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UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre Piazza SS. Annunziata, 12, 50122 Florence, Italy websi te: www.unicef .org/ i rc www.unicef- i rc .org Tel: +39 05520330 Fax: +39 055 2033 220

MOLDOVA : MOTHER’S EMPLOYMENT AND CHILDREN POVERTY

Co-ordinator: Elena Laur Department for Statistical and Sociological Analysis

Chisinau

MONEE Country Analytical Report 2003

The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of UNICEF

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Female employment and child poverty

in the Republic of Moldova

( analytical report – 2003 )

Introduction For over ten years now (the country’s independence was declared on 27 August 1991) significant changes have been taking place in Moldova, oriented towards stabilization of the national economy, which is related both with the formation of new structures, characteristic for market relations, and with the democratization of all aspects of the society’s life. However, alongside the positive results that are the direct consequences of the state conducted policy (setting up of a legal framework for transition to the market economy, carrying out of the privatization process, strengthening of the national currency etc), there is registered an aggravation of the population’s social situation and a decrease in its living standards. According to the 2000 Human Development Report, the Republic of Moldova is on the 105th place (Human Development Ratio – HDR=0.701), while the neighbouring Romania and Ukraine are on the 63rd and, respectively, 80th places. Among the former-Soviet countries Moldova is on the last but one place, leaving behind only Tajikistan (HDR=0.667). Thus, Moldova continues to be the poorest country of Central and Eastern Europe and one of the most vulnerable countries in the world. We should mention the internal and external factors that have brought to the aggravation of poverty, among which: - the break-up of the Soviet Union, which led to a destabilization in the trade relations and payment system, especially the price shock caused by the liberalization of prices on electric power. As results from the comparative analysis conducted by the World Bank, Moldova had to suffer most of all, among the former-Soviet countries, from the consequences of the changes in the trade balance brought about by an increase in the internal prices on electric power to the level of international ones; - the 1992 military conflict in Transnistria and the series of disasters, including the 1992 and 1994 floods, the 2000 drought, had negative impacts on the agriculture and processing industry, which make up the main share of the country’s GDP (52.1% in 1995 and 36.1% in 2002). - the consequences of the 1998 crisis in Russia, the continuing regional instability, etc. Thus, the significant share of the agricultural sector in the national economy, the lack of own power resources, the unsolved territorial integration problem, the decrease in the industrial production continuing until 2000 brought to economic difficulties and could not help affecting the population’s living standards. The economic stabilization registered in the country in the past three years has allowed improve a little the situation in the social sector. Thus, in 2001 there

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was registered an increase of 17.9% in the real monthly disposable income per inhabitant, as compared with the previous year, of 21.2% in the monthly wage, of 45.1% in the monthly pension rate. These indices increased in 2002, as compared with 2001, by 26.8%, 21.0% and 12.7%, respectively. However, when these data are compared with such indices as the subsistence minimum (in 2002 it constituted MDL 538.4 per individual per month) and the minimum consumer basket (estimated at MDL 1,137.4) the insufficient effectiveness of the taken measures, oriented towards improving the situation in this field, becomes obvious. In 2002, the monthly disposable income could cover 59.7% of the subsistence minimum and 28.3% of the minimum consumer basket; for those receiving pensions, this percentage made 29.9% and 14.2% respectively. The size of such an index as the GDP per inhabitant – USD 436 in 2002 – also speaks about the critical situation of Moldova. The increase in the number of needy people required the development and undertaking of complex measures at governmental level, oriented towards the protection of socially vulnerable layers of the population. In June 2000, the Government adopted, by decision No. 564, the National Poverty Reduction Program, whose most important goal is to implement measures to stop the mass pauperization of the population, and subsequently – to decrease considerably the scale of poverty, as a compulsory condition for the strengthening of the socio-economic stabilization process in the country as well as to undertake measure to protect the vulnerable layers of the population from poverty. In setting the main directions for the National Poverty Reduction Program, there were taken into account the experience of other countries with decreasing poverty scales and depth, the specifics of poverty manifestation and its consequences for various social groups of the population, as well as the economic and financial possibilities of the state. However, the measures included in this program for 2000-2003 mainly touched on the improvement of the minimum state guarantees, and namely, reformation of wage and pension payment system, social protection of the population and promotion of employment. It is obvious that the implementation of all these measures and reforms focused on the improvement of the population’s living standards in general is not possible without the stabilization of the economic situation. In order to solve the poverty problem in Moldova, the Moldovan Government, with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund support, started developing a Poverty Reduction Strategy. A first step in the strategy development was the approval of the Previous Poverty Reduction Strategy (Decision of the Government of Moldova No. 1337 of 29 December 2000), where, along the social protection of the poor layers of the population, the task of ensuring a sustainable and fast economic growth came up in the foreground, which would provide the population with employment possibilities, as well as the human development policy based on free access to basic services (in particular, to primary health care and general education). The updated version of the Previous Strategy was approved by Government decision No. 524 of 24 April 2002, and deadlines were established for the development of the Final Poverty Reduction Strategy. Understanding the importance of ensuring an economic growth in the poverty eradication issue, the Government gave the paper a new name - “Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy” (Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper – PRSP). This paper is important not only for the country, but also for the donors, many of whom believe that it could become the instrument called to improve the effectiveness and the targeted direction of the programs,

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and lie on the basis of future strategies to provide help to the Republic of Moldova. The draft strategy has already been developed with the participation of all interested ministries and departments, non-governmental organizations, the civil society etc. 1. Changes in the general employment and wages Ensuring decent living standards for the population is one of the features of the country’s stability and sustainable economic potential. This refers to all categories of the population, regardless of the source of income, be it wage, income from individual work activity, pension, allowance etc. We will speak in detail about the features of one of the main social protection components – the labour market and employment issues (the other components are the social insurance and social assistance system) as it is the employment that is the primary source of income of able to work population. The labour market in Moldova, just like in any other country, has its peculiarities, conditioned not only by the demand and supply of labour force, but also by the existing legislation, national economy structure, professional training and education systems. The number of the population of Moldova constituted 3.6 million at the beginning of 2003 (without the districts on the left bank of Nistru River and Bender municipality). These data are based on the 1989 population census as well as on the current demographic statistical data. The demographic situation of the Republic of Moldova has been characterized in the past five years by a fall in the number of the population as a result of the processes characteristic for many countries – decrease in the birth rate and increase in the death rate and the resulting negative growth of the population as well as a result of the peculiarity characteristic for Moldova – migration, mainly of the able to work population. According to the Labour Force Survey (hereinafter LFS - a sample survey conducted in Moldova since the end of 1998) in 2002 over 230 thousand people were attributed to the category of people that have gone abroad for employment purposes or in search of jobs, which represents 14.2% of the active population aged 15 and higher, practically every third of them being a woman). It should be mentioned that it will be possible to make a more exact estimation of the number of the population only during the next census planned for 2004. It should also be pointed out that a decrease in the number of the population is accompanied by its aging, which, in its turn, has a negative impact on the labour market. Distribution of population by its participation in the economic activity According to the LFS data, 44.5% of the Moldovan population was categorized in 2002 as active. On average, there are no sharp gender-related disparities in the country. However, there are more economically active men (45.7% in 2002), than women – 43.3%, which is conditioned by the established proportion of employed – 42.0% in men and 40.9% in women as well as by the share of the unemployed population - 3.7% in men and 2.4% in women. In analysing age categories, the part of employed women aged 25-34 makes up 67.3%, which is

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a little higher than the analogical index for men – 64.5%. The same tendency is also characteristic for those aged 35-49: 76.0% of women and 72.7% of men, are employed. In the next age category, 50-64, as well as among those aged 15-24, there are much more employed men than women: 72.9% and 55.5% - for the first category and 27.2% and 26.4% - for the second category. The decrease in the economic activity of young women is explained by the increase in the number of women that continue their studies. Thus, the general coefficient of involvement in general special and higher education for the age category 19-22 constituted in 2002 48.9% for women and 36.1% for men. For older categories, there is characteristic an early retirement of women, their involvement in grandchild and household care as well as higher average life expectancy at birth – 71.7 years for women and 64.5 for men in 2002. The rate of the unemployed (ILO criteria) decreased from 4.6% in 1998 to 3.0% in 2002, the rate of the economically inactive population increased respectively from 50.5% to 55.5% on average in the country, with a certain prevalence of women – 56.7% in 2002 than men – 54.3%. Active population. According to the LFS results, the economically active population (employed and unemployed) constituted in 2000 1,615 thousand people, showing a tendency to decrease in comparison with 1998 by 10.7%. The men-women proportion in the general number of the active population is practically equal. The Global Activity Rate (the proportion of the active population to the general number of the population) constituted 44.5% on average, 45.7% in men and 43.3% in women. When comparing this index with 1999, there is observed a decrease, more characteristic for men than women (the 1999 average in the country – 46.1%, for men – 48.8% and for women – 43.6%, respectively). We will speak in detail about the characteristics of the population aged 15 and higher.

Total, % Men,% Women,%

employed

unemployed

(ILO criteria)

inactive

employed

unemployed

(ILO criteria)

inactive

employed

unemployed

(ILO criteria)

inactive

1999 54,5 6,8 38,7 57,6 8,8 33,6 51,8 5,1 43,1

2000 54,8 5,1 40,1 57,7 6,2 36,1 52,2 4,1 43,7

2001 53,7 4,2 42,1 56,2 4,8 39,0 51,4 3,2 45,1

2002 53,3 3,9 42,8 55,1 4,9 40,0 51,7 3,0 45,3

Source: Department of Statistics and Sociology

The Global Activity Rate for this age group falls from 61.3% in 1999 to 57.2% in 2002, moreover, it happens more intensively with men (66.4% in 1999 and 60.0 – in 2002) than women (56.9% and 54.7%, respectively). The peak of activeness comes for the age of 30-49 both for men and women (78-79% from the total number of the population of this age group), where

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there is also noted a decrease in this index as compared with 1999 (83 -85% respectively). The employed population and wages. It should be mentioned that in determining the employed population, the standard criterion “at least one hour” was used, recommended by the International Labour Organization, to compare the situation with that of other countries. Thus, the employed population in Moldova is made up of individuals aged 15 or higher that carry out an economic or social activity to produce physical goods or provide services during not less than one hour within a given period (one week), in order to receive income in the form of wage, payment in kind or another remuneration. The part of the population aged 15 or higher employed in the economic sector during the past four years has remained stable and constitutes 54-55%, with a certain prevalence of men (55-57%) over women (51-52%). One of the consequences of private sector development in the 1990s was the appearance of various forms of employment, both legal and illegal, the use of short-term agreements, part-time employment, etc. What men had as a source of additional income or secondary job, for women it was becoming their main activity, giving them the possibility of contributing somehow to the family budget. Taking into account the specific features of the Moldovan economy, where the agriculture and processing industry prevail, as well as the existing gender-related differences characteristic for women (physiological peculiarities of the body, the existence of children, family status, national and cultural traditions, level of education etc) we should note the prevalence of women in certain types of the economic activity. In the past years, just like before, in the structure of employed women there have prevailed such areas as education – for every fourth woman, agriculture (cultivation of fruits and vegetables, grapes) – for every fifth woman, processing industry (food industry, clothes sewing, fur processing), health care and social work – 15% each. Most of the mentioned types of activity are low paid. Thus, in 2002 the proportion of the wage of a worker in agriculture, hunting and forestry constituted 56.9% to the average index in the country (MDL 394 and 692, respectively), in health care and social protection – 63.4%, in education – 66.9%. The prevalence of women over men is obvious in such types of economic activity as health care and social work – 79.4%, hotels and restaurants – 77.3%, education – 74.0%, financial intermediation – 63.1%, organization of leisure time and recreational activities, culture and sports – 61.1%. The existing differences between the nominal average wage for men and women by different types of activity and professions should also be mentioned (data are provided on the employed that have worked for one full month, October 2002): the monthly wage for men engaged in meat production, processing and canning constituted MDL 1,388, for women – MDL 1,262, in clothes sewing – MDL 1,085 and 972, respectively, shoe manufacturing – MDL 706 and 665, polygraphy – MDL 1,785 and 1,284, electrical power– MDL 1,503 and 1,402, construction – MDL 990 and 741, trade – MDL 791 and 597, hotel catering and

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restaurants – MDL 768 and 622, railway transport – MDL 1,131 and 936, passengers transport – MDL 680 and 599, communications – MDL 2,006 and 1,299, pre-university education – MDL 524 and 469, higher education – MDL 1,239 and 1,027, health care - MDL 618 and 502, cultural sector – MDL 550 and 415, engineering – MDL 1,092 and 768, etc. If examining the characteristics of the average wage size for one economy worker, a sustainable growth of the nominal rate of this index has been registered in the past years. However, when taking into account the inflation, the picture looks as follows:

Nominal wage index Real wage index

in % to1995 in % to previous year in % to 1995 in % to previous year

1996 131 131 106 106 1997 154 117 111 105 1998 175 114 117 106 1999 213 122 102 88 2000 284 134 105 102 2001 380 133 127 121

2002 483 127 154 121

Source: Department of Statistics and Sociology

Thus, if the nominal wage increased 4.8 times in 2002, as compared with 1995, the real wage increased only 1.5 times. It should be pointed out that in Moldova, like in many countries of the former USSR, the nominal wage size was not being regularly revised, regardless of the relatively high inflation. As a result, the minimum wage was considerably lower than the minimum consumer basket, and so, its economic and social function became useless. Thus, at the end of 1990s, the size of the minimum wage in Moldova was MDL 18 (a little more than USD 1) and represented about 2% of the minimum consumer basket (MDL 945 in 2000). In 2001, the minimum wage was increased to MDL 100, which respectively increased the above-mentioned proportion to 8.8% (the minimum consumer basket in 2002 constituted MDL 1,137).

Minimum wage Monthly wage Minimum consumer basket, MDL MDL in % to the minimum

consumer basket MDL in % to the

minimum consumer basket

1995 311 18 5,8 143 46,0 1996 388 18 4,6 187 48,2 1997 440 18 4,1 220 50,0 1998 473 18 3,8 250 52,9 1999 662 18 2,7 305 46,0 2000 945 18 1,9 408 43,2 2001 1053 100 9,5 544 51,6 2002 1137 100 8,8 692 60,9

Source: Department of Statistics and Sociology

As the source for data on wages serves the regular complete statistical survey of enterprises and organizations with 20 and more employees. However, such a reporting characterizes only one part of the employed population (the staff), while individual workers, employers, unpaid family workers, are not covered by such a statistical survey. It should also be mentioned that, for Moldova, it would be incorrect to consider wages as the main source of income. Thus, according to the Household Budget

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Survey (HBS), in 1990 it represented the absolute majority (73%) in the general volume of incomes, but starting with 1991 the share of wages in the general structure of incomes continuously decreased, reaching the level of 35% in 1997. On the background of a certain stabilization of economy in general, the share of wages insignificantly increased in the formation of the total income of the population, constituting 37%. However, wages serve as the main source of income only for 28.4% of families; moreover, in the urban area this is the situation for every second family, while in the rural area – for every tenth. And if for the urban population social allowances constitute the second important source of income (the main source of income for practically every fourth urban family), than for most rural households (over 60%), as a prevailing source of income serves the individual agricultural activity, which thus confirms the specific character of the national economy and the respective dependence of the population’s level of income on the seasonal character of this type of activity. Employment problems, low wages that do not allow to spend on the most necessary things, not to mention supporting the unable to work family members, especially children, forces women to agree on any working conditions, even harmful. Along with the positive tendencies characterized by a decrease in the number of people engaged in hard working conditions (19.9 thousand people in 2002, 42% of which – women, worked in conditions not corresponding to the sanitary-hygienic standards, as compared with 23.1 thousand in 2000, 44% of which were women) employment in hard physical work continues to take place in Moldova. If the total number of the latter decreased from 2000 to 2002 by 22.8%, then the number of women engaged in hard physical work increased 1.5 times for the same period. The main part of women engaged in physical work falls on agriculture and forestry (55% in 2002), construction and electrical power, gas and water supply (15-16%, respectively) and processing industry (11%). The description of population employment would not be complete, if we did not touch on the problem of unemployment, i.e. of those people who are currently not employed but are looking for jobs and ready to start working, thus representing resources to complete the category “employed”. Unemployment In the planned economy period, the main characteristics of the demand for working resources were full employment and the relatively high rate of participation in or appurtenance to the labour force of the entire population, in general, and of women, in particular. Unemployment as such did not exist officially, and thus the labour market did not exist either. Its formation became one of the main features of the transition period, which was accompanied by a sharp decrease in employment and high level of unemployment. While all employees fell under the impact of production cut-down, closing down of factories and plants, restructuring and changes on the macroeconomic level, women suffered to a higher degree from the economic and social reforms. Women, but men too, were losing their jobs and wages, and the ones who managed to keep them, in most cases were losing their privileges and various social benefits provided by the enterprises, not related directly with their wages, but destined to them and their families.

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According to LFS data, the number of unemployed in the country (ILO criteria) in 2002 constituted 109.8 thousand people, including 45.4 thousand women (the biggest share is held by the women aged 30-49 – 23.8 thousand and aged 15-24 –12.6 thousand). Of the total number of unemployed women, 34.4 thousand (75.7%) used to work before. The main reasons for which their work activity was suspended are the following: 21.2 thousand people (61.7%) – dismissal and staff cut-down; 4.6 thousand (13.2%) – break-up and winding-up of enterprises and organizations; 3.4 thousand (9.9%) – leaving or resignation; 3.0 thousand (8.8 %) – completion of some temporary activity. These same reasons are the main ones for men, too, with some prevalence of the latter – 14.4%. Especially alarming is the fact that, regardless the gender, a lingering unemployment lasting for 24 month or more prevails in the structure of those who were previously employed – practically every second person is unemployed, for every fourth – the period of unemployment lasted half a year, for every fifth woman and every seventh man – from one to two years. The level of unemployment in 2002 constituted 6.8%, it was a little higher for men than for women – 8.1% and 5.5%, respectively. The positive tendencies of the past years are absolutely obvious (for comparison, the analogical indices of 1999 were 11.1%, for men – 13.3% and for women – 8.9%). Besides LFS, another source of information is the unemployment officially registered with the State Service on Population Employment under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Moldova. At the same time, it should be taken into account that not all unemployed register with the Employment Bureau, and the ones who do register, often execute some occasional work. And although this type of unemployment cannot be estimated as the ultimate truth, the available information allows make a detailed description of such people. During 2002, 63.3 thousand people addressed to the Employment Service (42.9% of which were women), this is the highest figure of this index for the past years (a similar “burst” was registered one more time only in 1998). In comparison with 1997, the number of people addressing to the Employment Service increased by 27.9%. It is hard to say whether this speaks about an increasing trust in such services, or about the impossibility of finding a job on one’s own, and thus about certain discourage and tiredness. Nevertheless, the State Employment Service has undertaken active measure in the past years to implement the existing programs on employment and social protection of unemployed both on the state and local levels. The main goal of such programs is the prevention of mass unemployment, preservation of existing jobs, employment of the unemployed, organization of paid public works, support of the entrepreneurial activity, adaptation of the population to market economy conditions, social protection to the unemployed, etc. From a gender perspective, women made up 42.9% of those who addressed to the Employment Bureau in search of jobs during 2002. The age characteristics of this category of population considerably differ depending on gender, age and level of education. Among women, the prevailing age category was 16-24 – 42.4%, and respectively, low qualification, lack of education or work experience: 55.7% of young women who addressed to the Service had general education or incomplete general education, 21.8% - vocational education.

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Among men, the absolute majority belongs to the age category 30-44; however, their level of education also allows hope for unqualified work jobs, 49.3% of them had general or incomplete general education, and 37.8% - vocational education. It should be mentioned that practically every second woman and every third man got employed last year. According to the Annual Social Report of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, “the main reasons impeding employment are the following: lack of the required professional level, lack of professional experience after completing education, proposal of very low wages and unbearable conditions in the private sector, 12-hour work day, work under pressure and harmful working conditions, etc”. As at 1 January 2002, the number of unemployed registered with the Employment Service constituted 27.6 thousand people, 50.8% of which were women. At the beginning of 2003, the number of officially registered unemployed decreased by 3.6 thousand people and constituted 24.0 thousand, 51.1% of which were women. It should be pointed out that in Moldova, like in the legislation of other countries, there are certain criteria entitling to the receipt of an unemployment allowance (the existence of a certain length of service, observance of registration terms, etc) as well time frames for the payment of such allowances. The size of the unemployment allowance makes up MDL 27-36 (USD 2-3) for those having finished education, women having suspended their work activity in relation with child care, disabled people and other categories of citizens. For those who have a length of service of 10 years and higher, the unemployment allowance constitutes 50-60% of the monthly wage in the national economy for the past year (i.e. USD 25-30 in 2002). The size of the allowance increases by 10% for the unemployed who have 1-2 children under 16 years of age, and by 20% for those with 3 or more children of the mentioned age. The number of individuals receiving unemployment allowances decreases every year: if every third individual was receiving such an allowance in 1999, then in 2002 – 14.6% of the officially registered unemployed. If among women, the rate of those receiving allowances constituted 20.6%, i.e. every fifth woman, then among men this rate constituted 8.3%. According to the estimations of the Secretariat of the United Nations European Economic Commission, based on the data of national statistical services, the size of the unemployment allowance constituted in the second quarter of 2000 136.5% of the minimum wage, while in the neighboring Romania and Ukraine this index was 70.7% and 67.6%, respectively. But the proportion of the minimum wage to the average wage constituted only 15.8% for Moldova, while for Romania and Ukraine - 31.6% and 36.2%, respectively. Such a situation is explained by the fact that, at the beginning of the transition period, the national minimum wage was taken as a base for grading both in the public and private sectors as well as for the calculation of minimum social guarantees. The insufficiency of adequate resources destined for the development of the labour market and the social protection system should undoubtedly also be taken into consideration.

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According to the data of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the expenses related to the social protection of the unemployed constituted in Moldova 0.1% of the GDP in 2002. This index continues to remain on a very low level, in comparison with other European countries. Unfortunately, all the above information (LFS data, exhaustive statistical survey of employees in enterprises, organizations, data on the unemployed registered with labour force agencies, etc) allows draw conclusions about the tendencies in the general employment and wages of the population, not taking into account such a factor as the existence of unable to work members in the family, and namely, the children. Let us address to another sample survey of families, conducted by the Department of Statistics and Sociology – HBS. In 2002, of the total number of households covered by the survey, 2,142 or 34.8% represented families with children under 14, in 1,239 households there was one child, 717 families had two children, and 186 – three and more children. Practically, in every third family the head of the household was the woman. For 36.6% families, the main income came from hire work, i.e. from wages, for 43.6% - from agricultural activity, for 3.8% - social allowances. Among women, the main part of hire workers were engaged in agriculture (22%), by 18% in industry and trade, slightly less (17%) were engaged in education, every tenth – in health care. The share of women in managing positions was relatively not high – 4.3%, 14.5% were highly qualified, 39.1% were unqualified workers. The existing information allows make an analysis of the wages of those who worked as hire workers and also establish the dependence between the age of the child, family status and the size of the income received from hire, which, in its turn, confirms once again the inequality in receiving income between women and men. In 2002, the monthly income from hire work (hereinafter referred to as wage) constituted on average MDL 469.71, men’s income being 1.2 times higher than women’s (MDL 533.31 and MDL 428.69, respectively). The wage of single women constituted MDL 470.68, of married women – MDL 409.62, and the existence of children determines the considerable difference in this index for those who have children and those who do not have children. The difference in favor of the latter constitutes 19.3% and 10.9%, respectively. Overall, the average wage for the women with children was MDL 389.56 (MDL 444.10 for single women and MDL 392.16 for married women), the women without children received MDL 463.99 (MDL 550.32 – single women and MDL 440.21 – married women). Let us take into account the age of the youngest child. For single women who have to count only on their own forces, the existence of a young child limits their work activity and their income is much lower than that of married women: for women with young children aged 0-2 this difference constituted 1.6 times in comparison with married women, for women whose youngest children were aged 3-6 – 1.2 times, respectively (Annex С).

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2. The policy on providing support to women and children By 1990s, the social assistance in the country was a component part of the state social insurance system, controlled in a centralized order. In the process of reformation, the state social assistance system underwent significant changes, being divided into two parts: the social insurance system and the social assistance system, each of them based on different principles. The main role of the social insurance system consists in guaranteeing to the person who pays the fees (hereinafter, the insured) a certain income in case of sickness, unemployment, attainment of the retire age, i.e. the payments are made when the insured risk comes about. But the social assistance is provided to the individuals who are at risk or to those who are unable to provide for themselves. The priority directions of the social assistance are efforts aimed at reducing the level of poverty and social integration of those individuals who are unable to improve their lives on their own and with the existing resources. Besides this, it is necessary to help the individual by different means solve difficult problems, i.e. by providing social services or financial assistance. Unlike the social insurance system, funded from insurance taxes, the social assistance system is funded from general tax proceeds, grants and charity. In the context of the proposed subject-matter, of interest are the following types of allowances, which are paid from the state social insurance budget: the unemployment allowance (a short analysis of this type of allowance was made in the first part) and the maternity allowance and birth grant.

Maternity allowance and birth grant One of the main predestinations of the woman is to continue the human race, and as a result of this, her usual way of life changes during pregnancy and after the baby is born. For working women this is a reason for suspension of the work activity and, as a result, for the loss of wages, i.e. of the source of income that is so much necessary to the family, and first of all, to the children. In the Republic of Moldova, like in many countries, the legislation in force guarantees the right of women to stay home in the last period of pregnancy and during the first period of maternity. Working women, in order to cover (compensate for) the wage lost in the period of pregnancy and birth giving, are provided an allowance of a size equal, in a monetary expression, to the 100% level of the real wage, regardless of their insured length of service. Under the legislation, pregnant women are entitled to a maternity leave of 126 calendar days, starting with the 30th week of pregnancy. In case of complicated or multiple births, the leave is extended by 14 calendar days. In case of pregnancy interruption or complications, due to which the woman loses her working ability, she is also provided, besides a maternity leave, with a leave for temporary loss of working ability. In 2001-2002, about 9 thousand such allowances were paid annually, but it should be mentioned that, if the expenditures on the payment of maternity allowances and birth grants had been relatively stable in the previous years (8-9 million per year), in 2002 this amount increased 1.4 times in comparison with 2001 (MDL 13.6 million and MDL 9.5 million, respectively). Consequently, the cost of one paid day also increased, from MDL 14.8 to MDL 19.9. When

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comparing the number of paid maternity allowances and birth grants with the number of births, a great difference (practically 4 times lower) has been registered only in the past years, which is explained by the possibility of receiving an allowance only by the insured individuals. i.e. the women that were on the list of workers when going on the maternity leave, and this automatically excludes from the number of beneficiaries the women that did not work at all or lost their jobs before the 30th week of pregnancy. Besides the maternity allowance and birth grant, there are various types of allowances on children in Moldova, which are paid both to insured and uninsured individuals. Such allowances serve in a way as financial support to families with children and are established either as one-time or periodic money payments to families depending on the number of children, the complexity of the situation, children’s age and family income. Child allowances Child allowances are established and paid out in accordance with the Government decision on nominal allowances for families with children. The following types of allowances are in place: - one-time allowance upon the child’s birth (regardless of the family income); - monthly allowance for child care until it reaches the age of 1.5 (regardless of the family income); - allowance on children aged between 1.5 and 16, including on children under guardianship and trusteeship, school, gymnasium and lyceum students – until graduation from the respective institutions (depending on the family income). The dynamics of allowance sizes for 1998-2002 is characterized by the following data:

Size of allowance per child, MDL Type of allowance

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

One-time allowance on the birth of the first child: for insured individuals 144,00 144,00 144,00 245,00 370,00 for uninsured individuals 144,00 144,00 144,00 245,00 245,00

One-time allowance on the birth if each following child: for insured individuals 108,00 108,00 108,00 165,00 250,00 for uninsured individuals 108,00 108,00 108,00 165,00 165,00 One-time allowance on child care until the child reaches 1.5: for insured individuals 32,40 32,40 32,40 50,00 75,00 for uninsured individuals 32,40 32,40 32,40 50,00 50,00 One-time allowance on children between 1.5 and 16 16,20 16,20 16,20 25,00 25,00

Source: National Social Insurance House

Starting with 2001, all types of child allowances have been revised in view of increasing them, and starting with 1 January 2002, allowance sizes have not only been increased, but also differentiated. A one-time allowance is paid upon childbirth, aiming to compensate partially the decrease in income due to the appearance of a new family member not having an average income. The size of the allowance constituted in 2002 MDL

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370 on the first child and MDL 250 – on each following child, as compared with MDL 245 and MDL 165 in 2001. When giving birth to twins or more children, the allowance is established for each child in part. And although all women are entitled to this type of allowance, both working (from the state social insurance budget) and non-working (from the state budget), when confronting the number of beneficiaries of this type of allowance and the number of newborns, there is revealed a difference of 2.5-2.6 times in 1998-1999, which is reduced to 1.4-1.5 times in 2000-2002. One-time allowances upon childbirth were paid out on 23.8 thousand children in 2002, which is by 41.7% more than in 1998. The monthly allowance on childcare until the child turns 1.5 is established for the person who takes care of the child (the mother, father, grandmother or another person), who does not have the possibility of working or works part-time. If the respective person starts working full-time, the money allowance is cancelled. The size of the allowance in 2002 made up MDL 75 (about USD 6). When giving birth to twins or more children, the allowance is established for each child in part. The allowance is paid out according to the submitted request in additional to the maternity allowance and birth grant or at any other time until the child reaches 1.5. This allowance can also be paid to working mothers, individuals having adopted children, guardians, individuals educating orphan children or having taken them into family children homes until they reach the respective age. In case of returning to work before the leave for the care of children under 1.5 is over, the allowance is cancelled. As was mentioned above, the establishment of such an allowance does not depend on the family income, and the number of beneficiaries of the allowance on childcare until the child turns 1.5 increases every year: 26.8 thousand in 1998, 34.2 thousand in 2000 and 54.0 thousand in 2002. The monthly allowance on childcare until the child turns 1.5 constituted in 2001 29.0% of the subsistence minimum, this proportion increased a little in 2002 – to 32.1%, which also proves the limitation of the resources directed for such purposes. Families with children above 1.5 receive an allowance established according to the results of income examination. This allowance is established on children under 16 (mandatory general education system), in case of continuation of education, until graduation from school, gymnasium or lyceum. The income ceiling, based on which the right to receive an allowance is established, differs in dependence on the family structure. Critical income is considered MDL 18 per month on one family member in families with 1–2 children, MDL 27 – in families with 3 and more children, MDL 54 – for single mothers. The size of the allowance in 2002 constituted MDL 25 (less than USD 2) or 3.6% of the average wage level in the economy, against 6.5% in 1998 – at present this is the lowest size of a child allowance. The proportion between the size of the allowance on children between 1.5 and 16 and the subsistence minimum in 2002 made up 5%, the number of beneficiaries – 127.2 thousand children (for comparison, in 1999 - 88.4 thousand, in 2000 - 93.9 thousand, and in 2001 – 122.9 thousand, respectively). The information provided by the Annual Social Report of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, along with general data, allows see the categories of

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individuals who are provided child allowances – working (insured) and non-working. It should be mentioned that twice as many insured individuals were present in the structure of allowance beneficiaries in 1998, while starting with 1999, this ratio became opposite in favor of those who are not insured (non-working became by 1.6 times more), and this disparity is still present (in 2002 – by 1.8 times). For insured individuals, allowances for 76.8 thousand children were paid out from the state social insurance budget in 2002, the total yearly amount of payments constituted MDL 15,984.1 thousand.

Number of children, thousand Total real payments, MDL million Type of allowance

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

One-time allowance on childbirth for insured individuals 3,6 1,1 11,3 9,8 9,8 2,0 1,8 1,4 1,9 2,6

Monthly allowance on childcare until the child turns 1.5 13,1 8,5 18,0 26,2 30,6 9,9 8,2 6,8 7,4 8,4 Monthly allowance on children between 1.5.and 16 77,3 38,8 35,4 34,9 36,4 13,3 10,2 6,9 6,3 5,0

Total

94,0

48,4

64,7

70,9

76,8

25,2

20,2

15,1

15,6

16,0

Source: National Social Insurance House

Despite the increase in the average size of all types of allowances, the real expenses on their payment decreased in 2002 as compared with 1998 by practically one third, and the number of children receiving allowances respectively decreased by 18.3%, these being mainly the children between 1.5 and 16 whose parents work, and consequently have an income which does not entitle them to receive this type of allowance. For uninsured individuals, allowances were established for 128.3 thousand children in 2002, their number increased by 2.8% as compared with 2001, and by 1.7 times as compared with 1998. The expenses on the payment of these allowances constituted MDL 44,710.8 thousand in 2002, or 4 times more than in 1998. Data on in the payment of child allowances from the state budget are given below:

Number of children, thousand Total payments, MDL million Type of allowance 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

One-time allowance on

childbirth 13,2 13,6 15,6 14,1 14,1 1,7 1,7 2,0 2,7 3,4

Monthly allowance on childcare until the child turns 1.5 13,7 14,2 16,2 22,7 23,4 5,3 5,6 6,3 13,6 14,1 Monthly allowance on children between 1.5.and 16 19,9 49,7 58,5 88,0 90,8 3,9 9,7 11,4 26,4 27,2 Total

46,8

77,5

90,3

124,8

128,3

10,9

17,0

19,7

42,7

44,7

Source: National Social Insurance House

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If taking into account that the birthrate decreases, than the increase in the number of children benefiting from allowances, after the examination of the living means, shows that the number of families in which parents do not work or have pretty low income, is growing. According to HBS, every second vulnerable household is the one that has children under 16, they are at a higher risk to become poor than the households with no children. However, despite the measures taken to increase allowance sizes, their share in the total disposal income of households constituted in 2002 only 0.6%. The absolute majority of poor households, attributed to the 1st and 2nd decile groups (by 2/3) – these are families with children, while in the X last group (most wealthy) – such are only every second household. The above-mentioned share of allowances differs respectively – 1.4% and 1.0% for the 1st and 2nd decile groups, and 0.1% - for 10% of wealthy. Pre-school education One of the main problems of workingwomen is the necessity to combine work with family responsibilities. In 2002 UNDP and an independent survey company “Socio-Moldova” conducted in Moldova a sociological survey based on representative sample regarding the situation of women in Moldova. The survey results show that 42.3% of women are engaged at work for 6-8 hours, 29.3% indicated that they spend 4-6 hours on household duties daily. Thus, women work 10-14 hours a day, practically having a doubled working day – at work and at home. And the existence of children in the family, especially of pre-school age, brings about additional financial, living and other problems. In such conditions, workingwomen require support and an adequate policy aimed at improving the pre-school education system. At present, children under 3 are educated, as a rule, in the family. However, for the children of this age there function crèches, crèches-kindergartens as well as crèche groups within kindergartens. Children of 3-6(7) years of age can attend pre-school institutions or kindergarten-primary school complexes, which not only allow mothers to return to work, but also help children develop their cognitive and social skills, prepare for school. Such a preparation is mandatory from 5 years of age and is realized within preparatory groups in kindergartens, preparatory groups at school or, at the parents’ desire, in the family. Before the transition period, in Moldova existed a rather broad network of pre-school institutions. They ensured the care of children and thus gave women the possibility of working, their employment was relatively high. Those institutions not only contributed to the children’s development at an early age, but also played an important role in providing adequate nutrition and preventive medical care. The transition to market relations brought about cardinal changes into the previously existing order of provision of socially important services to the population on a free or subsidy basis. Due to the difficult financial situation of enterprises and organizations on whose balance sheets were the departmental pre-school institutions, many of them were closed down. The buildings were

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used as warehouses, offices and for other commercial purposes. Also important changes took place in the structure of ownership of child institutions, since state industrial and agricultural enterprises (the so-called kolkhozes) ceased their activity and broke-up, or because of the difficult financial situation or winding-up, refused to support such institutions, and local administration bodies began to play a more and more significant role in administration, but which often did not have the necessary funds for it. They tried to improve the situation by increasing kindergarten fees. Thus, the index of consumer prices on childcare services provided by pre-school institutions constituted 225% in 2002, as compared with 1992. The number of kindergartens decreased in that period by more than one-third. Alongside the fall in supply, the demand for child institutions was also falling due to an increase in pre-school institution fees, fall in family incomes and in the level of women employment. During 1992-2002, the number of children in pre-school institutions decreased by half, the number of places – by one-third, and the coverage of children aged 1-6 – by one-fourth. The decreasing tendency of the coverage of children by the pre-school education system reflects not only the fall in the demand and supply, but also the demographic fall registered in Moldova; the decrease in the birthrate (from 16.0 to 9.9 per 1,000 inhabitants) brought to a fall in the number of children of pre-school age. It should be mentioned that starting with 2000, these indices have improved to some extent and in 2002, as compared with 2000, the number of pre-school institutions increased by 57 (by 5%), of children – by 10.3 thousand (11%). The rate of coverage of children by pre-school institutions also improved a little – from 35 to 43% (the general coefficient: the ratio between the number of children attending crèches and kindergartens to the number of children aged 1-6). The rate of consumer costs of childcare services provided by the respective institutions in 2002 constituted 111% as compared with 2000, and 104% in comparison with 2001. It is obvious that the projected sustainability of the situation can be confirmed only by its further dynamics. According to the last reporting data, at the beginning of 2003 there were functioning in the country 1,192 pre-school institutions with 150.2 thousand places and with 104.0 thousand children, among them 15 private institutions with 1.4 thousand places, attended by 0.8 thousand children. In pre-school institutions there are special groups for children with various problems: visual, hearing, speech impairments, difficulties with the intellectual development, predisposition to TB. Also, there are kindergartens with various national traditions and peculiarities. Most state children institutions operate under the national program “Curriculum“, but some of them use authorial programs, such as: “PETIT”, “Step by step”, ”Waldorf”, considered the most popular and sponsored by UNICEF and SOROS. Under a SOROS sponsored project, children are educated according to the famous program “Step by step”. This program teaches how to be independent, stimulates creativity and enlarges the children’s range of interests. The essence of the program consists in an individual approach to every child in part,

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revealing its inclinations for one or another area of activity. A plus in the Foundation’s activity is that the educators undergo special training to work in this program. Another program, “PETIT”, supported by UNICEF, is interesting by its methodological principles. “PETIT” works not only with the child, but also with its parents on how to educate the child. Communication is built on the principle of equality and thus develops free creative personalities. The “Waldorf” program is directed first of all on developing the children’s senses, since they are the ones that give the most real information about the surrounding world and stimulate the intellectual development of children. It should be pointed out that, no matter what methods and strategies these programs use, they must follow the “Curriculum”, so that, upon entering school, children are equally oriented with other children of their age taught under different programs. This program is fundamental in all state pre-school institutions. Its advantage is that the child develops multilaterally on the basis of a scientific-experimental cognition method. In parallel with games, which are the main form of activity for the pre-school children, gradually are introduced school elements in the form of lessons, thus preparing the children for school, facilitating and shortening the period of adaptation to the changing conditions. For most children, state kindergartens are the optimal choice from a financial point of view, but not this is their main advantage. Despite the existing problems, such as the worn-out technical base, shortage of visual didactic material etc, the workers of children institutions create the optimal conditions for the children’s development. The so-called “Parents Associations” began functioning not long ago in many state kindergartens. Their activity consists in the parents’ providing financial assistance to kindergartens aimed at improving their technical base, setting up monetary funds to be used for various excursions, children literature and food. As it is known, the alimentation of children is the basis for their healthy development. Unfortunately, the funds allocated by the state on children’s food are critically short. Therefore, many parents who are aware of this, see a way out in paying the kindergarten for additional services to be provided to the children, which would include, besides a better alimentation, medical assistance, foreign language and computer studies, art and drama activities, etc. Besides state pre-school institutions, also popular are becoming private kindergartens. However, they are accessible to high-income families, and only 1% of the pre-school age children are attending them at present. The average costs of kindergarten services in the country are as follows: PRIVATE KINDERGARTEN: the total monthly fee constitutes MDL 1,000-1,500, of which MDL 25–50 are used for meals daily, the rest of the amount is used for additional services, staff wages and medical assistance.

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STATE KINDERGARTEN: the total monthly fee constitutes MDL 35–80, of which MDL 2.5-3.1 are used for meals daily. Staff wages and public utilities are covered by the state. KINDERGARTENS WORKING UNDER SPECIAL PROGRAMS: Parents pay a fee of MDL 400. Besides this, parents make a monthly payment of MDL 250, and also pay the kindergarten bill (MDL 35-80). Of the total amount, 78% are used for meals, staff wages (security and educators), the rest 22% - for additional services (Internet, foreign languages, didactic materials, etc). The family needs help and protection especially in the difficult conditions of the transition period. It must have not only social guarantees, but also the possibility of choosing a way of living that is best for it, including for realization in the demographic area, for the expansion of possibilities in combination with work and family activities. 3. Child poverty As it was mentioned before, the social and economic transformations to which Moldova has been subject in the past years, have had a direct impact on the living standards of the country’s population in general. Thus, upon the appearance of new forms of ownership, liberalization of prices, decrease in the number of employed and growth of unemployment, the stratification of the society into rich and poor was inevitable.

The decrease in the well-being level of the country’s population mainly touched on all categories of households. However, the most vulnerable from the point of view of the total income became the families with aged, disabled and unemployed members as well as the families with many children. Therefore, poverty has lately become one of the most pressing problems on the national level. However, no legislative acts have been adopted so far that would determine the rate of poverty in the country. When various national and international organizations measure poverty, they use both relative and absolute methods of determination. The existing minimum consumer basket which until recently was considered as the index of the population’s well-being level, cannot serve as the poverty line equivalent, since the methods of calculation of this index do not correspond to the current socio-economic situation in the country and represents a rather high level of the minimum needs of people. In such a way, it became necessary to develop another index based on the real possibilities of the state to ensure a certain subsistence minimum.

In 2000, there was developed the methodology for the calculation of the subsistence minimum, whose procedure of calculation was adopted by the Moldovan Government by Decision No. 902 of 28 August 2000. Starting with 2001, the Department of Statistics and Sociology has been using the subsistence minimum to measure absolute poverty.

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The poverty line established at the subsistence minimum rate represents the volume of minimum consumption of material goods and services necessary to satisfy the primary needs of people’s vital functions. The subsistence minimum is made up of the food and non-food basket and is calculated separately for urban and rural areas, including for able and unable to work individuals.

The food basket is made up of the minimum set of food products necessary to ensure to the human body the scientifically based amount of energy and main food substances as well as to observe the optimal proportions between them. On average, the food basket of the subsistence minimum constitutes 2,282 kcal/day, and for children – 1,915 kcal/day. The non-food share of the subsistence minimum is determined by calculating the HBS data on the existing real structure of population’s consumption expenses, separately for urban and rural areas.

Thus, in order to determine the absolute poverty rate, the average subsistence minimum is used, which constituted MDL 468.7 in 2001 and MDL 538.4 in 2002. The population with incomes lower than the subsistence minimum is determined as vulnerable, and poor is considered the population with incomes that do not cover 50% of the subsistence minimum, which constituted MDL 234.3 in 2001 and MDL 269.2 in 2002. Absolute Poverty Rate

2001 2002

total urban rural total urban rural

Share of vulnerable population 85,3 77,6 89,8 80,9 73,4 85,2 Share of poor population 51,2 44,5 55,2 42,2 35,2 46,4

Thus, the absolute poverty rate in the country is much more impressive in comparison with the relative poverty and constituted in 2002 – 42.2%, showing a tendency towards a considerable decrease as compared with 2001 (51.2%). It should be mentioned that a methodology for the calculation of the absolute poverty line has been developed in Moldova and is currently being prepared for official approval (joint work on the Department of Statistics and Sociology and the Ministry of Economy). However, taking into account that the data on absolute poverty have been accessible since 2001, the relative poverty line was used to determine the tendencies of the poverty rate at the end of a longer period. And it should also be taken into consideration that the rate of poverty is considerably different depending on the used measuring criterion, but children are in both cases one of the most vulnerable category.

Data about relative poverty have been accessible since 1998. The poverty line has been determined as 50% of the average consumption expenses to the equivalent and constituted MDL 209.9 for one individual for 2002. Thus, the relative poverty rate constituted 23.3% in 2002 and showed a decreasing tendency in comparison with 1998-1999 (25.7%-25.5%). The lowest rate during the past five years was registered in 2000 – 22.8%, and a further increase until the 2002 rate.

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Exposed to the poverty risk are to a higher degree rural inhabitants, where practically every fourth individual is poor (26.9%), while urban living provides a lesser risk of finding oneself below the poverty line (17.2%). Taking also into account that rural inhabitants prevail in the population structure, poverty is mainly concentrated in the rural area – 63.2% of poor people.

Thus, 24.1% of the poor are children aged 0-14, moreover, the rate of child poverty exceeds the average rate in the country, constituting 27.2% in 2002. Although poverty decreased in general by 2.4% from 1997 to 2002, child poverty decreased only by 0.7%. During the past five years, the lowest rate of child poverty was registered in 2000 – 24.5%, which exceeded the poverty rate in the country by 1.7%. The disparity between child poverty and general poverty rates constituted 3.9% in 2002, thus confirming the increasing risk in children of finding themselves below the poverty line.

Relative Poverty Rate

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Total Total poverty rate in the country 25,7 25,5 22,8 23,8 23,3 Child poverty rate 27,9 27,8 24,5 25,6 27,2

Urban Total poverty rate in the country 16,5 17,9 21,2 22,2 17,2 Child poverty rate 17,2 19,7 22,1 22,7 18,3

Rural Total poverty rate in the country 30,9 30,1 23,8 24,8 26,9 Child poverty rate 33,2 32,1 25,9 27,8 32,4

Child poverty is also concentrated mainly in the rural area: 78.9% of the poor children live in villages, which is conditioned both by a higher birthrate and low level of income in such households with many children. In parallel with this, the rate of child poverty in the rural area constitutes 32.4%, while in the urban area – 18.3%.

Depending on the age categories of children, in the structure of poor children prevail those aged 7-14 (62.5%), children aged 3-6 make up 24.1%, and children under 2 make up 13.4%. Alerting is the fact that child poverty is in inverse proportion to the child’s age: the rate of poverty of children aged 0-2 constitutes 32.1%, of children aged 3-6 – 29.4%, and of children aged 7-14 – 25.7%. This proves that it is at an early age of the child, when the parent cannot work because of the need to take care of the child, that the social allowances provided by the state are inessential and do not give the possibility of satisfying current needs, thus exposing the family to a higher risk of finding themselves in distress. The children’s well-being depends a lot on the size and type of household. If analyzing the profile of child poverty depending on the number of children in a household, it should be pointed out that, of the total number of poor children aged 0-14, 31.8% of children live in households with one child, 44.2% - in households with two children, and the rest – in households with three and more children. The assessment of children depending on the size of the household depends a lot on the household location. Based on the fact that the households with

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many children are characteristic mainly for the rural area, the share of poor children living in such households is respectively more essential – 29.8%, while in the urban area – 19.0% One not less important factor influencing on the situation of children is the type of the family in which the child lives. According to HBS data, 47.3% children live with couples, 13.8% - with a single parent, and the rest 38.9% - in households that also include other relatives. Of the entire number of poor children, 45.2% live with couples, 9.3% with a single parent, and 45.5% - in mixed families. In spite of the existing opinion that most exposed to the risk of finding themselves below the poverty line are the children with a single parent, it is for this category of children that the lowest rate of poverty has been registered – 18.9%. For family couples with children the level of poverty represents 26.6%, to poverty are most of all exposed mixed families with children – 32.6%. As a rule, the single parent with children is a woman – in 87.4% of such families, and of all poor parents women represent 89.8%. To the least risk of impoverishment are exposed the children living with their fathers, the rate of poverty is 16.8%, while for the children living with their mother, this index constitutes 21.1%. The gender of the head of the family practically does not influence on the well-being of children. The rate of poverty of children living with couples where the head is the father constitutes 26.9%, where the mother is – 26.4%. According to the HBS data for 2002, in the structure of family couples with children prevail families in which both parents work (77.2%), families in which only the father works make up 14.1%. There are also cases where only the mother is employed – 5.0%. Especially alarming is the fact that in 3.7% of the households neither of the parents is engaged in any activity that would bring income for certain reasons (unemployed, disabled, pensioners, etc) In parallel with this, in the structure of poor family couples there also prevail families where both the father and the mother are employed. It is obvious that the existence of both parents in the family not always ensures the necessary level of financial sufficiency for the children. To a higher extent this depends on whether the able to work members of the family are employed, and if yes, then what their income is. According to the survey results, the poverty rate in children whose both parents work is 28.9%; in a much better position are the children in whose families only one parent is employed - the poverty rate constitutes 17.8% (the poverty rate for the children where only the father is employed constitutes 18.2%, where the mother is employed – 16.7%. Poverty rate of children by the type of family and employment of adult members

2002

% of poor children with single parent 18,9 - with employed single parent 17,4 - with unemployed single parent 23,6

% of poor children with couple 26,6 - both parents are employed 28,9 - both parents are unemployed 25,5 - father is employed only 18,2 - mother is employed only 16,7

- both parents are unemployed 25,5

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There mainly prevail single employed parents (74.4%), those who are unemployed or are not engaged in any individual activity make up one-fourth. However, in spite of the fact that in the structure of poor single parents most are employed (69.4%), still, the children living with such parents are exposed to a lesser risk in comparison with those whose parent does not work (the poverty rate constitutes 17.4% and 23.6%, respectively). The financial situation of children directly depends not only on the income received from various types of activities, but also on the existence of other sources of income in the family. Overall, for 88.1% family couples the main income is the income from employment, including 41.4% income from hire work, and for 46.7% - income from the individual activity, which mainly is related to the agricultural activity. Despite the fact that for most poor couples (89.7%) the main source of income is also the income from employment, however, the income from hire work is the main source of income only for every fourth family. For the rest of couples, the main income comes from the agricultural activity, which, as a rule, is not high and often comes in agricultural products, which allows cover some of the family’s food needs. If analyzing the employment of poor couples depending on the number of the employed, then it should be mentioned that in families where both parents work, the employment income constitutes 94.2%, only for 22.5% of families hire work is the main source of income, while for 69.1% families – the income from the agricultural activity. The prevalence of the agricultural activity as the main source of income has mainly influenced on the higher rate of poverty in this type of families, since employment in the agricultural sector not always ensures the necessary level of income. Poor single parents are in a better position than family couples, since they are less characterized by income from the agricultural activity, this kind of income serving as the main source only for 44.9% families. For 20.4% of such households, the main income comes from paid employment, for 14.2% - income comes from various outside sources, and for 16.3% - the main income represent the social allowances which mainly are characteristic for the unemployed parent. Besides this, of all poor unemployed single parents, social allowances serve as the main source of income practically for every second. This shows that the existing social assistance for single unemployed parents with children is inessential and thus does not provide for the utmost necessities of the household. Consequently, the children living with such parents are exposed to a higher risk of impoverishment than other children. It should be mentioned that if until recently the rate of child poverty was being associated mainly with low family incomes, it has become clear at present that poverty also has an impact on such social factors as education, culture, living conditions of the population, etc. Thus, child poverty can be overcome only in the context of general stabilization of the country’s economy, by increasing the living standards of the population and creating an adequate mechanism to provide assistance to those categories of the population that really need it.

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4. Possible changes related to employment and poverty issues in Moldova The solving of the arisen problems related to employment, in general, and of women, in particular, to poverty and social protection of the vulnerable layers of the population is not possible without taking measures at the state level. During the past ten years, the social policy has not fully reflected the significant changes taking place in the society, nor has it corresponded to the current economic and social requirements. The institutional system and legal framework have proved unable to deal with the arisen problems. The preventive measures and ability to lower the risks to which the family and the child are exposed at various stages are insufficient. Thus, the complexity and significance of the situation of children and families with children, as well as the necessity to provide support to working women, are obvious. The socially vulnerable layers of the population in Moldova include families with many children, especially those living in the rural area, incomplete families, families of agricultural workers and families with disabled children. As mentioned above, the families with many children are one of the most unprotected categories, and the families with two children are, to a higher extent, exposed to the risk of impoverishment. It is absolutely obvious that poverty does not allow families to satisfy their normal needs and this leads to the fact that vulnerable families, including the children, are confronted with the problem of social isolation and have more chances of finding themselves at risk. All this entails such negative effects as child denial, non-attendance of school, vagrancy (street children), lodging of children in special institutions, violation of the rights of minors, etc. To support the family, help it overcome the most difficult periods in its life is called the social protection system whose main problems are the following:

inadequate character of the national family and child protection policy; fragmentariness of the institutional system of family and child protection and division of responsibility among the many central and local administration bodies; lack of a legal basis on family and child protection for the full implementation of the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Many laws have a declarative character but the mechanism for their implementation is poorly developed; insufficiency of management and professional possibilities within the family and child protection system; ineffectiveness of use of human and financial resources, characterized by inflexible administrative norms and procedures; lack of an efficient partnership between state institutions and non-governmental organizations on family and child protection issues; lack of criteria for the disclosure of socially vulnerable children and families; poorly developed network of social services destined for families and children as well as lack of standards for their quality.

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Taking into account the created situation, families are left without an efficient support in solving their specific problems and needs, which has conditioned a stringent need for the development and approval of the National Concept of Child and Family Protection (Decision of the Moldovan Government No. 51 of 23 January 2002). Its main tasks are the following: development and implementation of the policy of social protection and families and children at national and local levels; creation of a series of new viable models of public social services; creation of a national system of monitoring and evaluation of the situation of families and children; prevention of appearance of social risk situations. The actions provided for during concept implementation (by 2007) are focused, first of all, on families with unfavorable children (threatened to be abandoned, negligently treated); families whose members are drug and alcohol dependent; children at risk (orphans, deprived of parental care, children violating the law, with physical disabilities, HIV-infected, etc).

It should be pointed out that one of the most negative results of the transition period has been the sharp fall with regards to the early childhood education. That the situation has improved to a certain degree in the past years show the growing enrolment rate in pre-school education related to the 3-6 aged children (the gross enrolment rate constituted 44.1% in 2000, 47.6% in 2001 and 54.0% in 2002; the net enrolment rate coefficient – 38.5%, 42.4% and 51.2%, respectively). Alongside the pre-school institution system, in the market economy conditions there have expended such possibilities as of engaging hire workers to take care and educate young children, such workers being, of course, women (it is mainly well-to-do parents that appeal to such services, and the supply comes from women of different age, including of working age, that could not assert themselves independently on the labour market). About the increased attention to pre-school education issues speaks also the fact that among the directions of the developed National Strategy “Education for All” on 2004-2008, a special place takes the education of children of young age. The following actions have been established to be undertaken in the next years: expend the coverage of children by the pre-school education system; create groups/kindergartens with flexible working hours; increase the supply of quality education services both for children and parents – psychological services, specialized medical assistance services, services focused on the physical, intellectual and psycho-social development of children; develop and extend the model of individual approach to the education of young children, which was developed with UNICEF support in the system of pre-school education of Moldovan children, of the “Step by step” program, etc; ensure the necessary conditions for children’s accommodation in kindergartens, including meals, medical assistance, provision of transportation, equipment, supply playing rooms and libraries with playing, didactic materials and literature; create conditions to ensure the access to education services of children from unprotected families, of abandoned and homeless, and also of children requiring special care; improve the status, motivation and professionalism of pedagogical workers, etc. All the above-mentioned actions are of interest not only from the viewpoint of extending the educational services for children, but also in the context of giving women with small children the possibility of working in order to obtain income,

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since the working activity of women has continued to remain an essential feature of the way of living for many generations. Along with the special role of the woman in the family, where a lot of time and energy is dedicated to the education of children, household duties, family life maintenance, it has become a reality that the woman dedicates a significant part of her time to support financially her family and ensure a desired income in the conditions of a deficit of family resources. At the same time, we cannot help mentioning the discrimination of women, when they have to carry a double burden, at home and at work, while men, taking into account the national traditions, the patriarchic way of life and also their arguments of being engaged outside the family, as a rule, keep themselves aside household and child care activities. Overall, the weekly work burden for a working woman makes up about 70-80 hours, which significantly reduces the free time for women, which is practically 1.5 times less than of men.

In the transition period, the problem of immigration has become critical, being determined by such factors as the unstable economic situation in the country and the considerable difference in the living standards as compared both with CIS countries and with many other foreign countries. An insufficient legal provision of employment of foreigners on the territory of one or another country is characteristic for the illegal migration. Often taking into account the lack of social protection as well as the cheapness of labour force, lack of objections to the existing working and living conditions, Moldovan women are engaged in various activities, including harmful and hard, related, in the first place, with construction and repair works, service provision activities, not to mention such an anti-social phenomenon as prostitution, but simply “woman trade”, problems which have had a high social resonance in the past years. Alongside the higher incomes obtained from working abroad, more and more spread is becoming the unofficial employment which gives the possibility of ensuring financial well-being and prosperity. But we should not forget about the negative social consequences of this phenomenon, in particular: the limited access to various types of social allowances, which can be benefited from by insured individuals: payment of medical leaves, child care leaves, annual vacation leaves, creation of a reserve fund for receiving retire pays in the future etc. Absolutely obvious is the fact that in the planned economy period, resources were being strictly normalized, which was expressed both in the limitation of the age interval, and in the strict observance of the standards directed towards preserving working conditions at the proper level. In the period of market stabilization, many private enterprises do not observe the mentioned rules. In violating the requirements of the labour protection, women and teenagers are engaged in hard works, which is partly reflected on the demographic behavior and structure of the working population. The growth of employment leads to a decrease in the birthrate and a shift in the marriage age. In ensuring certain living standards for themselves and their families, women are confronted with such problems as children left without care, aggravation of

27

family relations, which often leads to the break-up of the family, unsettlement of private life. The modern life with its stresses and economic difficulties places women before rather a difficult choice: either help the family reach a certain financial well-being to the detriment of other family values, or refuse playing an important role outside the family and get involved in arranging family life. Financial support to families during the difficult period when children are born is absolutely necessary. But it would be naïve to suppose that an increase in the birth grant will greatly increase the birthrate. Most families are concerned about simply how to survive, are not sure about their future. The experience accumulated in our country as well as in other countries that have conducted experiments in the field of family and demographic policy shows that such measures as “paid maternity”, stimulated birthrate, interdiction of abortions, decisions placing in privileged positions one type of families against others, do not stand the control and only destabilize the demographic situation. However, by the force of inertia of the demographic processes, the expected effect will have to be waited for too long. Therefore, not as much immediate, as well-thought measures are required. The main restrictors of childbearing are the social and economic conditions. It will not be possible to stabilize the demographic situation without an economic growth. For this, it is necessary to increase labour costs and the share of work remuneration in the GDP. Undoubtedly, no laws will be able to increase automatically the level of childbearing. However, the existing strengthening of the social one-child standard (the existence of only one child in the family) in the mass consciousness can make the childbearing lowering process and the population’s losses irreversible. The state must confirm that in giving birth to a new life lies a public interest and divide with the family the responsibility for supporting and educating the children, and to no extent impose to the family ideal-number-of-children patterns. The family and the state must realize, each on its side, that the fulfillment of their professional and public roles gives women not only moral satisfaction and the possibility for self-realization as a personality, application of the existing knowledge and self-assertion, but also contributes to obtaining certain incomes, and as a consequence, to ensuring financial well-being, which in its turn is the foundation of family’s psychological health and integrity. It is necessary to acknowledge that in examining as a complex and in interrelation such problems as employment and poverty, the only way out of the created situation is the creation of a well-functioning labour market, that would contribute to decreasing unemployment by means of creating new jobs, to engaging the able to work population in activities that would ensure proper incomes. At the same time, it is important to balance two approaches – development of a free labour market and ensurance of social protection both for the working people (the social insurance system) and for the other categories of citizens (social assistance system). We should point out the main problems which Moldova has encountered in the past years – substantial scales of hidden (unregistered) unemployment, existence of black market, growth of length of unemployment, discrepancy

28

between the level of education/qualification and the work being executed, development of unofficial employment and labour migration, inadequate and non-objective information about the situation on the labour market. The research based on unemployment data shows that the number of officially registered unemployed is understated in comparison with the real number of unemployed in the country. This is related to the fact that the unemployed interest in registering is low indeed. The existing unemployment allowance program is ineffective, the relation between the allowance size and the size of insurance taxes is very weak. Besides, individuals leaving their jobs on a voluntary basis are not entitled to receiving unemployment allowances but many enterprises do not dismiss their employees due to the lack of means to pay leave allowances. An increasing number of employees feel forced to work not at their main work place, but on the side, thus getting involved in the shadow economy, getting deeper and deeper in the area of unregulated, often criminal, relations. Due to the unstable financial situation, the administration provides, but more exactly, forcedly sends the employees on unpaid leaves or employs them part-time. The decrease in the working day and unpaid wages bring about such a phenomenon as “working unemployed”, as a result of which unemployment takes hidden forms. According to the Annual Social Report of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the main directions of reforms related to employment for the near future include: improvement of labour market legal and institutional frameworks; improvement of activity of the State Employment Service and increase in the effectiveness of services provided to individuals in search of jobs; implementation of new methods of cooperation with economic agents; conclusion of interstate agreements on labour force migration and its employment abroad; conduction of permanent professional training of employees, training and retraining of the unemployed taking into account the requirements of the labour market; improvement of social protection, provision of assistance to such categories of workers as new comers on the labour market, individuals with special needs (including disabled individuals), women, by means of special measures taken on both the national and local and production levels, etc. Certain steps aimed at implementing an active policy on the labour market have already been taken. Thus, in 2001 actions were conducted in view of implementing the project “Development of the Labour Market in the Republic of Moldova” with the financial support of the Swedish Agency for International Development. The actions undertaken during the project implementation had a positive influence on the work of the Employment Bureau. In order to implement Sweden’s experience, the Employment Department developed a social plan of actions contributing to the improvement of the situation on the labour market throughout the Republic of Moldova (at the beginning, the reformations touched only on two regions – Balti and Cahul). In the process of development of the Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (hereinafter referred to as the Strategy) there were determined the long-term directions of the country’s development as well as the Strategy’s goals (for the short-term period 2004-2006). Among the long-term directions are creation of a modern economy, ensurance of sustainable development,

29

attainment of the millennium development goals, territorial reintegration, strengthening of the state system, and integration in the European Union. The European integration is called to assist the Republic of Moldova in its transformation into a state with an effective market economy and stabilized democratic processes. The implementation of this policy will contribute to the achievement of the Strategy’s goals, and the realization of the actions provided by the Strategy will, in their turn, make possible the observance of the criteria and requirements for joining the European Union in shorter terms. The existing potential must be used to the maximum in order to solve the political, economic and social problems with which the country is being confronted. Therefore, the Government provides for the implementation of the policy on maintaining stabilization on the macroeconomic level and for ensuring high rates of economic growth, as the first and foremost condition for reduction of poverty.

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Annex А

А. Main demographic data (according to the 1989 census data for the entire country, including left bank of Nistru river and Bender municipality)

Number of family members and singles, men-women proportion

Including Entire population

Men Women

thousand people

% thousand people

in % to the entire

population

thousand people

in % to the entire

population

Number of family members (living together with the family or apart, but having a common budget)

4063,8 100,0

1986,4

48,9 2077,4 51,1

of them, aged 15-59 2439,1 100,0 1187,1 48,7 1252,0 51,3

Number of singles (individuals not budget-related with a family, nor having a family)

271,5 100,0

76,8

28,3 194,7 71,7

of them, aged 15-59 139,0 100,0 51,1 36,8 87,9 63,2

Total 4335,3 100,0 2063,2 47,6 2272,1 52,4

of them, aged 15-59 2578,1 100,0 1238,2 48,0 1339,9 52,0

Number of family members and singles, distribution of men and women

Including Entire population

Men Women

thousand people

in % to the total

thousand people

in % to the total

thousand people

in % to the total

Total

Number of family members (living together with the family or apart, but having a common budget)

4063,8 93,7

1986,4

96,3 2077,4 91,4

Number of singles (individuals not budget-related with a family, nor having a family)

271,5 6,3

76,8

3,7 194,7 8,7

Total 4335,3 100,0 2063,2 100,0 2272,1 100,0

of them, aged 15-59

Number of family members (living together with the family or apart, but having a common budget)

2439,1 94,6 1187,1 95,9 1252,0 93,4

Number of singles (individuals not budget-related with a family, nor having a family)

139,0 5,4 51,1 4,1 87,9 6,6

Total 2578,1 100,0 1238,2 100,0 1339,9 100,0

Number of families and singles

Including Total

Having children under 18

Not having children

Families 1143423 739301 404122

In % 100,0 64,7 35,3

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Distribution of families with children under 18 by type of family and number of children

Including: Total

families in %

with 1 child with 2 children

with 3 and more children

Number of families 739301 100,0 319414 297211 122676 including: - married couple 539141 72,9 205661 233856 99624 - married couple with one parent of the spouse (or other relatives)

102988 13,9 49524 38236 15228

- mothers with children 67658 9,2 44011 18069 5578 - fathers with children 5446 0,7 3723 1297 426 -mothers with children and one parent of the mother (father)

10729 1,5 7605 2495 629

-fathers with children and one parent of the father (mother)

934 0,1 741 159 34

- other 12405 1,7 8149 3099 1157

Distribution of families with children under 18 by children’s age

Total Including children

families in % to the total number of families with children

Individuals in % to the total number of children

Families, with children – total

739301 100,0 1330690 100,0

Including with children: Up to 1 year old 83773 11,3 84930 6,4 Up to 2 years old 162784 22,0 170562 12,8 Up to 6 years old 397902 53,8 517922 38,9 Up to 8 years old 472505 63,9 674108 50,7 Up to 10 years old 535194 72,4 824338 61,9 Up to 12 years old 594387 80,4 968500 72,8

Distribution of families with children under 18 by the number of employed family members and number of children

Including with: Total families with children

1 child 2 children 3 and more children

Total 739301 319414 297211 122676 of them, families with employed members

724560

309098

294107

121355

Including families where employed are: 1 individual

133793

75839

41135

16819

2 individuals 515773 193713 229766 92294 3 individuals 74994 39546 23206 12242

In view of the fact that the holding of a population census has again been postponed until 2004, it is not possible to conduct a full analysis of the transformations taking place in the family, nor of the situation of women and children. However, current demographic statistics data enable to estimate some of the consequences of the transition period.

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The profound transformation of the society that has taken place, the change in the social value priorities, as well as in the people’s social psychology, have had an impact on the population’s marriage structure. The number of married couples has decreased in the past 13 years, which is proved by the statistical data on the number of marriages and divorces. The marriage level has decreased from the ratio of 9 marriages to 1,000 people in 1990, to 5.7 marriages in 2002, and the divorce level for the same period increased from 3.0 to 3.5 divorces to 1,000 people. The fall in the number of marriages registered with civil status authorities has been taking place in spite of the favorable changes for marriage life noted in the youth’s age structure, and is accompanied by an increase in the number of unregistered cohabitations and illegitimate children. In 2002, every fourth child was born outside marriage (in 1999 the proportion of such children constituted 18.8% to the total number of born children, in 1998 – 17.5%, and in 1990 – 8.5%). The distribution of live-borns by the source of mother’s living means shows that in 2002 the mothers of only 25% of the born children were working and receiving a wage. The mothers of the same percentage of children were unemployed, of 17% - housewives, of 27% - their source of living means came from social transfers: stipends, pensions, various allowances and other types of state welfare. Because of divorce cases, only in the past five years (1998-2002) 42 thousand minor children have been left with only one parent. A divorce in the crisis social-economic conditions inevitably means a significant aggravation of the living standards of most families with minor children left with only one parent. Repeated marriages hold a small share in the total number of marriages and tend to increase along the growth of divorce cases. Thus, in 2002 the share of divorced women that married repeatedly increased from 12.0% in 1993 to 13.8%. At the same time, the share of widows in the total number of repeated marriages slightly decreased (from 2.8% to 2.3%). Thus, not all divorced and widowed women manage to create a family again.

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Annex B

B. Paid employment of mothers by marital status and ages of children

Per cent men and women (aged 15-59) in paid employment, by marital status and age of

youngest child

2002

Single women Married/ Cohabiting women

All women All men

No children 47.1 54.1 49.5 50.4

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

38.1 27.8 24.2 54.2

Youngest child aged 3-6 years

40.9 51.5 48.9 56.9

Any child aged 0-14 years 60.1 53.3 47.6 56.6

All 50.0 53.7 48.6 53.5

2001

Single women Married/ Cohabiting women

All women All men

No children 51.2 56.1 52.7 53.1

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

34.4 33.1 26.5 55.8

Youngest child aged 3-6 years

52.3 50.6 48.0 63.4

Any child aged 0-14 years 62.4 56.8 51.5 60.1

All 53.9 56.5 51.6 56.7

2000

Single women Married/ Cohabiting women

All women All men

No children 45.2 55.8 51.2 56.1

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

50.0 31.2 30.0 65.6

Youngest child aged 3-6 years

62.8 56.6 52.4 63.8

Any child aged 0-14 years 68.1 59.9 53.6 61.6

All 50.8 58.2 52.5 59.0

1999

Single women Married/ Cohabiting women

All women All men

No children 45.1 55.9 50.1 59.5

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

48.1 35.0 32.1 68.2

Youngest child aged 3-6 years

55.0 65.6 61.5 68.9

Any child aged 0-14 years 64.5 61.2 55.1 64.9

All 50.4 59.2 52.9 62.6

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1998

Single women Married/ Cohabiting women

All women All men

No children 50.9 56.7 53.1 63.3

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

51.2 34.4 31.2 71.6

Youngest child aged 3-6 years

64.6 67.3 61.5 70.8

Any child aged 0-14 years 64.5 64.2 56.7 68.7

All 55.1 61.6 55.2 66.6

Annex C

С. Employee earnings *

Average earnings of men and women (aged 15-59) in paid employment, by marital status

and age of youngest child (in local currency - lei)

2002

Single women

Married/ Cohabiting women

All women All men

No children 560.36 441.84 468.64 535.43

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

301.94 439.27 394.34 617.77

Youngest child aged 3-6 years

329.88 383.12 363.27 596.17

Any child aged 0-14 years

427.61 394.37 387.86 540.72

All 524.69 415.94 430.34 538.19

2001

Single women

Married/ Cohabiting women

All women All men

No children 478.57 381.85 410.68 459.42

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

167.88 258.87 245.77 490.03

Youngest child aged 3-6 years

263.75 332.05 305.74 426.17

Any child aged 0-14 years

443.93 312.61 326.24 461.72

All 468.06 342.69 369.80 460.65

2000

Single women

Married/ Cohabiting women

All women All men

No children 378.68 341.92 348.05 389.80

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

252.27 321.39 309.35 463.54

Youngest child aged 3-6 years

279.93 295.03 285.96 378.46

Any child aged 0-14

years 386.57 291.90 301.86 389.71

All 381.15 311.85 323.97 389.61

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1999

Single women

Married/ Cohabiting women

All women All men

No children 289.40 257.58 262.55 312.86

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

166.67 222.40 192.69 319.99

Youngest child aged 3-6 years

215.88 216.08 218.12 324.19

Any child aged 0-14 years

230.81 230.39 226.14 334.62

All 269.58 240.79 242.79 325.98

1998

Single women

Married/ Cohabiting women

All women All men

No children 232.89 244.54 229.64 259.14

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

252.46 212.03 206.50 258.40

Youngest child aged 3-6 years

245.38 210.50 207.80 306.58

Any child aged 0-14 years

232.94 213.26 212.04 282.29

All 232.91 223.75 219.71 273.83

Combined earnings of husbands and wives (aged 15-59), in paid employment by age of

youngest child (in local currency - lei)

2002

The woman is

working

The man is working Both are working

(average per two

persons)

No children 305.15 390.66 775.23

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

295.60 630.69 819.03

Youngest child aged 3-6 years

208.62 771.94 662.28

Any child aged 0-14 years

296.63 626.67 666.06

All 300.84 552.50 706.98

2001

The woman is

working

The man is working Both are working

(average per two

persons)

No children 222.53 220.38 443.92

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

59.25 481.48 257.0

Youngest child aged 3-6 years

201.73 319.90 489.69

Any child aged 0-14 years

186.51 410.71 460.64

All 199.91 355.93 455.01

36

2000

The woman is

working

The man is working Both are working

(average per two

persons)

No children 103.53 148.92 360.16

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

312.29 294.24 254.21

Youngest child aged 3-6 years

167.39 283.06 373.33

Any child aged 0-14 years

181.10 282.75 352.01

All 154.27 243.96 354.61

1999

The woman is

working

The man is working Both are working

(average per two

persons)

No children 134.81 174.16 219.07

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

321.09 220.15 201.63

Youngest child aged 3-6

years 85.91 225.69 243.06

Any child aged 0-14 years

122.11 210.58 239.60

All 125.04 201.39 233.35

1998

The woman is

working

The man is working Both are working

(average per two

persons)

No children 150.86 99.45 187.16

Youngest child aged 0-2 years

62.08 142.37 248.51

Youngest child aged 3-6 years

72.99 201.30 254.40

Any child aged 0-14 years

97.95 167.27 239.64

All 112.43 148.62 226.33

* The information is based on HBS data with annual participation of approximately 6.3 thousand households or 16 thousand members of households. This survey is representative both for the total population and separately for urban and rural areas.

Data in annex B and С were calculated for those who took part in HBS only (are not weighted). **********************************************************************************************************