How Moldova's digital government transformed refugee support in response to the Ukraine War
Edition #96 Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moldova's dopomoga.md was vital in supporting hundreds of thousands of refugees...
This article, first published by IBM’s Center for the Business of Government as part of a report entitled “Resilience in Action”, explores how Moldova’s future-ready digital government efforts shaped their response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, supporting hundreds of thousands of refugees who fled across the Moldovan border.
As a case study, it is stylistically different from our usual interweave pieces. We hope it will serve as a guide for policymakers looking to develop digital platforms, and are grateful for Alexandr Macuhin and Olga Tumuruc for their time in being interviewed for this piece.
With Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, nearly one-third of Ukrainians were forced to flee their homes. Many of them went to Moldova, a small neighboring country that experienced an overwhelming influx of war refugees—almost 100,000 people.
One of the poorest countries in Europe, Moldova was unprepared to handle such a high volume of people in need of immediate support.
Many displaced Ukrainians lacked valid documents, were unfamiliar with border crossing points, and faced challenges such as broken-down vehicles and difficulties with bringing pets. There was a pressing need to provide timely information and essential services to help the refugees navigate a life-changing situation.
A digital platform serving as a one-stop information hub for refugees
A group of volunteers quickly developed a website to coordinate support for Ukrainian refugees. Within a month after the start of the crisis, the platform had evolved into dopomoga.gov.md, an official resource of the Moldova government.
The platform was designed to serve as a one-stop information hub for refugees, providing guidance on accommodation, food, healthcare, and legal assistance. The website operated through a series of rapid three-to-four-day development sprints to adapt quickly to user needs based on feedback from online chats and data collected at refugee centers.
Today, dopomoga.gov.md has supported more than a million visitors to its website
The platform's core feature was a digital credential system that provided each refugee with a unique identification number to make their stay in Moldova legitimate.
In cases where paper documents were lost or damaged during the refugees’ flight, the platform helped ensure secure digital credentials, allowing refugees to access essential services without presenting physical documents.
Moldova’s eGovernance Agency, led at the time by Olga Tumuruc, played a pivotal role in rapidly implementing and scaling this platform. The success of the solution was supported by Moldova's pre-existing digital infrastructure, including free Wi-Fi at the borders and distribution of free SIM cards to refugees, helping them to easily access the platform.
Supporting one million visitors
Over a short period of time, the dopomoga.gov.md platform achieved significant results, providing valuable assistance to over 500,000 unique visitors in its first year. To date, the platform has supported more than one million visitors, with 29,000 active users per month.
This system not only provided timely and reliable information to Ukrainian refugees, but also acted as a critical identity management tool for people crossing the border. The digital credentialing feature enabled refugees to streamline interactions with Moldovan government services and reduce bureaucratic hurdles.
Moreover, the platform fostered coordination among various government agencies and NGOs, creating an ecosystem for data sharing and collaboration that improved the overall efficiency of refugee support.
Its success was attributed to Moldova's well-established digital culture, which facilitated quick decision-making and the ability to iterate and deploy necessary changes to the platform. As a result, dopomoga.gov.md has been recognized internationally, with Moldova's eGovernance Agency receiving accolades for its digital innovations (including the UN’s Digital Service award).
“Humanizing government” in offering a practical digital government service
Several key lessons emerged from implementing dopomoga.gov.md. First, the importance of "humanizing government" became evident because the platform was built with a deep understanding of refugees' practical needs, such as simplifying legal requirements and accommodating traveling pets.
The platform developers actively engaged with refugees at border crossing points, asking about their pain points and needs to prioritize the most urgent services.
Additionally, the success of the platform was underpinned by Moldova’s existing digital infrastructure and a culture of cross-governmental coordination. Years of investing in data-sharing capabilities among agencies allowed the government to respond swiftly and effectively during the crisis.
Another critical factor was the ability of the government to establish direct lines of communication with NGOs and international organizations, facilitating a two-way exchange of information that improved the accuracy and relevance of the platform’s resources.
Other regions looking to replicate this success, must emphasize a “humanizing government” approach, leverage existing digital cultures within governments, and designate governments to play a clear coordinating role. Flexibility, speed in decision-making, and user-centered design are vital to responding effectively in crisis situations.
While dopomoga.gov.md was developed as an emergency response, its future lies in its potential to continue providing long-term support for Ukrainian refugees. The platform is expected to evolve into a more comprehensive tool for managing refugee data and services during the prolonged crisis.
Moldova's eGovernance Agency has ambitious plans to further digitize government services, aiming to have 75% of government services digitized by the end of 2024. The infrastructure and lessons learned from dopomoga.gov.md can serve as a foundation for this transformation.
The long-term vision for dopomoga.gov.md is to maintain low operating costs while enhancing the platform's functionality to accommodate the changing needs of refugees.
As the platform shifts toward supporting more long-term planning rather than immediate crisis response, it can play a role in Moldova's broader digital government strategy. The principles of data-sharing, direct communication, and rapid response that have made dopomoga.gov.md successful can continue to drive digital innovations across the Moldovan government.