MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT DECLINES OPPOSITION’S INITIATIVE TO VOTE NO CONFIDENCE IN HEALTH MINISTER

A vote of no confidence in Minister of Health, Labor and Social Protection Viorica Dumbraveanu, initiated by the parliamentary group of the Pro Moldova Party, was voted down by a parliamentary majority on Thursday, who supported the proposal of a profiled parliamentary standing committee to reject the PMP draft Resolution on no confidence in the Minister.

The deputies even did not count votes pro and contra because the supporters of the Minister’s dismissal were obviously in a minority in the session room. Besides this, by the voting moment a considerable part of the opposition deputies had already left the plenary meeting, which continued on Thursday for 12 hours without even a lunch break, and the ‘ministerial’ discussion took 4 hours at the end of the sitting.

Minister Dumbraveanu stated in the Parliament that the CoV pandemic had become a severe test for the Moldovan health system and “the pandemic consequences turned out to be hard for it”. She compared the system with “a patient suffering of chronic corruption and narrow [selfish party] interests”, and emphasized that “while some deputies were trying and working to help, others were waiting for a situation aggravation as a happy chance for them to announce this on the television”.

Viorica Dumbraveanu said the health system was not prepared for the situation it has come to face during the pandemic. The Minister reminded that a few years ago quite many hospitals and other health facilities were closed down across the republic and medical staffs were reduced.

Presently, Moldova has 15 laboratories namely 5 in Chisinau and 10 at regional health centers. The main laboratory, which currently makes analyses for COVID-19 by using a molecular biological methodology, has a status recognized by the World Health Organization.

“The pandemic has shown how vulnerable we are and how disunited before the face of the global threat. But this vulnerability appeared not yesterday. Therefore, no matter the people’s or parties’ political outlooks, the health protection must become a priority on the agenda of the whole Moldovan political class”, stated Minister Viorica Dumbraveanu.