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Moldova is so close to Western Europe,
yet the country is painfully poor. Due to lack of
work or very low incomes, reduced access to medical
services and the lack of any means to improve their
conditions, people have increasingly suffered and
their living conditions have severely decreased.
These problems even more seriously affect the elderly
who, together with the children, are the largest
vulnerable group in Moldavian society
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The
Republic of Moldova is a former Soviet republic,
situated between Romania and the Ukraine.
Compared to other post-communist countries
in transition, its people have suffered considerably
more poverty than other Eastern European countries.
This is largely due to constant political
instability in the past decade, territorial
separatism, corruption and increasing criminalization.
The economic crisis, followed by the country's
instability, led to the permanent under-funding
of the health system and a serious decline
in living standards and public health and
a growing increase in the mortality rate.
The average worker has a monthly salary of
about 100 EUR. The average pensioner receives
about 25 EUR a month.
Elderly people often live in deplorable conditions,
not having enough food, having no access to
drinking water and proper hygiene. The situation
is worse for the elderly, and especially those
elderly who are disabled.
In the past decade life expectancy has dropped
by 5 years (the average life expectancy of
a man is about 59 and a woman 69) while in
Western Europe men live to the average age
of 79.
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