Country Profile:
Total population: 2.9 million
Total children under the age of 15: 490,000
Moldova is often considered the poorest country in Europe and over 1 million Moldovans have left the country to find work elsewhere, often leaving the children behind. About 25% of the Moldovan children are living with only one parent, most often their mother and about 10% live with neither parent. Because of migration, over 36,000 children have been left behind and many of them live in informal kinship care with grandparents, older siblings or other relatives. Of the children left in residential care, many of them are children with disabilities.
Since the Russian attack on Ukraine has started in 2022, over 1 million refugees have crossed the border into Moldova and over 100,000 are still living in Moldova. Moldova faces many challenges, but good things are happening too. ACMO (Moldova without Orphans) is now working together with the government to close the last remaining orphanages.
ACMO (Christian Alliance Moldova Without Orphans) was co-founded as a collaborative national movement to reform child welfare, ACMO was established through the collaboration of local Christian organisations and international partners, including Dorcas Moldova. It was developed as a "Without Orphans" movement, designed to mobilise church leaders, NGOs, and government officials to transition children from state-run orphanages into family-based care.
The movement is based on the success of Ukraine and Romania Without Orphans movements, which demonstrated that building a common vision among Christians could transform child welfare on a national scale.
You can read more about their work on ACMO's Facebook page
Other Information about Orphaned and Vulnerable Children and Family Care in Moldova
Better Care Network Information on Family-Based Care in Moldova