When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February, thousands of Ukrainians were forced to flee their homes in search of safety. For the more than 13 million Ukrainians displaced by the war - 5.4 million of whom are internally displaced within Ukraine - leaving home also meant leaving trusted and well-known doctors, clinics, pharmacies, and health specialists they rely on to continue living healthy lives.
One displaced Ukrainian living with cancer explained the hardship this has created.
"My health has worsened a lot [since I evacuated] due to challenges in accessing the medications I need, and treatment interruptions, so I have to start everything from the very beginning."
To address health challenges facing internally displaced Ukrainians, USAID’s Health Reform Support project provided a grant to the Ukrainian Volunteer Service, a domestic civil society organization, to conduct a survey of displaced Ukrainians and find out more about their challenges accessing medical services.
The findings were sobering: more than 35 percent of respondents didn’t know how to arrange a visit to a family doctor, 50 percent needed some form of psychological support, and 80 percent needed to access medical help after being displaced. Moreover, displaced Ukrainians were finding it difficult to find the medications they needed in the right dosage, arrange visits with the specialists that they needed to stay healthy, and to identify dis- and misinformation about everything from the price of medications to the waiting times for seeing a doctor.
In one of the survey focus groups, one participant reported:
“There is a lot of different information regarding health care going around. I heard that medical tests should be free of charge and that the cost of surgeries could be reimbursed, but I have not found any official confirmation of this information. It is very complicated to find the correct, truthful information".
Another explained:
“I have an autistic child. Before the war, we failed to receive a medical certificate, putting it off for later. Now we went to our family doctor, who referred us to a hospital, where they told us that they don't deal with such issues and referred us to another place."
The USAID-supported survey identified 16 key areas of health information needed by displaced Ukrainians, and the Ukrainian Volunteer Service developed booklets, posters, and leaflets to address these needs in partnership with specialists of the National Health Service of Ukraine and the Ministry of Health. USAID mobilized the volunteer network to distribute printed copies of these materials to shelters, hubs, administrative services centers, and public transport stops in Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia regions. The same materials were shared on Facebook, Telegram, Viber, and Instagram, reaching more than 3 million people through digital channels.
Access to this information has helped displaced Ukrainians advocate for themselves and access the healthcare they need. Oleksiy, who left Kharkiv, said that:
“after moving to Kyiv, it was difficult to understand how to go to the hospital if I did not need an urgent consultation. I put it off for a long time because I didn't want to re-sign the declaration with a new doctor - I still hope to return to my doctor in Kharkiv. And then I found out that it is not necessary to change the declaration, and it greatly simplified life”.
Yana, from the Kherson region, was also able to find the resources she needed as a result of the campaign.
“My daughter [age 7] began to withdraw [emotionally] after moving, and she does not want to communicate with me or her peers. I saw a poster at a public transport stop and decided to consult a psychologist. Now we are getting help.”
A transparent, efficient, responsive, and above all accessible health system able to meet the needs of the Ukrainian people is critical to winning the war and winning the peace by continuing to develop as a sovereign, independent, democratic, and prosperous society. USAID, including through its Health Reform Support project, supports the development of a transparent, accountable, and effective health care system that is capable of meeting the health needs of the Ukrainian people. To date, USAID has committed more than $100 million to support Ukraine’s health system, so that Ukrainians can avoid disease, improve their quality of life, and be part of Ukraine’s continued democratic and economic development.
