Lviv, Poltava, and other Oblasts (Regions) which are first in launching the health care reform will receive technical and organisational support within the framework of the tripartite project which started with the participation of the World Bank, the Swiss Cooperation Office in Ukraine, and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

The "Support for Reforms and Efficient Governance in the Health Care Sector of Ukraine" project will continue for three years and will consist of several components. The amount of CHF 2.6 million is set aside for the implementation of the project.

As acting Minister of Health Dr. Uliana Suprun, emphasised, the main objective of the project was to assist in implementing reforms at the local level and counteracting corruption during the procurement of medicines and health care products.

"This project will be implemented in Lviv and Poltava Oblasts (Regions) and we expect that the positive experience gained will be spread across Ukraine. The cooperation with regions comprises a part of the decentralisation programme supported by us, and we want to facilitate those Oblasts (Regions) which are taking a leading role and contributing to the reform most of all. The project consists of two components: technical assistance to implement the reforms in regions and anti-corruption enforcement", emphasised Dr. Suprun.

In his turn, Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine Pavlo Kovtonyuk reminded that the Ministry of Health of Ukraine worked with international organisations in many areas and the current project was important in the context of the implementation of the "Serving People, Improving Health" project providing for a loan in the amount of USD 214,73 million. "This year, the active phase of the World Bank's project implementation will take place in the regions where much procurement is planned. The lack of corruption and transparency of tenders is an important demand from the society. We asked our colleagues to implement a modern system for corrupt practice prevention and development of transparency in procurement", the Deputy Minister said.

Pavlo Kovtonyuk added that currently the control would be exercised not at the level of audits after the completed procurement but through the development of processes which would make corrupt practice impossible from the very beginning.

The details of the project were presented by Satu Kahkonen, the World Bank Country Director for Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine, Holger Tausch, the Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Ukraine, and Feng Zhao, the Program Leader for the World Bank’s Human Development programs in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.

Reference information

Duration of the project: 2017-2020

Regions: Poltava Oblast, Lviv Oblast, and other regions as determined by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine

Implementing agency: the World Bank (health care expert team of the World Bank's Representative Office in Ukraine) jointly with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and selected Oblasts (Regions).

Funds (grant) provided by the trust fund: the Swiss Cooperation Office.

Budget: CHF 2,600,000.

The project is made up of 2 components:

Technical assistance for selected regions in the implementation of the health care reform priority areas and assistance to the Government in making decisions based on regional experience;

Enhancement of the institutional capacity to improve administration and fight corruption in the health care sector, monitor procurement processes and financial operations under the "Serving People, Improving Health" project.