Please note that the content of this factsheet has been compiled with care, but does not yet fully take into account the impact of the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine is a country in eastern Europe with a population of about 42,5 million people and an area of 603,628 km2 – making it the largest country in Europe. In recent years, important health reforms have been approved by Parliament. These reforms are being implemented at great speed and promised to deliver on much-needed changes such as altering the financing incentives in primary health care, introducing a National Health Service (NHS), e-Health and making hospitals autonomous (2019). Moreover, the Ukrainian government has shown great interest in working with the Netherlands because of the Dutch position as a top performer in healthcare. On top of that, Ukraine is receiving financial support from various international organisations to improve its healthcare systems like the World Bank, the WHO, USAID, and the European Union. This provides opportunities for Dutch companies, knowledge institutes and NGOs active in healthcare. However, the situation has changed since the Russian invasion in Ukraine in February 2022. The needs of the healthcare system have changed, and are continuously changing dependent on the situation on the ground. The demands of the healthcare system vary between humanitarian assistance, and recovery assistance for short, medium and long term rebuilding of the healthcare system and facilities.