Stella Kyriakides visits Ukraine in bid to provide EU health support

Source: European Commission

EU Health Commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, visited Ukraine today as part of the Commission's ongoing efforts to provide support in the area of health.  Ms Kyriakides met with Minister of Health Viktor Liashko and paid a visit to a medical centre for children as well as a patient rehabilitation centre. 

On this occasion, the Commission and the Ukrainian Government signed an agreement associating Ukraine with the EU4Health programme. This agreement will open access for Ukraine to EU funding in the area of health. This will enable the Ukrainian health system to respond to immediate needs and contribute to long-term recovery. The programme has a total budget of €5.3 billion for 2021-27.

In her statements, Commissioner Kyriakides said, “What I witnessed today in the resilience and stoicism of health professionals and patients was truly humbling. I have been deeply moved and saddened by the pain and suffering I saw as a result of the barbaric and senseless Russian invasion. With the EU4Health programme agreement signed today, Ukraine will be able to quickly benefit from EU health-related funding to immediately support its health care sector as well as support the reconstruction in the longer term."

Ukrainian Minister of Health, Viktor Liashko, said: “Ukraine's participation in this programme is another example of how European integration will improve the lives of our citizens through access to relevant EU funds. The powerful EU support that we are seeing today means possibilities to receive financial assistance for the modernisation and recovery of our healthcare system”.

With the entry into force of the agreement associating Ukraine with EU4Health, the Ukrainian health authorities and the wider health community will be able to fully benefit from the funding opportunities under the programme, on equal terms as their counterparts from EU Members States, Norway, and Iceland. The agreement will be retroactive to 1 January 2022, allowing Ukraine to start participating
in funding opportunities immediately under the EU4Health Work Programme 2022.

The EU4Health programme will support mitigating immediate combat-related damage and finance Ukrainian public and private projects helping with Ukraine's post-war reconstruction.  Representatives from Ukraine will be associated with the political debates with EU Member States during the preparation of future annual work programmes, thereby strengthening cooperation and facilitating the implementation of the actions.