Advancing Ukraine’s healthcare through international partnerships: the UA-MED Heal Ukraine 2025 conference
The UA-MED Heal Ukraine 2025 international conference, held in early November at Harvard University (Cambridge, USA), marked the conclusion of the series of events of the UA-MED Healthcare Transformation Conferences 2025, dedicated to the advancement and modernization of Ukraine’s healthcare system.
The UA-MED Heal Ukraine 2025 conference is an international event that brought together Ukrainian and global doctors, scientists, managers, and representatives of non-profit organizations from the United States, Canada, and other countries.
The primary objective of all efforts is to advance healthcare in Ukraine, which includes the introduction of innovations, the treatment of injuries, rehabilitation, pain management, mental health services, and other opportunities that will strengthen the capacity of the Ukrainian healthcare system during the ongoing war and the future post-war recovery.
“History shows that war accelerates medical progress. The same is happening in Ukraine. We are compelled to adapt quickly and make decisions based on the real needs of the front and rear.”
Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, he outlined priority issues where Ukraine needs support from the international professional community. These include traumatic brain injury treatment, pain management, combating multidrug-resistant infections, burn care development, scaling up training in combat trauma care, and collaborative research, including on preventable deaths and spinal cord injury.
The conference program covered key topics that determine the current and future priorities for Ukraine’s health system in wartime.
Participants also discussed critical needs of the Ukrainian healthcare system, ranging from assessing the priorities of the Ministry of Health and combat trauma management to veteran care, thromboprophylaxis protocols, infection control, and the development of telemedicine solutions. Special focus was given to military surgery, reconstructive surgery, prosthetics, and modern approaches to orthopedic care.
Separate sessions focused on rehabilitation, nursing professional development, and the formation of multidisciplinary teams, as well as the role of American universities in implementing training programs for Ukrainian medical professionals. Other sessions addressed women’s and children’s health during the war, mental health, training of psychologists, the implementation of international protocols in child and adult psychiatric care, and the resilience of medical workers.
The program concluded with sessions dedicated to oncology, the organization of trauma management training, and the experience of team-based health care delivery in emergency situations.
The conference also presented already implemented solutions in Ukraine that have brought the healthcare system closer to the desired outcomes. These include authorization for pre-hospital blood transfusions, particularly by trained combat medics; the development of targeted medical evacuation, when critically ill patients are referred immediately to specialized centers, thus reducing complications and saving lives; the Medevac Ukraine program developed in partnership with the European Commission and WHO, which has provided treatment to approximately 6,000 patients (mostly military personnel) in nearly 30 EU countries; and the systematic development of rehabilitation as a flagship direction of the Ministry of Health, integrated into the Program of Medical Guarantees.
It is worth noting that the program also featured presentations by experts engaged in implementing modern clinical solutions and educational approaches for Ukrainian healthcare professionals. These sessions contributed to a wider discussion on how contemporary tools, international experience, and expert partnerships can help Ukraine strengthen its healthcare system during wartime.
We express our sincere gratitude to UA-MED, the Global Medical Knowledge Alliance (GMKA), Harvard Scholars at Risk, the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, Heal Ukraine Group, Razom, Nova Ukraine, Help Ukraine Group (HUG), Doctors United for Ukraine, MedGlobal, United Help Ukraine, the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America (UMANA), and other partners for providing Ukraine’s healthcare specialists with the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver high-quality and safe medical care.