Healthcare facilities to receive additional energy equipment under new Ministry of Health and CEB project

Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine Hennadii Nersesian met a delegation of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), led by Jasmina Glisovic, Head of the Grant Operations and New Instruments Unit at the CEB. Other representatives of the Ministry of Health and the CEB also took part.

The sides discussed current cooperation, further support for Ukraine's healthcare system and the present needs of medical facilities. Topics included building shelters, providing mobile shelters and modern diagnostic equipment, renewing the emergency medical services fleet, and supporting facilities in high-risk areas.

In this context, they discussed launching a new joint project to strengthen the energy resilience of healthcare facilities ahead of the heating season and to support the emergency medical services.

The project will provide healthcare facilities with the energy equipment they need to operate reliably during possible power outages, including voltage stabilisers, battery storage systems and uninterruptible power supplies.

Such equipment helps keep critical medical devices and key hospital systems running during grid outages, protects equipment from voltage surges and provides additional backup power until the main autonomous power sources are connected.

An additional component of the project is planned to support emergency medical services in the Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Chernivtsi regions. It will fund solutions to strengthen the work of crews in mountainous and remote communities, including renewing the vehicle fleet and setting up additional standby points.

The launch of the new project is part of the Ministry of Health's systematic work to prepare medical infrastructure for the autumn and winter period and make it more resilient during the war. Because of constant attacks on energy infrastructure, healthcare facilities must be ready to keep operating even during prolonged disruptions to electricity, heating or water supply.

The meeting also gave particular attention to the needs of facilities in high-risk areas. The sides agreed to identify in more detail the equipment they need most and to explore options for further support.

They also discussed further cooperation and possible areas of support for the healthcare system. CEB representatives confirmed their readiness to continue taking part in projects in Ukraine and to support medical facilities according to current needs. The total value of the Bank's projects under way in Ukraine now exceeds EUR 800 million.

The Ministry of Health and the CEB cooperate in the healthcare sector under the Framework Loan Agreement for the "Health Enhancement and Lifesaving Project" (HEAL Ukraine), signed at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2024).

Background

This cooperation is systematic. In total, for meeting the agreed performance targets under HEAL Ukraine, the equivalent of USD 260 million has already been transferred to the general fund of the State Budget.

Under the investment component, reconstruction work has been completed at five medical facilities.

Photovoltaic power plants have also been installed at 130 primary healthcare facilities. Vehicles, haematology analysers, modern rehabilitation and IT equipment, and digital solutions for the eHealth system have been purchased and delivered.

With CEB co-financing, the restoration of several more medical facilities is continuing.