Vulnerable groups and civil society organisations supported by the European Union during the COVID-19 pandemic

For 30 months, from July 2020 to December 2022, the European Union has provided assistance to civil society organisations (CSOs) and vulnerable groups, which have been most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in our country. The aid was made possible thanks to the project “Eastern Partnership – COVID-19 Solidarity Programme”, funded by the European Union and implemented by People in Need Moldova together with partners Netherlands Helsinki Committee and AFEW International.

This project was designed to mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19 and contribute to the long-term socio-economic recovery of vulnerable groups. The assistance, foreseen under the project, was delivered promptly, with the bulk of the aid going to civil society. Fifteen CSOs were supported both through grants and training programmes, adapted to the new needs in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The total value of the grants amounted to more than €300,000, with financial support targeted at lonely elderly, young and vulnerable people, child victims of domestic violence, people with physical and mental disabilities, children with leukaemia, entrepreneurs/social entrepreneurship. The CSOs selected in the project provided increased access to legal, education and health services, vulnerable groups were helped through the delivery of warm meals, distribution of COVID-19 protection materials, facilitation of online studies for children and other support.

The main results of the project were presented in Chişinău  during an event held in the first week of December 2022. Both the People in Need Moldova team and the CSO grantees appreciated the positive impact of this project, thanks to which many good things have been done for the population affected by the pandemic. Magdalena Mueller-Uri, Head of Cooperation section of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Moldova, in her online message at the beginning of the event, said: “The European Union has mobilised all the instruments at its disposal to support civil society in the Republic of Moldova. I would like to thank our partner – People in Need – for their continuous support to civil society and vulnerable citizens at local level.”

To help CSOs to tackle institutional barriers, the project also included an advocacy component, creating the right environment to assess their own advocacy skills and to develop a strategy and action plan in line with the organisations’ priorities. Six CSOs received grants totalling €24,000 and their advocacy activities targeted different levels of decision making, including the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice, local public authorities, the Oncology Institute and medical staff, the media, as well as the general public.

At the national level, the interventions under the project “Eastern Partnership – COVID-19 Solidarity Programme” geographically covered 10 regions – Bălți, Căușeni, Chişinău , Criuleni, Edineț, Florești, Glodeni, the Transnistrian region, Sangerei and Soroca. Being a regional project, it included similar activities in 4 countries: Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.