The leadership of the Ministry of Health and the USAID Ukraine Health Office discussed current areas of cooperation and the possibility of expanding them, including in support of European integration priorities in the health sector.

As this is the last month of the current USAID Ukraine Health Office Director Ben Zinner’s term in Ukraine, a joint meeting to discuss all existing USAID health projects was important to ensure the sustainability of the cooperation.

Priorities for further cooperation between the Ministry of Health and USAID include support for healthcare reform and capacity building of healthcare institutions, control of infectious diseases, immunisation, mental health, rehabilitation, global health and combating COVID-19. Within the existing areas, USAID plans to deepen cooperation and, where possible, facilitate and provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Health in its European integration tasks.

“Ukraine’s path to the EU requires very serious transformation work. We have already started working with the Pact project, which, thanks to USAID funding, was able to support us very quickly and get involved in the Ministry of Health’s work on European integration priorities. We expect the cooperation under this project to continue and expand,” said Maryna Slobodnichenko, Deputy Minister of Health for European Integration.

According to Ben Zinner, USAID Ukraine Health Office Director, the European integration movement is a great opportunity for Ukraine, and USAID is considering two areas for increased technical assistance and cooperation – pharmaceutical regulation and global health security.