2021–2025 period marks one of most significant transformation stages in health system with investments of over 4 billion lei, Ala Nemerenco says

Acting Minister of Health Ala Nemerenco presented today the activity report for 2021–2025, highlighting the major achievements of the past four years. During the conference, the official pointed out record investments, reforms in the field of medicines, and the digitalization of the health system.


“The period 2021–2025 marks one of the most significant stages of transformation in the health system of the Republic of Moldova, with unprecedented investments of over 4 billion lei. The Ministry of Health has strengthened the infrastructure, modernized the services, enhanced institutional capacity, ensured equitable access to quality medical care, and increased the efficiency of the entire system. The result of this period is a health sector better prepared to respond to all current and future challenges and remain an essential pillar of society's stability and development,” stated Ala Nemerenco.


The minister emphasized efforts made in the field of emergency medical assistance:


“We have brought in 209 new ambulances, rebuilt the emergency centers, and equipped them with modern devices. Additionally, we have invested massively in staff training to ensure rapid and efficient interventions, thus saving human lives,” the official mentioned.


According to the cited source, another priority area was access to essential medicines.


“We have updated the essential medicines list, unchanged for 11 years, introduced modern medicines, and implemented for the first time price negotiation mechanisms for compensated medicines and medical devices. This has significantly reduced the patients' out-of-pocket expenses,” explained Nemerenco.


The minister further clarified:


“We have expanded the list of compensated medicines with 23 international nonproprietary names for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, oncology, respiratory diseases, ophthalmology, dermatology, and urogenital system disorders. Additionally, we have extended the prescribing rights of medicines to all specialist doctors, not just family doctors.”


Nemerenco specified that the digitalization of the system was also a key point of the reforms.


“The compensated e-prescription ensures strict compliance with protocols, optimal resource use, and error reduction. Patients can obtain the prescription just by a simple call to the family doctor, and digitalization facilitates rapid access to essential medicines.”


Ala Nemerenco also spoke about the increase in the salaries of medical staff.


“Starting from October 2022, wages have been increased by 10%, and in October 2023, we introduced a 15% night work allowance. Over 48,000 employees benefited from these increases, and young doctors who are employed in rural areas now receive increased allowances from 120,000 to 250,000 lei.”


The minister concluded the report with a message of gratitude.


“We achieved all this thanks to the dedicated work of the Ministry of Health team, the involvement of doctors and the support of international partners – WHO, UNICEF, EU, Romania, USA, Japan, France, Czech Republic, Poland, and other countries that supported us. These achievements represent important steps towards a modern, equitable, and efficient health system,” concluded Nemerenco.


Ala Nemerenco was appointed as Minister of Health on August 6, 2021.