commitments at the onset of implementation. The impact of this strategy wasfurther minimised as a result of the poor linkage between EGPRSP, the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF)and the annual budget. Meanwhile, during 2005–2007, the EU-Moldova Action Plan (EUMAP) was implemented, but despite deliberate efforts,inaction of Moldovan leadership resulted in the EUMAP only partiallyachieving its goals, though certain pieces of legislation were adapted to EU standards.

The lessons learned from the failure of both the EGPRSP and EU-Moldova Action Plan forced the Government to rethink its strategic planning process. The National Development Strategy (NDS) for 2008–2011 followed and it appears to be more successful. From the outset,NDS policy measures were linked to the MTEF, and policy units were established in all line ministries to support NDS implementation. Macroeconomic stability and efficient public administrations are prerequisites for meeting the NDS objectives, which are: 1) Strengthening democracy, rule of law and human rights; (2) Transnistrian conflict resolution and reintegration of the country; (3) Improving competitiveness of the national economy; (4) Development of human capital, employment and inclusion; and (5) Regional development. However, the economic crisis, as well as the politicalinstability that emerged in 2009 as a result of failure of the new Parliament to elect a President, undermined NDS implementation―only in 2008 did the Government follow NDS priorities. Most of 2009 was dominated by elections and the country’s response to the economic crisis was delayed. Policies had a populist rather than systematic and rational flavour. Although the new coalition Government, appointed in September 2009, has theoretically endorsed the NDS, it has not undertaken concrete measures to fully implement it.

After finalization of the EU-Moldova Action Plan, concrete steps to design a new partnership tool with the EU were launched only in January 2010, when Moldova initiated negotiations on an EU-Moldova Association Agreement. This process will result in a medium or long-term EU integration agenda forMoldova. Because NDS objectives are not likely to be achieved by 2011, the new EU agenda may represent the policy platform for internal and external resource planning.

To date, the MDGs are the only long-term national targets that are included in the Government’s medium-term agenda, set out in the NDS. The MDGs are, however, not exhaustive.Moldova first established its national targets for the years 2006, 2010 and 2015 for achieving the MDGs in the 2004 Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. The Government previously reported annually on the EGPRSP and biennially on the MDGs. Both EGPRSP indicators and the MDGs were monitored through a DevInfo database (see Annex B). In 2005, the Government approved the first National MDG Report, which made a detailed and well-grounded analysis of each of the eight goals. Later, in 2007, after a progress analysis and a series of consultations with civil society and the country’s development partners, most of the targets were revised. The main reasons for revision were a change in the methodology used to estimate a number of indicators, achievement of certain targets and the downward revision of other targets that seemed overly ambitious.Although all revised MDGs and indicators are covered in the NDS, Government commitments towards their implementation and, therefore, the achieved results, differ from goal to goal.

One of the efforts to fulfill the MDGs was the assessment of the MDGs in Moldova from a gender perspective, which was carried out in 2006 by UNIFEM. Also in the same year, an assessment was made as to the human and financial resources needed to achieve the MDGs. This provided a clear estimate of the costs associated with fulfilling the MDGs in Moldova, which allowed the Government to focus its domestic planningand foreign resource mobilization efforts. However, since their adoption, the Government has been more concerned with reporting on MDG progress than setting short to medium-term action plans to ensure their implementation.

  1. Progress in achieving IADGs/MDGs

Goal 1: Reduce poverty and hunger

Market and government failures during the first decade of transition led to economic recession and increased poverty, thus qualifying Moldova as the poorest country in Europe[1]. The poverty rate since this time has seen various fluctuations. The regional crisis in 1998 deepened poverty to a level of 70% of the population. However, from 2000 the poverty rate began to fall, largely due to remittances. In 2006 (when a new methodology for estimating poverty was introduced), 30.2% of the population were living in absolute poverty and 4.5% in extreme poverty. Despite these gains, startingfrom 2008, absolute poverty increased for the first time in the previous three years, reaching 26.4%, compared to 25.8% in 2007, mainly due to its extension into rural zones and a drop in remittances.At the same time, the share of underweight children aged 0–5 years fell from 14.3% in 2006 to 11% in 2008. The most vulnerable social groups that are affected by absolute poverty are the aged, those whose sole source of income is self-employment in agriculture, large families and families with multiple children, and persons unemployed for long periods. From a gender perspective, there is no clear difference between the poverty levels of men and women (see Annex C).

The public policies implemented by the Government in past years have had an overt social orientation, with around 68% of public expenditure being directed towards implementing social measures. In order to support the vulnerable, including those under the poverty line, the Government, with the support of the country’s development partners,[2]has implemented a range of policy measures. One of the most popular policies for poverty reduction was the transition from nominal compensationsfor utilities that are provided to 11 categories of the population to social aid based on means testing. Though nominal compensations accounted for about half of social assistance expenditure, the categorical approach has lead to certain failures of the system―the richest two quintiles receiving one-third of the targeted compensations. Despite Government efforts, the poverty trend realised in 2008 reduced the probability of achieving the intermediate target ofa reduction in both the proportion of people whose consumption was less than 4.3 dollars per day (in PPP terms) and the absolute poverty rate by 2010. In regards to extreme poverty, in 2007 and 2008,Moldova succeeded in achieving a reduction in the level of extreme poverty required by both the intermediary target for 2010 and the final one for 2015.

Goal 2:Achieve universal access to general compulsory education

Progress in achieving MDGs on education has been uneven. Over the period 2002– 2008, enrolment rates in general compulsory education dropped from 95.1% to 90.9%. The causes of the fall in enrolment ratios, as well as the rise in the number of school dropouts, are related to: high poverty rates, especially in families with many children; labour migration of parents and consequent growth in the number of children left without permanent parental care; and poor school infrastructure. Although spending on education has been growing steadily, reaching 8.7% of GDP in 2008 compared to 5.7% in 2000, there is a huge gap in financing between the different levels of education―general compulsory education benefiting from almost one-half of available funds, and these are inefficiently spent. Schools are being utilized at an average capacity of 67%. A considerable share of schools is in inadequate physical condition, lacking centralized heating and proper sanitary infrastructure.Despite all these constraints, the general literacy level of 98.9% in 2008, and that among young people aged 15–24 of 99.6%, is relatively high. This will probably be the only target for this MDG to be achieved in the short to medium terms.

The Government, with the support of country development partners,has implemented a range of policies to increase quality and access to general compulsory education[3].However, more significant policies were launched only recently. School reorganisation commenced early in 2010, and the new financing formula, providing for more school autonomy in utilizing funds, has yet to be introduced. Optimization of the school network is also relevant given the continuous fall in the number of school students[4]. However, if the reorganisation of schools does not consider the needs of children with disabilities,who account for almost one-tenth of children under 16, the reform will be incomplete.

Unlike the coverage of general mandatory education, the share of children with pre-school education is continuously increasing. In 2008, the enrolment rate of children aged from 3–6 years represented 74.4% compared to 44.1% in 2000, which is close to the target for 2015 of 75%. At the same time, it is hard to assess the kindergarten enrolment ratio of 6 and 7-year olds, because, at this age, a large proportion of children are already enrolled in primary education. Moreover, the monitoring of this indicator has revealed a number of statistical problems[5]. The coverage of 6–7 year-old children by education, regardless of the cycle of education, is 91.1%, which is not different from the level registered in 2000. The enrolment ratio in pre-school education of this age group has increased over recent years from36.8% in 2000 to 41.8% in 2008. The increase in the preschool enrolment rate is, among other factors, a result of joint efforts of the Government with the support of UNICEF, the World Bank and other partners, through the development of new policies on early education, as well as teaching and methodological materials, which also encompass vulnerable groups.