Politician Irina Vlah believes that the demographic crisis is the biggest problem facing the Republic of Moldova, one that affects absolutely all major sectors — from the economy to the social sphere.

“Moldova is dying, it is losing its population, yet paradoxically no one at the level of the central state authorities acknowledges this, and even less is anything being done to improve the situation. Meanwhile, the proportions are becoming truly alarming. During the years of independence, the Republic of Moldova has lost about one third of its population, and in terms of depopulation we are among the leading countries in Europe. According to some estimates, in the coming years we will reach another worrying threshold — every third resident of the Republic of Moldova will be over 60 years old. Even today, supporting pensioners is a major challenge (with more than 613,000 pension beneficiaries and just over 850,000 employees, about a third of whom work in the public sector), and in the short and medium term the problem will become even more serious. This is because the exodus of the population continues (in recent years alone, the number of people with permanent residence has decreased by about 300,000), the birth rate is falling, and mortality is rising,” Irina Vlah states in a post on www.irinavlah.md.

She says that the authorities can no longer ignore the demographic crisis; on the contrary — they must acknowledge it, declare combating it a national priority, and take the necessary actions to reduce the devastating impact of this crisis, which is being felt more and more strongly.

“Among the concrete actions that should be taken could be a debate on the issue during a special session of Parliament with the participation of all relevant decision-makers, as well as a debate at the level of the Supreme Security Council (especially since the Council’s prerogatives were significantly expanded last year, which suggests it now has more tools at its disposal than before). As a result of these debates, a series of concrete actions should follow, such as: establishing a National Population Committee that will professionally monitor and assess the situation related to the demographic crisis and propose concrete measures for each relevant dimension; developing a National Strategy to stop and mitigate the effects of the demographic crisis; developing a National Strategy to stimulate the birth rate; drafting a comprehensive package of legislative measures aimed at creating real — not declarative or populist — conditions for the return of citizens from the diaspora and for encouraging their involvement in the national economy by facilitating the launch of small businesses, especially in rural areas; developing a national program focused on reviving villages, which are currently the most affected by the demographic crisis (Moldova has had similar programs in the past and they produced certain results),” the politician proposes.

Irina Vlah adds that these are only some of the measures needed at the first stage to get things moving.

“Over time, of course, other ideas will emerge to complement the agenda of such concerns. What matters is to act, because if we do nothing today, tomorrow will be too late. And the stakes are enormous — the future of the Republic of Moldova!” the politician concludes.