Since the beginning of the full-scale war, medical humanitarian aid has been recorded through the MedData system, which ensures transparency of the process - Mariia Karchevych

The Parliamentary Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans’ Rights initiated a roundtable discussion on the topic “The state of functioning of the automated system for registering humanitarian aid”. People’s deputies, representatives of the Presidential Office, ministries and agencies, and the public sector were invited to participate.

The state’s task was to develop a mechanism for high-quality registration and distribution of humanitarian aid to ensure that it gets to the places where it is needed most.

For example, Deputy Minister of Health for Digital Development Mariia Karchevych shared her experience in responding quickly to meeting the needs of medical institutions since February 2022.

In fact, as early as March 2022, the Ministry of Health worked out the entire algorithm, from communications with donors to the processes of accounting and distribution of goods in Ukraine.

Data on medical needs, accounting of balances in regional warehouses and healthcare facilities, and distribution of humanitarian aid are collected using the MedData information and analytical system, which ensures control and transparency of the process.

The Ministry of Health distributes this aid not only to health care facilities under its jurisdiction, but also to municipal and departmental institutions, including those under the jurisdiction of security and defence structures. All humanitarian aid is sorted by priority. First and foremost, it is aimed at meeting the needs of medical facilities located in and near the combat zone and those treating the wounded. In addition, the focus is on institutions in regions with numerous internally displaced people.

The humanitarian aid is being unloaded at 4 transit warehouses. They have cold storage facilities so that medicines can be stored. There, the shipment is sorted, recorded, and entered into the system to track each item. After that, distribution is made according to the needs transferred to the MedData system. Logistics partners then transport the medicines to regional warehouses operated by military administrations.

“Every week we publish public reports on the Ministry’s website. We also have a real-time dashboard that you can check out. For each shipment, we prepare letters in which we thank the donors and attach information about the direction of the assistance provided. This is transparency, openness to partners and gratitude to them at the same time. We also cooperate with more than 20 largest volunteer and public initiatives in the country,” says Deputy Minister of Health Mariia Karchevych. 

During the period of martial law, Ukraine received more than 12.5 thousand tons of medical humanitarian aid at a total cost of more than UAH 13.5 billion through the coordination of the Ministry of Health. Today, we continue to be supported by a number of countries, international and partner organizations, Ukrainian and foreign businesses, and medical institutions in other countries.

The roundtable participants noted that Ukraine will need humanitarian aid throughout wartime. Therefore, the issue of registering humanitarian aid, controlling the circulation of humanitarian aid and reporting on its distribution should be resolved as soon as possible. The participants also noted the positive experience of the Ministry of Health and the healthcare sector in this area.

It should be noted that telemedicine systems and medical devices are the latest humanitarian aid provided by the Ministry of Health partners.