In the last two years, UNFPA, with the financial support of partners, has donated 325 adapted gynecological chairs to health centers in the Republic of Moldova. These are equipped with special mechanisms that allow the equipment to be adjusted according to the needs of each patient – ​​be it women with locomotor disabilities, the elderly, or pregnant women.

“When I went to the gynecologist, I had to struggle to get on the examination chair or ask the doctor to help me. I felt even more uncomfortable being in such a situation. Regardless of whether she has a disability or not, every woman should benefit from quality medical services, it is her right.” This is the opinion of Elena, a 31-year-old woman from Chisinau.. 

She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth and uses a walker to get around. Even though the journey to the medical institution is difficult, Elena has not stopped going to the doctor regularly for routine gynecological check-ups.

“The most difficult thing was in the doctor’s office – nothing was arranged for people with disabilities, the gynecological chair was too high. Sometimes the doctor helped me, sometimes – I struggled to cope on my own. Visits to the gynecologist are sometimes embarrassing, but in such a situation I felt even more uncomfortable. It was not easy, but I tried to cope,” says Elena.

Eight years ago, Elena became the mother of a boy. Pregnancy and childbirth “forced” her to interact even more with the infrastructure of the medical system at that time:

“When I got pregnant, I started going to a medical institution in another sector. The gynecological and ultrasound rooms were on the second floor. I would lean against the wall to climb up or ask people to help me. The examination bed was high. When my belly got bigger, it was even more difficult. On the day I gave birth, because the delivery bed was also too high, the doctors had to grab my hands and feet to transfer me from one bed to another. I felt like I had been thrown.”

In contrast, Elena considers herself lucky that she has always had a respectful and supportive attitude from the medical staff:

“The pregnancy and birth went well. During this entire period, I did not face offensive labels or criticism, as my relatives have experienced. On the contrary, after I gave birth, the doctors monitored our health, helped me and encouraged me. I did not feel like I belonged to anyone, because I also have the right to quality medical services.”

The lack of adapted medical equipment is a problem that Elena often encounters: “A short time ago, I fractured my leg and had to go for procedures. However, I was unable to benefit from them, because the massage table was high and I couldn’t climb it. I asked the doctor to help me, but he reproached me that he didn’t have time for such a thing. He showed me what to do and I did the procedures at home, on my own.”

Recently, Elena discovered the adapted gynecological chairs from the Mother and Child Institute, designed for women with locomotor disabilities, the elderly or overweight, and pregnant women. They operate on the basis of a special mechanism, which allows the equipment to be adjusted according to the needs of each person. Thus, medical consultations become accessible and comfortable for both patients and medical staff.

In the context of the humanitarian response, during the period 2023-2024, UNFPA, with the support of partners, donated 325 such gynecological chairs to several municipal and district perinatal centers, primary health care institutions, Youth-Friendly Health Centers, as well as penitentiary institutions.

“Every woman should enjoy the right to go to a medical institution with accessible infrastructure, adapted equipment, a friendly and non-discriminatory atmosphere. Such gynecological chairs should exist throughout the country, especially in villages, where there are so many women with disabilities, including refugees, who need gynecological medical assistance. The chairs are comfortable, modern and you no longer feel embarrassed. In addition, the consultation is faster,” adds Elena.

Diana Valuța, head of the Unit for Coordination of the Implementation of Cervical Screening, also confirms this. The obstetrician-gynecologist claims that, most of the time, doctors avoided examining women with locomotor disabilities or resisted, especially because the procedure took too long and the waiting line was quite long.

“Equipping medical institutions with high-performance adapted equipment is an extraordinary step for all these women and for the system in general. In addition, doctors have become more empathetic and better trained in this regard. Currently, women with disabilities go to the gynecologist more often – being pregnant, to have a colposcopy or to be examined, following the emergence of suspicions. In addition to these interventions, it would be good for medical staff to be trained as much as possible, to know how to use the equipment correctly, to develop their usage skills and to know how to behave/communicate with patients”, emphasizes Diana Valuța.

In 2023, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, people with disabilities constituted about 7% of the total population with usual residence in the Republic of Moldova, which means over 161 thousand people with disabilities. Half of them were women and girls.

On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, marked annually on December 3, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reiterates that every person must have the same rights to health, as stated in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.