U.S.-based NGO Pact has begun implementing a five-year, $45 million effort funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development to help Ukraine’s health system cope with and recover from the impacts of Russia’s invasion.
It is the largest single investment by USAID so far to help the government of Ukraine respond to public health shocks, according to Pact, and it aims to sustain public health services during a crisis and “expand mental health support to veterans and conflict-affected populations.”
The project — called Ukraine Public Health Systems Recovery & Resilience — was originally designed to strengthen the country’s national health security in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But USAID changed course after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion initiated an assault on Ukraine’s civil infrastructure, which has included widespread targeting and destruction of health care facilities.