Within the Third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, a presentation of the new International Medical Partnership project implemented under the auspices of the Summit was held.
A total of 25 memoranda on medical partnership between Ukrainian and foreign medical institutions were signed by 14 Ministers of Health and Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko.
The founder of the Summit, First Lady Olena Zelenska, emphasized that Russia is constantly shelling the territory of our country and has damaged 1427 hospitals. And it is very important for Ukrainian medical institutions to have reliable friends who can help with equipment or best practices. With their current experience of saving lives in extreme conditions, Ukraine's medical institutions also have something to share with the world.
"We try to hold each Summit with a specific effective result to save lives. I am glad that this one is no exception. Moreover, we are removing the last barriers to medical care. There should not be any obstacle left between the patient and the rescue. And rescue is always about cooperation," the President's wife said.
Eight French hospitals, two each from Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, and North Macedonia, as well as leading hospitals in Poland, Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Sweden, Spain, Canada, Israel, and the Netherlands became sisters to Ukrainian hospitals.
The Ukrainian partners will be medical institutions in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, Mykolaiv, Lviv, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Zakarpattia regions.
Children's hospitals have entered into partnerships with institutions in Denmark, the Netherlands, Israel, Spain, Latvia, Poland, France, and rehabilitation centers have entered into partnerships with hospitals in Lithuania, Latvia, and Sweden. Medical institutions providing mental health services will cooperate with medical institutions in France, North Macedonia, and Canada. University and multidisciplinary hospitals have entered into partnerships with Austria, Ireland, Estonia, North Macedonia, and Moldova.
Viktor Liashko thanked Olena Zelenska and the Summit for their attention to healthcare and concrete results in this area.
"More than 13,000 tons of medical humanitarian aid, hundreds of pieces of equipment, medical vehicles - each Summit brings concrete support to Ukraine's medical institutions," he said in his speech at the event.
Viktor Liashko also emphasized that the joint statement of the ministers of 14 countries outlined four main areas of cooperation:
- work on mental health;
- medical partnership;
- human resource development;
- care for the mental health of healthcare workers.
It is expected that the partnership initiated by Ukraine will be reflected in WHO documents to become a generally accepted format of work in the world.