Ukraine aligns with EU on healthcare amid crisis, says WHO

Ongoing reforms in Ukraine’s health sector following Russia’s full-scale invasion are aligning the country with key EU rules, according to a senior official from the World Health Organization (WHO). 

The war with Russia has placed immense strain on Ukraine’s healthcare system, with attacks on health facilities increasing significantly since December 2023 and now occurring almost daily. 

Jarno Habicht, head of the WHO office in Ukraine, discussed the country’s immediate crisis response and management of its long-term recovery, in an interview with Euronews.*

“Ukraine is responding every day,” Habicht said. “Ambulances are out supporting civilians, but at the same time, there is the challenge of rebuilding destroyed infrastructure.” 

Amidst these challenges, Ukraine remains committed to healthcare reforms started before the war. Habicht said that the country is taking the crisis as an opportunity to harmonise its public health legislative framework to the bloc’s rules in preparation for future EU accession talks.

While healthcare policies remain largely under the control of individual EU member states, Habicht noted that certain public health areas, such as cross-border patient movement, require greater harmonisation among member states. 

“Especially now, with Ukrainians receiving care both inside and outside the country,” he added.

Aligning with EU standards

Several health-related national frameworks will need to be adapted to EU law, including water quality directives, the regulation of cosmetics and chemicals, as well as rules on tobacco and alcohol. 

According to Habicht, Ukraine’s reform efforts and the required harmonisation with EU legislation “basically go in the same direction” and “these two parts are well coming together”. 

He pointed to the approval of medicines as a key example, where Ukraine will need to align with the EU on marketing authorisations, manufacturing standards, and drug regulatory practices.  

“This is particularly important as Ukraine has lost a significant portion of its pharmaceutical industry, which will also play a crucial role in the country’s EU accession process,” he added. 

Before the war, Ukraine’s drug manufacturing sector was amongst the ten largest pharmaceutical industries in the Central and Eastern European region, albeit primarily dominated by foreign companies. 

In July 2022, Kyiv’s government adopted a new law on the regulation of pharmaceutical products, which aims to prepare the sector for harmonisation with EU standards.

Adapting to extraordinary circumstances

Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, the WHO has recorded 1,940 attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine—the highest number in any humanitarian crisis to date. 

“We are also seeing attacks on critical infrastructure, particularly energy, which have been especially severe since March 2024,” Habicht noted. 

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Between 22 March and 31 August 2024, Russia launched nine large-scale attacks on Ukraine’s power system, severely damaging power generation, transmission, and distribution facilities.  

These strikes have impacted 20 of Ukraine’s 24 regions, including Kyiv. 

Habicht highlighted that these attacks on energy infrastructure are having a ripple effect on essential services like heating and water, which in turn impact the healthcare system, schools, shops, and workplaces. 

“The latest estimate, from two months ago, shows the average Ukrainian household is without electricity for six hours a day,” he said, warning that this number could increase as winter approaches. 

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The war is also placing a significant strain on social conditions, with the poverty rate rising sharply from 7% to 25%. 

“Many people are struggling to afford medicines due to a lack of resources,” Habicht said. Humanitarian organisations and primary care centres, supported by the WHO, are helping alleviate this issue by providing free medicines to approximately 12% of unemployed individuals in frontline areas.