More than 14 billion dollars are needed in the next 10 years to restore the Ukrainian medical system — Viktor Lyashko

This was stated by the Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Lyashko during the panel discussion "Health as a prerequisite for recovery: mental health, rehabilitation and digital access to medical services" within the framework of the International Conference on the Recovery of Ukraine (Ukraine Recovery Conference — URC2024), which is currently taking place in Berlin, Germany.

The following took part in the panel discussion: from the Ukrainian side — First Lady Olena Zelenska, Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko; from the German government — Professor Karl Lauterbach, Federal Minister of Health of Germany; Carlo Monticelli, representative of the Development Bank of the Council of Europe; from medical partnerships: Karin Steineke, partner of the "Charite" clinic and the telemedicine project.

"The cost of restoring Ukraine's medical sphere after the consequences of a full-scale war, which have already been recorded, is more than 14 billion dollars for the next 10 years. However, Russia is trying to destroy not only our hospitals, but also destroys our "emergency rooms", pharmacies, takes away equipment and medicines, and kills our doctors. The total losses of the medical field from the war are colossal — at least 17.8 billion dollars, said the Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Lyashko. — In order for our medical system to continue to function and develop, the support of international partners is critically important. After all, despite everything, we are working on building a system of high-quality, accessible and free medical care for every Ukrainian. In the conditions of war, when the number of people with injuries and wounds increases every day, this issue becomes even more urgent."

The Minister reminded that over 27 months, as a result of enemy attacks, 1,618 medical facilities were damaged and another 214 were completely destroyed and cannot be restored. Medical institutions of Kharkiv, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions suffered the greatest losses. Currently, it is impossible to obtain comprehensive information on the degree of destruction of hospitals in the temporarily occupied territories.

"This week, we gathered in Berlin for a conference on the recovery of Ukraine together with a number of partners who support the health sector in the process of its recovery and transformation. WHO provides ongoing support to Ukraine in several critical areas to make progress on reforms, including health financing and primary care, as well as emergency response to meet the growing health needs of the population in wartime conditions. Our coordinated efforts are critical to ensuring the availability of health workers and the availability of health services, without which it is impossible to meet the needs of the population. Our common goal should be to avoid and reduce inequality in the field of health care in communities, said Dr. Jarno Habicht, WHO representative in Ukraine. — Priorities for the restoration of the health care system include the restoration of basic medical services to ensure their availability to all communities of Ukraine, which will contribute to health promotion and the solution of new and growing needs in the field of health care, such as mental health and physical rehabilitation.

Viktor Lyashko also presented the Health Care Strategy to those present. Currently, all the work of the Ministry of Health is focused on three priorities: ensuring quality, availability and free medical care. During the war, medical reform did not stop, but on the contrary, received a new impetus, taking into account the requirements of wartime. A capable network of hospitals was formed, which included 562 medical institutions. This made it possible to allocate limited financial resources more rationally. Despite the war, the amount of guaranteed medical services for Ukrainians was not reduced. On the contrary, in 2024 the Medical Guarantee Program expanded. Almost 159 billion hryvnias were allocated, which is 16 billion hryvnias more than last year.

"The recovery of the country is impossible without the recovery of the person. War traumatizes both physically and emotionally. Our task is to provide people with all the conditions and opportunities for recovery and return to normal life," added Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Lyashko.

Because of the war, about 250,000 patients need quality rehabilitation care every year. Everyone can get it absolutely free of charge. The Ministry of Health is building a rehabilitation network on the basis of cluster and super-cluster hospitals in order to make rehabilitation available evenly throughout the country. In 2024, the capacity of the rehabilitation system of Ukraine will be almost 10,000 therapeutic sessions per day, which is three times more than at the beginning of 2022.

As for responding to challenges in the field of mental health of Ukrainians, the Ministry of Health is actively working on the implementation of the All-Ukrainian mental health program "How are you?", initiated by the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska. The first priority was to bring mental health services closer to the patient. As a result, it can now be obtained free of charge from your family doctor. In two years, more than 180,000 Ukrainians have already taken advantage of this opportunity. Work is currently underway to create mental health centers on the basis of cluster hospitals, in which psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists will provide psychological support free of charge. By the end of the year, it is planned to create 30 such centers in different regions of Ukraine.