Ukraine Signed Co-Operation Agreement with the WHO

The Ministry of Health of Ukraine has signed a two-year co-operation agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO).

As the Ministry of Health reported, the document outlined the “road map” of Ukraine’s co-operation with an international organisation, in particular, in the area of combating the excessive incidence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and tuberculosis.

“The funding provided by the agreement is an important contribution to our joint efforts, because together with the World Health Organisation ongoing technical support, especially at the regional level, it will significantly strengthen our capacity for transformation,” the Health Minister Maxim Stepanov declared.

According to Europe’s WHO Office’s statement, the agreement provides for five main priorities for co-operation with Ukraine:

– long-term support of Ukraine’s counteraction to the spread of coronavirus disease COVID-19;

– implementation of reforms in the health care system and development of a comprehensive national health strategy to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals;

– work with mental health issues and increase the availability of core medical services;

– effective immunisation;

– humanitarian needs satisfaction.

“In recent years, Ukraine took the essential steps to reform its health care system to provide equal access to key health care services with a focus on primary care and has made progress in providing affordable, safe and efficient medicines and vaccines. In 2020, WHO in Europe participates in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and, at the same time, makes efforts to strengthen further the health care system,” the representative and head of the WHO office in Ukraine Dr. Jarno Habiht stated.

According to the Ukrainian minister, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agreement was signed online simultaneously in Kyiv and Copenhagen.

Bohdan Marusyak