Strengthening the Ukrainian Health Sector’s COVID-19 Response

Ukraine registered its first case of COVID-19 in early March 2020. The sample had been sent to a laboratory in Kyiv from a city in the Chernivtsi region, roughly 500 km from the Ukrainian capital. “At that time, it was only possible to analyze a SARS-CoV-2 sample at our laboratory. On the evening of March 2, 2020, we confirmed a positive case from Chernivtsi region. We immediately informed the World Health Organization,”saidIryna Demchyshyna, who is the head of the virology laboratory at the State Institution ‘Public Health Center’ in Kyiv.

Ten days later, the Government of Ukraine would impose a national quarantine in an attempt to contain the pandemic. As the number of cases rose across Ukraine, the country’s healthcare system confronted significant shortages of essential supplies, such as masks, respirators, rapid tests, hospital beds, and medical oxygen.

Ukraine’s healthcare system received $26 million through the World Bank-financed SPIH to treat COVID-19 patients:

• $11 million to reimburse 100 hospitals for expenditures related to maintaining and bolstering their infectious diseases centers and departments;
• $10 million to cover expenditures in treating 135,000 COVID-19 patients, including more than 23,000 people receiving intensive care; and
• $5 million related to expenses for emergency visits.

And the World Bank continues to support Ukraine in strengthening its COVID-19 response, including financing for the purchase and distribution of eligible vaccines. In May 2021, the Bank launched the new Ukraine Emergency COVID-19 Response and Vaccination Project, which provides $90 million to be employed by the Ministry of Health for the country’s vaccine rollout. The project supports the country’s effort to vaccinate 10 million people from priority groups, specifically healthcare workers and the elderly. The project also aims to strengthen COVID-19 testing and improve the country’s infrastructure for vaccine storage and logistics.

For over a year, the World Bank has assisted the Ukrainian government and healthcare authorities in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic – helping strengthen the country’s healthcare capacity and setting Ukraine on the path toward a more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive recovery from this unprecedented crisis.