The Ministry of Health of Ukraine and UNICEF to Strengthen Cooperation on Healthcare Facility Energy Resilience and Improve the Quality of Healthcare Services
Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko met with Anne-Claire Dufay, UNICEF Representative in Ukraine. The parties discussed further cooperation in healthcare, including improving maternal and child healthcare, developing immunisation and primary healthcare programmes, and strengthening the energy resilience of hospitals.
Particular attention was paid to improving maternal and child healthcare, developing immunisation programmes, and enhancing the resilience of healthcare facilities.
“We are extremely grateful to UNICEF for its continued support for Ukraine’s healthcare system. We are already seeing tangible results of our cooperation in improving maternal and child healthcare, increasing access to healthcare services, and strengthening the energy resilience of hospitals. Our main priority is to ensure that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, can access quality healthcare on time. That is why we aim to continue developing this partnership, implementing practical solutions together, and strengthening the resilience of Ukraine’s healthcare system.”
The meeting also addressed ways to reduce perinatal and neonatal mortality and ensure continuous medical follow-up for children from birth. To this end, the Ministry of Health is working on the automatic transfer of newborns’ medical data from maternity hospitals to primary healthcare facilities. This will help ensure timely follow-up care for children after discharge.
With UNICEF’s support, a number of initiatives have already been implemented to improve the quality of maternal and child healthcare. In particular, 2,752 healthcare professionals have received training in caring for low-birth-weight newborns. The quality of perinatal services provided under Ukraine’s Medical Guarantees Programme has also been monitored.
In addition, 158 Care Spaces have been established at primary healthcare facilities across 11 regions of Ukraine and in Kyiv. Another 47 such spaces are currently being renovated. These spaces provide families with young children with comprehensive support on child health, development, and care.
Preparing healthcare facilities for winter was another topic of discussion. With UNICEF’s support, solar power systems equipped with batteries and inverters are being installed at 98 healthcare facilities across 14 regions of Ukraine, including frontline regions. This will help ensure the continuity of healthcare services during power outages.
The cooperation between the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and UNICEF is long-standing and has already delivered tangible results. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine thanks UNICEF and its international partners for their continued support for Ukraine’s healthcare system and their joint efforts to strengthen and develop it.
In October, UNICEF delivered 50,000 doses of the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine to Ukraine. The vaccine is intended for free vaccination of children in accordance with Ukraine’s National Immunisation Schedule. The delivery was made as part of cooperation between the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.