The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched a 15-month programme worth $5 million to strengthen Ukraine’s civilian healthcare system, according to the UNDP website.
The programme provides for strengthening the capacity of four medical institutions in Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions, with a focus on priority needs identified jointly with health authorities. It concerns two institutions in Kyiv region and one each in Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The support will cover maternal and newborn healthcare, intensive care for children, surgical and trauma care, diagnostics and emergency stabilization of patients. Assistance will include the procurement of medical equipment, its installation and commissioning, user training, warranty servicing and support for safe and long-term operation.
“KSrelief is pleased to sign this important Joint Executive Programme with our valued partner – UNDP – to strengthen the provision of civilian healthcare services in Ukraine. By working together, we can save and improve people’s lives by providing urgent support for the recovery and development of the civilian healthcare system in several regions of the country,” said Adviser at the Royal Court and Supervisor General of KSrelief Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah.
The programme will be implemented in consultation with national and regional partners and beneficiary medical institutions, while the scope of equipment and related support will be determined in accordance with confirmed needs, including its installation, staff training, maintenance and long-term operation.
It is expected that up to 900,000 people will be able to benefit indirectly from the programme.
The agreement was signed during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly within the framework of the cooperation agreement between KSrelief and UNDP.
HEALTHCARE, HOSPITALS, HUMANITARIAN AID, KSRELIEF, MEDICAL AID, SAUDI ARABIA, UKRAINE, UNDP, UNITED NATIONS
Yuriy Polyachenko, Director of the State Institution “Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine,” was awarded the special Gennadiy Knyshov Award “For loyalty to humanistic ideals and the promotion of universal human values” as part of the 30th anniversary season of the nationwide “Person of the Year 2025” program.
Poliachenko is a Doctor of Medical Sciences, professor, Honored Physician of Ukraine, laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology, and a full Knight of the Order “For Merit.”
He was born on February 20, 1963, in Kyiv. After graduating from the Kyiv Medical Institute in 1986, he began his professional career at the Kyiv Research Institute of Orthopedics, which now operates as the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine. He rose through the ranks from junior to senior research fellow at the Clinic of Bone and Purulent Surgery.
In 1995, Yuriy Polyachenko traveled to Cuba, where for three years he headed the International Medical and Health Center and organized treatment for critically ill children, particularly those with cancer and systemic diseases. In 1997, he was awarded the title of “Honored Physician of Ukraine.”
Starting in 1999, Polyachenko devoted a significant portion of his professional career to public administration in the field of healthcare. He served as Deputy Minister and First Deputy Minister of Health, State Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, and advisor to the President of Ukraine.
From 2005 to 2007, Yuriy Polyachenko headed the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
After leaving government service, he returned to clinical and scientific medicine. In 2007, he became director of the O.O. Shalimov National Institute of Surgery and Transplantology, a position he held until 2013.
In 2013, Polyachenko was awarded the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology for a series of scientific works. From 2013 to 2014, he served as a People’s Deputy of Ukraine and worked on the Parliamentary Committee on Health Care, where he chaired the Subcommittee on Transplantology.
Since 2020, Polyachenko has headed the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine. After the start of full-scale Russian aggression, the institute became one of the medical centers providing care to military personnel and civilians with severe injuries.
In 2025, Yuriy Polyachenko was awarded the Order of Merit, First Class, for organizing assistance to wounded and injured civilians and military personnel. He had previously received the Second and Third Classes of this state award.
For over 25 years, Yuriy Polyachenko has combined scientific research with clinical, administrative, and teaching work. He defended his doctoral dissertation in 2002 and was awarded the title of professor in 2004. Since 2025, he has headed the Department of Traumatology and Orthopedics at the O.O. Bogomolets National Medical University.
He is the author of over 100 scientific publications and co-author of nine monographs.
The special Gennadiy Knyshov Award, presented as part of the “Person of the Year” program, is given for contributions to the development of humanistic values, medicine, and socially significant initiatives.
Open4Business is the media partner for the 30th anniversary season of the nationwide “Person of the Year 2025” program.
HEALTHCARE, MEDICINE, National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, PERSON OF THE YEAR, Yuriy Polyachenko
Pharmaceutical products, medical goods and equipment in Ukraine cost an average of 2.9% less in July 2026 than a year earlier, while outpatient medical services increased in price by 13.3%, according to data from the State Statistics Service.
Overall, the healthcare category rose in price by only 2.2% over the year, significantly slower than the general consumer inflation rate of 7.7%. Prices in this group increased by 0.6% in July.
Pharmaceutical products, medical goods and equipment became 0.9% cheaper from the beginning of 2026. In July, however, this category rose in price by 0.6% compared with June.
Outpatient services, by contrast, increased in price by 0.8% over the month, by 8.3% from the beginning of the year and by 13.3% year-on-year. On average, they cost 13.6% more in January–July than during the same period of 2025.
Thus, a noticeable gap can be observed within the medical segment between the price dynamics of medical goods and those of services themselves.
In May, the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) paid 16.1 billion UAH to contracted healthcare facilities under the Medical Guarantees Program (MGP).
According to the NHU’s Telegram channel, specifically, 1.2 billion UAH was paid to healthcare facilities for emergency medical care, 2.3 billion UAH for primary care, and over 11.7 billion UAH for specialized medical care.
The NHIC specifies that, based on the global rate, specialized healthcare facilities were paid 5.3 billion UAH for services in May, 5.9 billion UAH for treated cases in April, under the package “Ensuring the retention of personnel capacity to provide medical care to the population in areas of active hostilities,” medical facilities were paid 257 million UAH, and under the package “Readiness and provision of medical care to the population in areas where hostilities are taking place”—171 million UAH.
In addition, the National Health Service of Ukraine (NSZU) paid UAH 884 million to pharmacies under the “Affordable Medicines” reimbursement program.
Affordable Medicines, HEALTHCARE, medical facilities, medical guarantees, НСЗУ
The USAID Health Reform Support (HRS) Project has launched two projects to restore medical infrastructure in 45 communities in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
According to the Ministry of Health, the project partners will be KBS Start LLC in Kharkiv Oblast and the Alliance for Public Health in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
The projects will be implemented by December 2024.
In addition, within the framework of the project “Restoring Public Access to Health Care”, it is planned to cooperate with 36 primary health care centers.
The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine has received $118 million on a non-refundable basis from Japan under the World Bank’s Health Enhancement and Life Saving (HEAL Ukraine) and Housing Repair for People’s Empowerment (HOPE) projects.
“The raised funds under the HEAL and HOPE projects will help the government to provide its citizens with adequate assistance, in particular, to expand the range of medical services and access to them, as well as to ensure overcoming the consequences caused by Russia’s armed aggression, to restore the housing infrastructure of Ukraine,” Minister Serhiy Marchenko was quoted as saying in the release of the Ministry of Finance on Monday.
It is specified that the attracted grant funding consists of $70 million under the HEAL Ukraine project, aimed at supporting the state budget as a reimbursement of incurred expenses under the Medical Guarantee Program, and $48.2 million – under the HOPE project, the funds of which are used to reimburse state budget expenditures used for compensatory payments to homeowners for repairs in apartment buildings and private houses in need of minor and medium repairs.
As reported, Ukraine received a record $8.9bn in international financial aid in March after only $1.2bn cumulatively in the first two months.
Due to the low external support, international reserves fell by 3.8%, or $1.47 billion, to $37.05 billion in February, after falling by 4.9%, or $1.98 billion hryvnia, in January.
The National Bank had forecast that the latest external inflows would allow international reserves to recover substantially. In January, it lowered their forecast for the end of 2024 to $40.4 billion from $44.7 billion.
HEAL Ukraine, HEALTHCARE, JAPAN, life preservation, Ministry of Finance of Ukraine
