In recent years, multiple successive blows have hit Ukraine — the global pandemic, a full-scale invasion, and more than two years of war. You might expect that health care in a country faced with such adversity would be crumbling.
But the reality may surprise you: Ukraine’s health system has proved extraordinarily resilient. Medicines in vast parts of the country are easier to access and afford. People continue to be able to get tested for HIV and receive preventive treatment. And despite the challenges, the government of Ukraine, GOU, continues to take steps toward its long-term goal of a European-integrated health system.
These successes are the result of careful investments applied with a whole-system approach. Other countries can learn from this example. Here are some things that Ukraine has been able to achieve.