Canada and the World Bank will assist Ukraine in the reform of rural medicine and the formation of a telemedicine network, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.
“I am very grateful to our Canadian partners who supported my program on the development of rural medicine and the World Bank. Together they provide us with the necessary assistance for the formation of a telemedicine network in Ukraine,” Poroshenko said in a video on his Facebook page.
The president noted last autumn UAH 4 billion was allocated for a program for the development of rural medicine.
“These are the funds previously stolen by Yanukovych [former president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych] and returned to the budget. In addition, an extra UAH 1 billion is foreseen for rural medicine for 2018,” Poroshenko said.
The president stressed $700 million was issued by Canada for the implementation of reforms in Ukraine and more than $12 billion during 25 years are provided by the World Bank to support the reforms. According to him, some of these funds will be spent on reforming the healthcare system.
“We’ve agreed that part of the funds will be used for the reform of rural medicine, the creation of telemedicine,” the president said.
According to Poroshenko, the introduction of telemedicine is a modern technology for medical services in rural areas and also an effective world practice. According to Deloitte, about 100 million calls to doctors through the means of telemedicine are expected worldwide in 2020.
