With the support of USAID and the Leahy War Victims fund Physiopedia and ReLAB-HS are creating a series of massive open online courses (MOOC) to support the global rehabilitation community.
When I found the RELAB-HS free massive open online course (MOOC) on Understanding Rehabilitation as a Health Strategy, it was like an aha moment! …. Now we are invited to work with a parliamentary group on making changes in children’s rehabilitation in our country. – Diana Covalciuc
Moldova is a small lower-middle-income economy, a young democracy after more than 50 years of being part of the Soviet regime. Although the poorest country in Europe, it has made significant progress in reducing poverty and promoting inclusive growth since the early 2000s. The economy has expanded by an average of 5% annually, driven by consumption and fueled by remittances. However, there remains a great need for development in many fields including rehabilitation.
Diana Covalciuc is the co-founder of a non-governmental organisation that annually serves up to 600 children with severe chronic diseases and disabilities. The Centre in Chisinau, Moldova, was opened in 2000 by Tony Hawks, “Yes, that playing the Moldovans at tennis guy!”
In late 2021 Diana, a rehabilitation paediatrician with 36 years of professional practice experience, was looking online for some information while preparing an Occupational Therapy related project proposal when she found the RELAB-HS free massive open online course (MOOC) on Understanding Rehabilitation as a Health Strategy. Diana says “It was like an aha moment! I immediately enrolled myself and learned with great interest almost all the material.”
The course allowed Diana to have a better understanding of the importance of integrating rehabilitation in the health system at all levels. “It was the last piece of the puzzle to see the entire picture,” she said. Enthused by the course, Diana shared the course with the director of the Republican Rehabilitation Centre, who had the same enthusiasm about this course.
“After this, we had the confidence to approach a different member of our parliament as well as to speak to our ministry of health explaining the importance of developing rehabilitation in our country. Now we are invited to work with a parliamentary group on making changes in children’s rehabilitation in our country.”
The course gave Diana and her colleague the knowledge and confidence to pursue political change for children’s rights in the country, despite previously having only found closed doors. Diana is looking forward to the 2022 ReLAB-HS MOOC on Understanding the Rehabilitation Needs of Displaced People, “I look forward to learning more about how we can help the young refugees from Ukraine in the understanding of the rehabilitation needs of displaced persons free course.”
This work is supported by the USAID funded Learning Acting Building for Rehabilitation in Health Systems (ReLAB-HS) project and is not possible without the generous and committed contribution of the Leahy War Victims fund.
ReLAB-HS is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is implemented under cooperative agreement number 7200AA20CA00033. The consortium is managed by prime recipient, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.