Despite the registered increase in the life expectancy in Moldova during the last years, gender and regional disparities in the length of life are maintained. Thus, our research aims to highlight the urban/rural life expectancy gap, attempting to explain changes in mortality through the implemented measures and policies towards population health. We utilized period life tables for our analysis, enabling the decomposition of life expectancy. Therefore, we systematized the existing legislative framework in population health and implemented national health programs and lifestyle-adjusting policies while analyzing mortality evolution. The changes in life expectancy at birth have occurred in the context of a decrease in mortality primarily attributed to cardiovascular diseases and external causes. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reshaped the mortality structure, leading to a substantial decrease in urban life expectancy and causing a reduction in its urban/rural disparity. In our analysis, we deduce that implemented alcohol and tobacco control policies will likely have a long-term output on population lifestyle adjustment. Improvements in healthcare infrastructure and implemented targeted programs (e.g., interventional cardiology) significantly contribute to the amelioration of population health but are less accessible for rural regions than urban ones. Moreover, international standards also influence changes in mortality rates, particularly in improving infrastructure and technologies that impact the population's safety and quality of life. The article was elaborated within the State Program Project (2020-2023) 20.80009.0807.21 „Migration, demographic changes, and situation stabilization policies”.