Ukraine’s recovery is impossible without a strong healthcare system: Viktor Liashko

In five Ukrainian cities — Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Lviv, and Odesa — the youth career event “Future in Health: medical professions for Ukraine’s recovery” took place simultaneously. The event, organized by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and UNICEF, was dedicated to the Day of Medical Workers.

This was the first large-scale career medical event in Ukraine jointly organized by the Ministry of Health and UNICEF. A total of 160 young people — school pupils, students of medical colleges and universities interested in medicine and considering it as a career path — participated.

At leading medical institutions — NCSH “Okhmatdyt,” Kharkiv Regional Clinical Hospital, Ukrainian Medical Center for Maternal and Child Rehabilitation of the Ministry of Health, the Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University (University Hospital), and the Superhumans war trauma center in Dnipro — participants joined interactive quest tours. They explored medical workplaces, spoke with professionals from different fields, and completed practical tasks at thematic stations.

After the quest tours, a discussion on the future of Ukraine’s healthcare system was held in Kyiv. Participants of the Question session with the youth were Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko, UNICEF Representative in Ukraine Ann-Claire Dufay, Medical Director of the National Cancer Institute Arman Kacharyan, and Okhmatdyt anesthesiologist Stanislav Shkolnyi. The discussion was moderated by Ukrainian influencer and TikTok manager of the “Sens” bookstore Liza Susik.

“Ukraine’s recovery is impossible without a strong healthcare system, and its future depends on people who are only now choosing their professional path. We want to show young people that medicine is not only the doctor’s profession. It is a large team of nurses and brothers, paramedics, psychologists, rehabilitation specialists, laboratory diagnosticians, scientists, and managers. Perhaps for some participants, this day will be the first step toward a profession in which they will help people and transform Ukrainian health sector,” said Minister of Health Viktor Liashko.

The Future in Health event gave young people the opportunity not only to learn more about medicine but also to try on different professional roles. In just a few years, some of its participants may become doctors, nurses, psychologists, rehabilitation specialists, scientists, or managers — contributing to the recovery and development of Ukraine’s healthcare system.

Currently, more than 385,000 medical professionals work in Ukraine’s healthcare system: doctors, nurses, feldshers, paramedics, rehabilitation specialists, emergency medical workers, pharmaceutical staff, laboratory technicians, and all those who ensure the functioning of the medical system.