Ukraine has received confirmation of funding for participation in 10 joint projects with EU member states under the EU4Health program in the amount of EUR 4.5 million.
According to the Ministry of Health, the program is being implemented within the framework of an agreement between Ukraine and the EU concluded in 2022 on Ukraine’s participation in the EU4Health program to participate in 10 joint projects with other EU member states.
Under the program, the European Commission has approved funding for the implementation of projects in Ukraine to prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes, monitor and prevent cancer and other non-communicable diseases, strengthen infection control in hospitals and among healthcare workers, improve diagnosis of rare diseases, and exchange of experience in treatment between EU countries.
The projects will train specialists in the control of medicines and medical devices in accordance with EU standards, as well as in the latest treatment methods and evaluation of medical technologies, and implement the European system for assessing the safety of human blood, tissues, and cells.
In addition, the projects are aimed at integrating the Ukrainian eHealth system into the EU’s single eHealth system, cooperation between EU countries to jointly set priorities, goals and measures to improve the global health of EU citizens and strengthen the system of response to and surveillance of cross-border threats.
The Ministry of Health clarifies that under the 2023 work program, 12 calls for proposals were announced for non-governmental organizations with a total budget of about EUR 20 million. They relate, in particular, to the areas of access to health care, mental health, prevention and diagnosis of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Each participating country appoints a national program committee (representatives of the Ministry of Health) and coordinators for project implementation within the country, and in Ukraine, specialists from the Public Health Center have been appointed.
The total budget of the EU4Health program for 2021-2027 is EUR 5.3 billion. EU4Health is implemented through annual work programs. The agreement allows Ukraine to receive EU funding in the health sector on equal terms with the EU countries, Norway, Iceland and Moldova.
Ukraine’s participation in the program involves the payment of an annual contribution totaling EUR 12.1 million (2022-2027). In 2022, an agreement was signed to cancel the membership fee for Ukraine in that year. Currently, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are working on ratification of the agreement in the Verkhovna Rada and on the abolition of membership fees for Ukraine until the end of the program (until 2027).
