Implementation Science Collaborative Poised to Support Protecting Children from Violence Activities in Moldova
USAID’s Inclusive Development Hub requested the Health Evaluation and Applied Research Development (HEARD) Project’s engagement with the Moldova Mission to support the Government’s National Child Protection Program (NCPP) and its Action Plan. In June 2022, the Government of Moldova launched a new NCPP, the lead responsibility for which sits with the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, with numerous Ministries indicated in the Action Plan, including Education, Health, Interior, and Justice. The NCPP follows up on and is informed by the findings from Moldova’s 2018 Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS).
In October 2022, colleagues from URC together with USAID colleagues traveled to Moldova to facilitate an opening technical presentation for a Government-led Partner Coordination Roundtable focused on VAC. The Roundtable concluded with partner recommendations on how to advance elements of the Government’s Action Plan. In addition, Dr. Samantha Ski (pictured), Senior Implementation Research Scientist at URC, served as a panelist during the International Conference on the Prevention and Combating of Domestic Violence. Coming out of this visit, and guided by the outputs from the Roundtable discussion, the hope is to also identify opportunities for the HEARD project to provide targeted support to the government’s efforts in implementing their NCPP.