Minister of Labor and Social Protection Alexei Buzu said that only in 2023 the institution managed to make its offices accessible to people with disabilities. “It is another result of which we are equally proud and ashamed,” the minister told a press conference, being quoted by IPN.

“If you noticed and saw, there is that yellow stripe, we have Braille signs, have sanitary facilities accessible to people with disabilities,” said Alexei Buzu.

According to him, the Ministry is now ready to welcome people with disabilities to form part of the team. “Until this year, this wasn’t possible and it was a great shame for us – a Ministry responsible for policies to empower and promote the rights of people with disabilities didn’t have accessible headquarters and offices,” stated the official.

According to the latest data of the National Bureau of Statistics, the recognized persons with disabilities represent 6% of the population with ordinary residence in the Republic of Moldova. On January 1, 2023, the recognized persons with disabilities numbered 162,300 and 10,900 of these were children aged between 0 and 17. Most of the recognized persons with disabilities were 30-45 years old.