The Ukraine Recovery Conference, taking place in Rome this week, will see the international community pledge to increase financing for Ukraine’s wartime reconstruction. Ukraine is moving quickly to implement a more strategic, coordinated approach to recovery. The country’s health system can be a major beneficiary of this.
After more than 2,500 attacks on Ukraine’s medical facilities since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, health care remains a priority for enhanced support. The cost of meeting recovery needs in this sector is estimated at $19.4 billion — and with escalating attacks on civilian infrastructure in recent months that figure is likely to rise.
International support can ensure that damaged facilities are repaired and that some of those destroyed are rebuilt. But merely restoring what has been lost is not where the real opportunity lies.
About the authors
Jarno Habicht
Jarno Habicht has been the WHO representative and head of the WHO country office in Ukraine since November 2018. He has also served as WHO representative and head of the WHO country office in Kyrgyzstan from 2015 to 2018 and Moldova from 2011 to 2015. He has been working for WHO since 2003 at the country level and is involved in numerous international initiatives on health systems and public health.
Dr. Mark Hellowell
Dr. Mark Hellowell is an associate professor in global health policy at the University of Edinburgh. An internationally renowned expert in health systems, he works with national governments and international organizations, including the World Health Organization, World Bank, and the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
Solomiya Kasyanchuk
Solomiya Kasyanchuk is a health financing officer at the WHO country office in Ukraine. Her work focuses on capital investments in health, health governance, financial protection, and strategic purchasing. Prior to joining WHO Ukraine, she held consultancy roles with several international organizations and research institutions affiliated with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. She has also served at the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
Triin Habicht
Triin Habicht is a senior health economist at the WHO Barcelona Office for Health Systems Financing. Before joining WHO she held different positions at the Estonian Health Insurance Fund and Ministry of Social Affairs in Estonia. Her work has been mainly focused on all aspects of health systems financing but also redesigning hospital and primary health care provider networks.
