Today, the Minister of Health of Ukraine, Viktor Lyashko, together with his deputies, held a strategic session with the Head of the WHO Bureau in Ukraine, Dr. Jarno Habiht, and representatives of the WHO Bureau in Ukraine. They discussed cooperation plans for the coming year, main directions and projects. Ukraine continues to work on reforming the health care system, implementing on the ground the provisions of legislative acts adopted, including in wartime, which are necessary to improve the work of the medical system. Efforts are also directed at processes related to European integration, development and expert assessment of regulatory legal acts in the field of health care, assessment of their compliance with European Union norms. The military aggression of the Russian Federation leads to significant destruction in the medical field, therefore the issue of restoring medical facilities is one of the key issues in our work with partners.
“The World Health Organization is our long-term reliable partner both in strategic issues of the development of the health care system in Ukraine and in overcoming new emergency challenges caused by a full-scale war. The Ministry of Health has three main priorities: availability of medical care, its quality and free of charge for the patient. I am grateful for the constant expert, technical and financial assistance. Many projects have already been implemented and continue to be implemented. We are strengthening cooperation and confidently moving forward,” Viktor Lyashko noted.
“The strategic session with the participation of the leadership of the Ministry of Health and the WHO Bureau in Ukraine made it possible to sum up the results of our cooperation in 2022 and determine directions for 2023. We are supporting Ukraine in the conditions of war following the invasion of the Russian Federation on February 24, 2022. Further partnership during 2023 will include responding to emergency needs, supporting reforms and recovery efforts,” said Dr. Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative and Head of the WHO Office in Ukraine.
Strategic cooperation between the Ministry of Health and the WHO Office in Ukraine is based on the Biennial Agreement on Cooperation for 2022-2023, including responding to emergency health needs during wartime, in accordance with the Interagency Emergency Appeal for Ukraine 2022 and Emergency appeal for Ukraine 2023 (which is part of the global appeal in support of Ukraine), as well as responding to emergency situations related to the fight against COVID-19 and poliomyelitis in the country. Discussions on further cooperation between the WHO and the Ministry of Health within the framework of the Two-Year Cooperation Agreement for 2024-2025 have now begun.
We will remind, recently the WHO office in Ukraine handed over 26 ambulances to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to meet the urgent health needs of patients during wartime.
