The GIZ funding program Hospital Partnerships team, together with Charité, organized the first Ukrainian-German Health Partnership Conference in Berlin on July 4. The conference provided a platform for experts to exchange ideas, deepen partnerships, share experiences, and develop cooperation between German and Ukrainian health institutions to strengthen Ukraine's healthcare system. The war in Ukraine has caused significant damage to the country's healthcare system. Over 1,000 healthcare facilities have been damaged or destroyed to date. Additionally, many health workers have been killed, injured, traumatized, or have become refugees. Despite these challenges, the needs of the war-affected population are greater than ever. These needs include mental and physical trauma care, rehabilitation, epidemic control, and maternal and child health in the context of mass displacement. Investment in early rehabilitation is critical for safeguarding human productivity for future generations from a public health perspective. Rebuilding the health system is also an inescapable necessity and an opportunity for European integration, while service delivery remains the top priority. Amidst this bleak situation, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has been supporting and expanding the partnership between Ukraine and Germany in the hospital sector. Over the past year, a dense network of cooperation has been established with more than 50 Ukrainian and German healthcare institutions, providing a unique platform for the long-term systemic promotion of Ukrainian healthcare. This conference marks the first meeting of healthcare partners from both countries.
Friedbert Herm and Bela Hans Kaunzinger, project managers of the hospital partnership project between the Altmühlseeklinik and the Poltava Regional Clinical Hospital named after M.V. Sklifosovsky, attended the conference. The project includes the purchase of rehabilitation equipment and multifunctional beds for the Center of Rehabilitation Medicine at the Poltava hospital, with GIZ financing up to 100,000 euros and 50,000 euros, respectively. As part of the project, modern beds and rehabilitation equipment will be delivered from Germany to Ukraine. Additionally, German specialists will provide training to the medical staff at the hospitals.
On 1 photo: First Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine Serhii Dubrov together with Bela Kaunzinger
Oleksiy Serhiyovych Makeev, Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany, and Svenja Schulze, Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany
Friedbert Herm and Bela Kaunzinger.
Moments from the conference:
