UNICEF and ”Nicolae Testemitanu” University signed a Memorandum of understanding in the field of child and adolescent health, development and welfare

”Nicolae Testemitanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy and UNICEF join their efforts to strengthen the skills and abilities of students, resident doctors, teaching staff and medical workers in the field of health, development and well-being of children and adolescents. A Memorandum of Understanding in this regard was signed today by Rector Emil Ceban and Maha Damaj, the UNICEF Representative in the Republic of Moldova.

"It is an honor for our university to collaborate with UNICEF. Together we achieve very good results, the university departments participate in joint actions and projects to raise awareness and promote children's health, immunization, tackle these issues in scientific conferences, develop national clinical protocols, etc. Strengthening the partnership by signing this memorandum is very important both for our institution and for the Republic of Moldova, because the health of children and adolescents constitutes a national and global concern. We assure you of continued effective cooperation, development of the undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum by integrating subjects and educational platforms aimed at children's health for the training of specialists in accordance with international standards", Nicolae Testemitanu University Rector, Professor Emil Ceban, stated.

"The memorandum signed today expresses our commitment to integrate the latest evidence in both immunization and early childhood development into curricula for medical students and health professionals to ensure better quality of care and the development of children and adolescents in Moldova", Maha Damaj, the UNICEF representative in our country, specified.

According to the document, both institutions will collaborate to integrate the Interpersonal Communication on Immunization module into the curricula of university studies and continuing medical education programs. In this context, the first training course for trainers was launched today, for 18 teachers from the Department of Family Medicine and the Department of Pediatrics. The Interpersonal Communication on Immunization module aims to strengthen the communication and personal counselling skills of healthcare professionals so that they can interact with parents, caregivers, and vaccine recipients, and are able to identify, understand, and address their concerns, fears, questions, misinformation, and hesitations about vaccination. 

At the same time, both parties will collaborate in the field of early child development. Specifically, a digital platform for the study of early childhood development will be integrated into undergraduate and postgraduate study programs and will target students and practitioners, social workers, nurses, and family doctors who deliver home visiting programs for early intervention in the case of children with developmental difficulties.

The Memorandum of Understanding is valid for a period of 3 years.