Bilateral cooperation with Ukraine in the healthcare sector is one of the priorities for France. The main areas of joint work are set out in the Declaration on cooperation in health and prevention between the Ministries of Health of Ukraine and France. This was emphasised by Benjamin Roehrig, First Counsellor at the Embassy of the French Republic in Ukraine, during a meeting with Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko.

“First of all, I would like to thank France, its people and private businesses for their help in countering the russian aggressor. It is thanks to the support of our international partners that we are able to give a worthy rebuff to the enemy, given the enormous scale of destruction and damage. I have great hopes that this cooperation will continue and even intensify, particularly in the field of reconstruction. Already, 177 healthcare facilities have been completely destroyed and 1,433 partially damaged. Restoring the medical infrastructure requires significant resources, both financial and human. That is why it is very important for us to engage in dialogue with other countries and launch joint projects,” said Health Minister Viktor Liashko.

In April this year, the Health Ministers of Ukraine and France signed a declaration in Lviv on inter-ministerial cooperation in health and prevention, outlining the main areas of cooperation. This is the so-called roadmap, which includes a series of projects related to the strategic objectives of the Ukrainian healthcare system, technical expertise and exchange of experience.

The parties also discussed the possibility of implementing a project to rebuild hospitals on a modular basis. This will make it possible to restore hospitals that have been destroyed and to resume medical services more quickly. The preliminary plan is to build 10 modular hospitals at a cost of EUR 30 million, financed by a loan from the French government.

Representatives of Sanofi Ukraine also attended the meeting. Since the outbreak of full-scale war, the company has provided free humanitarian aid worth some EUR 25 million in medicines to Ukrainian patients. This includes 37 million doses of medications. The company has also announced further deliveries of medicines worth approximately EUR 15 million.

In addition, the parties are actively working together to improve the quality of care for patients with diabetes, expand access to innovative medicines for people with rare diseases, build vaccination capacity directly in pharmacies, and provide expert support for the Ministry’s European integration initiatives in the pharmaceutical sector.