Medical institutions of Ukraine received 175 off-road vehicles to improve access to medical care
Primary health care centers in different oblasts of Ukraine have received 175 off-road passenger cars. The Ministry of Health purchased the vehicles as part of a joint project with the World Bank called “Health Enhancement and Lifesaving” (Heal Ukraine).
The off-road vehicles are designed for family doctors, specialized doctors and nurses to visit patients in towns, villages and remote communities. Due to their cross-country ability and reliability, they will allow medical workers to reach patients in remote settlements, rural and mountainous areas more conveniently, even in difficult off-road conditions. The vehicles were distributed among 22 oblasts of Ukraine, according to their identified needs.
“For more than two years, we have been living and working in extremely difficult conditions of daily challenges of a full-scale war. One of them is to ensure uninterrupted access of our citizens to the necessary medical care. This is exactly what our Ministry’s efforts are aimed at. High-quality, affordable and free medical care is the right of every person. We are grateful to all our international partners for their reliable support and flexibility in responding to the needs of our medical system. Today’s 175 vehicles provided by the World Bank will allow primary care doctors across Ukraine to be more mobile and thus provide medical care to even more patients.”
“The transfer of off-road vehicles is one of the components of support to Ukraine’s healthcare system under the USD 500 million HEAL project, which is being implemented jointly by the World Bank and the Ministry of Health in the face of the devastating consequences of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. One of the main goals of the project is to strengthen the capacity of primary health care to provide quality services to the population, especially to people from the most vulnerable groups living in the most remote areas of the country.”
It should be noted that primary healthcare workers especially need increased mobility to accompany patients in the region. In particular, this applies to providing palliative care at home, newborn check-ups, visits to sedentary patients, organization of mobile vaccination points and visits to remote communities.
For reference: the off-road vehicles were handed over to representatives of healthcare institutions with the participation of Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko, Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine - Chief State Sanitary Doctor Ihor Kuzin, World Bank Regional Director for Eastern Europe Bob Saum, HEAL Ukraine Project Team Leader Jakub Kakietek, heads of health departments of regional state administrations, communities, and heads of healthcare institutions in Kherson, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.