CHISINAU- As the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation enters its seventh month, authorities in the Republic of Moldova, are reinforcing their commitment to respond to affected populations fleeing the war. Yet first responders also require adequate selfcare to remain effective in the long run. With this objective in mind, in the week of 5 September 2022, in Chisinau, 13 trainers from the General Inspectorate of Border Police (GIBP) of the Republic of Moldova completed a five-day Training of Trainers (ToT) course on Communication with Vulnerable Categories in Humanitarian Context, Building Staff Resilience to Stress and Burnout Prevention, organized by the International Organization for Migration, Mission in Moldova (IOM).  

The training was developed on the basis of a training needs assessment, and was part of a package of capacity development assistance for the border and migration frontline staff in response to the ongoing Ukrainian refugee crisis.

“In an emergency, such as the current refugee crisis, communication and response activities are focused on people who were directly affected. But beyond that, the border and migration frontline staff may experience burnout, which can have a significant impact on the personnel’s welfare overall. The primary objective of this training was to build in-house capacities for crisis management and communication with refugees, and to provide the staff with efficient coping techniques in order to prevent burnout.”, said IOM training facilitator Darius Mihai TURC, PhD.

"The training is well-timed and besides the valuable information on the ways to improve communication with vulnerable people, it also taught us how to manage potential conflict situations at the border checkpoints in relation to the current crisis. Due to the high number of people crossing the border, mostly women and children, separated from their families, and vulnerable people affected by war, my colleagues and I have dealt with an exhausting emotional burden. This is why, I consider the training absolutely necessary. Moreover, I think it has to be conducted regularly." Ion PLESCA, Chief of Psychological Assistance Service, The General Directorate of Human Resource Management, GIBP.

Around 230 frontline staff members from the regional subdivisions of Moldovan General Inspectorate of Border Police (GIBP), Customs Service (CS) and Bureau for Migration and Asylum (BMA) are going to attend 13 training sessions in Balti, Cahul and Chisinau.

Additionally, the participants were provided with two guidelines on communication with vulnerable categories in a humanitarian context and prevention of burnout for the frontline staff, developed by IOM at the request of border and migration authorities.

The current capacity-building assistance is being implemented under the “EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO UKRAINE CRISIS-AFFECTED PERSONS IN MOLDOVA” funded by the Government of the United States Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), ”ENHANCING THE RESPONSE TO UKRAINE CRISIS-AFFECTED PERSONS IN MOLDOVA” project, financed by the Migrant and Refugee Fund (MRF), through the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and “EMERGENCY GRANT FOR UKRAINE CRISIS” project, funded by the Government of Japan. 

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For more information, please contact: Ana Gnip at +373 79 66 77 51, agnip@iom.int