Nordic Life Science 1
UKRAINE // HEALTHCARE UKRAINE’S HEALTHCARE – TURN
ING SHARED PAIN INTO SHARED LEARNING After more than four years of full-scale war waged by Russia in Ukraine, Ukrainians’ physical and mental health – and the entire healthcare system – are under extreme pressure. Today, relief efforts focus on knowledge transfer, new ways of managing and operating healthcare, and long-term partnerships, while also drawing lessons from Ukraine’s own resilience, crisis responses, and rehabilitation solutions. T E X T B Y MA L I N O T MA N I A NASTASIA FLANAGAN AND KATERYNA PAVELKO are project managers for the Swedish Support for Sustainable Healthcare in Ukraine project at the Swecare Foundation, a semi-governmental non-profit organization. One of their key priorities has been to build long-term partnerships between Swedish and Ukrainian healthcare stakeholders. “The Ukrainian healthcare system is currently functioning under extraordinary pressure and at the same time it is undergoing one of the fastest transformations in Ukraine's history,” says Flanagan. “Since the full-scale invasion, the system has had to simultaneously respond to wartime emergencies, continue healthcare reform, and the transition from the old soviet hierarchical model, maintain essential services for civilians, and prepare for long-term recovery and European integration.” Resilience and adaptability One of the biggest changes has been priorities, says Flanagan. “Before 2022, much of the discussion in healthcare focused on reform implementation, financing mechanisms, and modernization. Today, resilience has become the key focus. Hospitals have had to adapt to missile attacks, energy instability, mass trauma care, displacement of healthcare workers and patients, and enormous psychological pressure on medical staff. They have learned to make decisions under pressure that many people in peaceful systems never have to face.” “On a positive note, Ukrainian healthcare leaders have become much more adaptive, pragmatic, and open to international cooperation. There is now a much stronger understanding that healthcare infrastructure is not only about buildings and equipment, but also about management, sustainability, infection control, digital systems, mental health, rehabilitation, and long-term operational resilience. It is first of all about individuals – patients, doctors, and nurses,” says Pavelko. Mental health One thing that is sometimes difficult to explain from the outside is that the consequences of war on health are much broader than physical injuries, continues Pavelko. “War changes the entire environment in which people live and healthcare systems operate. Chronic stress, uncertainty, displacement, interrupted treatment, exhaustion, loss of family members, destroyed infrastructure, and constant psychological pressure affect almost every aspect of public NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG | 35