”Health For All” is the slogan of this year's World Health Day

Today, April 7, we mark World Health Day with the hashtag HealthForAll and the 75th anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO).

 Each year, this day draws attention to a specific health topic that concerns people all over the world. Given the challenges faced by society globally over the past two years – the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies, overlapping humanitarian and climate crises, economic constraints, and war in the region – policy makers are currently trying to adjust policies in the field of public health, so that everyone has access to equitable healthcare services.

 Health is a fundamental human right. Every person must have access to the necessary health services, without impediments and financial difficulties. According to WHO data, currently 30% of the global population does not have access to essential health services and about 2 billion people face high health expenses, well above their standard of living. This fact particularly affects people from the most vulnerable categories.

 In this regard, the main actors in public health aim to provide financial protection and access to quality services, eradicate poverty, promote the well-being of families and communities, and protect against public health crises. To achieve these goals, qualified health professionals, who provide quality people-centered services, and decision-makers responsible for investing in and ensuring the public health system in each country will be trained. A special emphasis will be placed on the development of primary health care, which over time has proven to be the most effective way to bring health and well-being services as close as possible to the people.

 For the program to be profitable at the country level, it is necessary to increase public funding for health and reduce personal costs. The WHO recommends increasing "health taxes" on tobacco, alcohol, added sugar and fossil fuels. These taxes bring the much-needed public revenue for the health system development. On the other hand, in the period 2023-2030, a deficit of about 10 million health workers is estimated worldwide, and to solve this problem, investments in education and job creation in the health sector are needed.

 According to the study Access of the population to health services, carried out by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2022, 81.5% of the total population of the Republic of Moldova have medical insurance, including 49.4% are insured by the state, 29.7% pay monthly contributions, and 2.4% procured their compulsory health care insurance policy on their own.

The data of the study shows that the vulnerable categories of the population benefited from medical services in a proportion of 13.3%, compared to 36.2% in the case of the wealthier population. Therefore, the existence of inequities in the population's access to primary medical assistance services is noted. The results of the study showed that every second person assesses their health condition as good or very good, 39.5% – satisfactory, and 4.6% consider it bad or very bad. The positive perception of the health status of the population decreases with age, a fact determined by the prevalence of diseases characteristic of specific age groups. The prevalence of chronic diseases in the case of the population of the Republic of Moldova remains high, practically every third person suffers from at least one chronic disease (31.1%). In 2021, the average monthly health expenses per person amounted to 186.3 lei. About 56 % of this amount is directed to the procurement of medicines, followed by primary health care expenses – 29 %.

 An important role in the provision of medical assistance within public health institutions is played by the departments and clinical bases of Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Thus, during 2022, specialists of the departments participated in over 25 thousand surgical interventions and consulted over 400 thousand patients. Also, members of the departments worked about 4500-night shifts.

It should be noted that, during the previous year, the provision of specialized medical assistance was provided by 505 employees in 95 university clinics of a therapeutic, surgical, pediatric, and obstetrical-gynecological profile. The clinical activity at the therapeutic departments is carried out by a total number of 40,397 people – students, resident doctors, doctoral students, clinical assistants, trainee doctors, employees of the departments.

During the reference period, the staff of the university clinics applied new methods of therapeutic treatment, with 63 invention and innovation patents being registered. Most of them concerned the patients with COVID-19. At the same time, 30 new diagnostic methods and 28 treatment methods were introduced. Also, in the last two years, the scientific and didactic staff developed about 200 national clinical protocols, of which 63 last year, that later were applied in healthcare.

 University staff members participate in medical councils, meetings of scientific societies, scientific-practical conferences, and national and international seminars. Moreover, scientific-methodical assistance was granted by participating in 639 activities within the specialized commissions of the Ministry of Health for attesting and recognizing as equivalent the documents of postgraduate studies obtained abroad. At the same time, members of the university community addressed health issues and promoted healthy lifestyles by participating in 277 radio and TV shows during 2022.

 In the context of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the WHO, the community of Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy sends sincere congratulations to all the employees and representatives of the international organization, appreciating its decisive role in maintaining health at the global level, in the modernization of health systems through providing logistical and humanitarian assistance to countries to address public health issues. We express our gratitude for the joint projects carried out for the benefit of the population of the Republic of Moldova, and we are open to cooperation in the future, to improve medical care and ensure the population's equity in health services. 

The WHO (headquartered in Geneva) was established on 7 April 1948 and currently has 193 member states. It has representations in 147 countries and 6 regional offices, including in the Republic of Moldova.