A yearly Superhumans Reunion community event also took place in Odessa, bringing together veterans and graduates of the Superhumans program, as well as their families. The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, First Lady Olena Zelenska, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, and Health Minister Viktor Liashko attended the event.
At the same time, the third center of the Superhumans network in Ukraine was inaugurated in Odessa — a new southern hub for helping people affected by war-related trauma. The 4,500 m² center will be able to serve up to 800 patients per year. It will provide prosthetics, physical rehabilitation, psychological support, and social reintegration services. The next stage will include launching a hearing recovery program.
“Superhumans is a driver of change in Ukraine’s rehabilitation system. It accumulates significant practical expertise, data, and new approaches to helping people affected by the war. It is important that each center in the network has its own specialization. The Lviv center is the main expert hub, focusing on reconstructive surgery, inpatient treatment, international medical missions, and training specialists. The Dnipro center operates close to the front line, providing fast prosthetic servicing and support for soldiers returning to service. The Odessa center will develop psychological recovery, social reintegration, and adaptive sports. These are exactly the components that help a person after war-related trauma regain independence, social connections, and an active life,” said Viktor Liashko.
The Superhumans center in Odessa is located on the site of a former sanatorium under the management of Ukraine’s Ministry of Health, which had been unused since the COVID-19 pandemic. The building was fully renovated and transformed into a modern barrier-free rehabilitation space. Its advantages include proximity to an inclusive beach, the possibility of creating open sports areas, a modern underground shelter adapted for people with reduced mobility, and proximity to other medical and rehabilitation facilities of the Ministry of Health. Some rehabilitation programs can continue in the shelter even during air raids. The center was opened as part of an agreement between the Superhumans Foundation and Expertise France, signed during the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024 in Berlin.
The Superhumans Center is a nationwide war trauma rehabilitation facility specializing in prosthetics, rehabilitation, reconstructive surgery, hearing restoration, and psychological support for Ukrainians affected by the war. It was founded and operates under the patronage of First Lady Olena Zelenska in cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. Both military and civilians, adults and children, can receive treatment there free of charge.
The centers of the network are integrated into the state healthcare system and are located on the basis of public healthcare facilities renovated and revitalized with support from international donors.
In just over three years of operation, Superhumans has produced more than 3,500 prostheses for over 2,200 people, performed nearly 3,000 complex reconstructive surgeries of the face and limbs, fitted more than 500 hearing aids, and carried out over 350 targeted evacuations in cooperation with the Medical Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ministry of Health.
In April 2026, Superhumans received the highest — diamond — level of Canadian international accreditation, held by only 12 institutions in Europe.
The Ministry of Health continues transforming the rehabilitation system. Nearly 600 medical facilities in Ukraine now provide rehabilitation services, with around 17,000 rehabilitation sessions conducted daily. The state is developing a network of inpatient and outpatient departments, centers of excellence, and specialized institutions, investing in teams, infrastructure, care standards, and knowledge.
In addition to the Superhumans center in Odessa, within the framework of French support through Expertise France, five mental health centers are being created in cluster hospitals in the Odessa region, mobile multidisciplinary teams are being formed to assist patients at home, and coordination of this work is being ensured within the nationwide mental health program “How Are You?”, initiated by First Lady Olena Zelenska.
Three cluster hospitals in the region are also being modernized, with the creation of modern departments of physical and rehabilitation medicine and provision of necessary equipment. An important part of the cooperation is training Ukrainian teams in areas such as post-amputation rehabilitation, maxillofacial surgery, psychotrauma care, child psychiatry, oncology, and cardiology.
Overall, France, through Expertise France, is implementing a comprehensive healthcare recovery and development program in the Odessa region worth about €7 million. It combines investment in infrastructure, equipment, and medical training. Cooperation between Ukrainian and French hospitals is also actively developing within the international medical partnership program launched at the Third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen.
In June 2024, the governments of Ukraine and France signed a €200 million intergovernmental grant agreement, part of which is allocated to healthcare and critical infrastructure. Within this support, seven healthcare agreements totaling €51 million have been concluded. In addition, in 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified framework agreements between Ukraine and France on cooperation in hospital reconstruction and modernization and cancer diagnostics development.
