Ministers of Health of Ukraine and Lithuania visited the city of Dnipro
The Minister of Health of Ukraine, Viktor Liashko, together with a Lithuanian delegation led by the Minister of Health of Lithuania, Marija Jakubauskienė, paid a working visit to medical facilities in the city of Dnipro.
“Lithuania is a reliable partner that supports Ukraine during the most challenging times—from the provision of humanitarian aid to the restoration of medical infrastructure and the development of rehabilitation services. In November 2024, we signed a Technical Agreement between the Ministries of Health of Ukraine and Lithuania to implement the Security Agreement concluded between our countries on June 27, 2024, during the visit of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda to Brussels. This document defines the key areas of our cooperation: rehabilitation; a program for the medical evacuation of Ukrainians affected by the war for treatment in foreign clinics; the development of horizontal medical partnerships; digital transformation; European integration; mental health system development; and the fight against antimicrobial resistance.”
During the visit, the ministers familiarised themselves with the work of the SUPERHUMANS Center in the city of Dnipro, City Clinical Hospital No. 4, the Dnipro Regional Center for Rehabilitation of Spinal Cord Injuries (which is currently being established at the University Hospital of the Dnipro State Medical University), as well as the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Clinical Hospital named after I. I. Mechnykov.
Opened in May 2025, SUPERHUMANS Dnipro provides prosthetics, physical rehabilitation, psychological support, and social reintegration services to service members and civilians affected by the russian aggression. The facility has the capacity to treat at least 50 patients per month, allowing more than 600 Ukrainians per year to receive rehabilitation services and reintegrate into society. To date, 59 patients have received prosthetic care. The Center has also organized its own medical evacuation programme: every week, specialized teams transport patients with severe injuries to operating rooms at the Superhumans Center in the city of Lviv. So far, 17 medical evacuations have been completed under this programme.
The Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine at Dnipro City Clinical Hospital No. 4 is one of seven Centers of Excellence in Ukraine. The facility provides training for multidisciplinary rehabilitation teams from across the country, implements new evidence-based practices and fosters the professional community. In 2025, the Department provided care to 1,787 patients, including 1,458 service members. Additionally, 412 patients received outpatient care.
Since May 2023, with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Union, and the Government of the United Kingdom, 32 teams from various regions of Ukraine have undergone training at the Department of Dnipro City Clinical Hospital. This medical facility actively cooperates with international partners; each week, supervisory sessions are conducted with educators from New York University Langone Health and Rusk Rehabilitation (USA). In August 2025, two rehabilitation professionals from the Department became Ukraine's first national trainers for wheelchair service providers certified by the International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP). The Department also serves as an educational site for 4 universities in the cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, providing training for physical therapists, occupational therapists, and specialists in physical and rehabilitation medicine. Additionally, the team was the first in Ukraine to be certified in the clinical program “Pre-Prosthetic Rehabilitation of Patients with Traumatic Amputations,” conducted by the Clinical Affairs Committee of the European Union of Medical Specialists Section of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine.
Ukraine and Lithuania are collaborating to establish a regional rehabilitation center for spinal cord injuries in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast (region). The project is being implemented at the University Hospital of Dnipro State Medical University, with support from the WHO, the Lithuanian Fund for the Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, CPVA, and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The total project cost is EUR 2.5 million. The medical facility, with an area of almost 1,000 square meters, will offer 50 inpatient beds and provide highly specialized care to residents of the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Kirovohrad oblasts. The project also includes professional training and international exchange of experience.
Lithuania is an active participant in the International Medical Partnership, an initiative launched in 2023 by Ukraine’s First Lady during the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen in the city of Kyiv. This initiative has become a unique tool for horizontal collaboration between Ukrainian healthcare institutions and international partners. It promotes cooperation in clinical practice, scientific research, and the training of healthcare professionals.
As of today, 71 memoranda have been signed between Ukrainian and international healthcare institutions from 24 countries as part of the initiative. This includes two memoranda with Lithuanian establishments: a memorandum between the Mykolaiv Regional Clinical Hospital and Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos, and a memorandum between the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Clinical Hospital named after I. I. Mechnykov and the Republican Šiauliai Hospital.
“For more than ten years, Mechnykov Hospital has been saving the lives of wounded defenders every day. It is truly a ‘factory of life.’ At the same time, it is a unique source of experience in treating complex combat injuries—experience that Ukrainian doctors share with their international partners. Cooperation with Lithuanian colleagues officially began in June 2024 with the signing of a partnership memorandum. Since then, doctors from Mechnykov Hospital have delivered lectures in Lithuania, while Lithuanian specialists have had the opportunity to work alongside our teams in emergency departments, intensive care units, and operating rooms. This is an actual exchange of experience in treating mine and explosive injuries, organizing medical evacuation, and implementing modern NATO standards within the Ukrainian medical system.”