From September 2019 to February 2020, we conducted formative research that analysed the causes of the excessive rate of births completed by caesarean section in Romania, together with Romanian researchers and experts from the World Health Organization from Copenhagen and Bucharest. The research combined analysis of caesarean birth data in Romanian hospitals with a qualitative study based on the WHO guideline "Optimising the use of caesarean section: a generic formative research protocol". The final report of the study was handed over to the WHO Office in Romania and the Ministry of Health.

Running from June to December 2019, the project aimed to contribute to the response against the measles epidemic in Romania, which had counted around 18,000 measles cases and more than 60 deaths since its onset in 2016. The project developed two background documents together with experts from the National Centre for Communicable Disease Surveillance and Control/National Institute of Public Health and family doctors from the National Society of Family Medicine's vaccinology group: "Guidelines for MMR vaccination in primary health care", addressed to family doctors, and "Mobilisation guidelines for MMR vaccination in primary health care", addressed to frontline professionals (family doctors, primary health care nurses, community nurses or health mediators). The Ministry of Health has revised and issued by Ministerial Order the MMR Vaccination Guidelines in 2022. rnrn

Initially planned to run from December 2019 to June 2022 (the project was a natural extension of the UNICEF-funded project in which the "MMR Vaccination Guidelines in Primary Health Care" and "MMR Vaccination Mobilization Guidelines in Primary Health Care" were developed, when family doctors also identified gaps in vaccination mobilization/ poor communication with parents/caregivers of children, especially in remote/vulnerable rural areas. The new project piloted tools adapted to the Romanian context, from the globally developed UNICEF training package "Interpersonal Communication for Vaccination". Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project has been extended by 12 months and will be completed in June 2021, after training, both in the use of the two MMR vaccination guidelines and in interpersonal communication, more than 300 primary health care professionals from Timiș and Călărași counties.

In the first part of 2019, together with WHO experts from Copenhagen and Bucharest, we carried out an analysis/assessment of reproductive and sexual, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health services in Romania, in the context of universal health coverage - one of the Sustainable Development Goals also assumed by Romania. rnThe final report is available here: https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789289054720.

Implemented in the period 2019-2022, the project started from the CDC's hypothesis that by improving interpersonal communication between health service providers and the population, it is possible to increase vaccination coverage. The intervention was carried out in 4 counties (Brașov, Vrancea, Mureș and Neamț) and included trainings based on the perspective and practices of the motivational interviewing. 354 professionals from primary health care, neonatology, but also those from community health care benefited from these trainings. In addition, a mentoring model was tested for the graduates of the trainings who sought support in implementing the new practices.