Ala Nemerenco: Implementation of European Health legislation requires qualified staff
The Ministry of Health is working on a process to bring national legislation in line with the European legislation. More than 80 percent of the EU legislation has been fully transposed into Moldovan law, but for the other legislation to be brought in line, including its implementation, experienced staff is needed. The subject was discussed at the public hearings on the progress of the implementation of the Association Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, held in Parliament on Wednesday.
Of the 76 acts relating to Ministry of Health policies, 61 have been fully transposed, 10 have been partially transposed and the rest are still to be transposed. To move forward in this process, we need qualified staff with medical skills and at the same time good strategists, stressed Health Minister Ala Nemerenco. According to her, staff shortages are a challenge for the health authorities, as just over 50 percent of the ministry's staff are employed, with the rest of the positions vacant.
"It's very hard indeed to find these doctors who have not only clinical skills, but also know policies, strategies, health systems, so that they can help us. What we lack is the competence of EU legislation, we don't have enough professionals in the Republic of Moldova and I think this is a common topic for all ministries, where there would be people who have had in their practice work somewhere in an EU country or have provided expert services and now we could somehow attract them to us," Ala Nemerenco noted.
A major problem will also be the actual implementation of the legislative rules, as additional capacity will be needed at that stage, stressed Doina Gherman, chairwoman of Parliament's Committee on Foreign Policy and European Integration. According to her, the Ministry of Health should focus on strengthening the institution's capacity and filling vacant posts.
Doina Gherman said that each ministry will have a deputy secretary-general responsible for harmonising legislation. The Ministry of Health will soon select a person for this position through a competition.
"All efforts should be focused on harmonising EU-Moldova legislation. We understand that this is a lengthy process, but the agenda is ambitious. Due to lack of capacity, it is good to better coordinate our efforts, to have constructive cooperation. We suggest, however, that you be more insistent on the capacity of the ministry, 50 percent is a big problem. There are many challenges, it is encouraging that the Ministry of Health has already partially or fully transposed the EU agenda", said Doina Gherman.
According to the report, the Ministry of Health has made progress in developing NCD control policies. At the same time, citizens' access to quality services has been expanded and community mental health services have been strengthened.
