Healthcare System Needs More Than $19B Over Next Decade to Recover, Ministry Says

The nation’s healthcare sector’s total needs for recovery and reconstruction over the next ten years have been estimated at about $19.4 billion, a statement from the Health Ministry said on Monday.

 “Three years of full-scale war waged by Russia have caused significant damage to Ukraine’s healthcare system. According to the World Bank and EU estimates, the healthcare sector’s needs are now estimated at more than $19 billion. This figure is interim. However, it is clear that the healthcare system requires significant investments and their rational use,” said Health Minister Viktor Liashko.

Compared to 2023 numbers, the total losses in the health sector have increased by 8.9 percent, Ukrinform reported, while the needed funds for recovery and reconstruction over the next decade has increased by 14 percent.

Liashko clarified that, while one goal was to ensure the system’s resilience in the face of war and to focus on recovery, the ministry was also focused on “improving efficiency” and “functioning in accordance with the principle of ‘better than before,’” he said.

Notably, the number of damaged healthcare facilities rose by 36.7 percent in 2024, with the number of damaged pharmacies rising around 2.2 percent.

In July of 2024, Russian missiles struck Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, forcing the evacuation of dozens of its young patients battling cancer.

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But hospitals, clinics and pharmacies were devastated nationwide.

“The largest losses were recorded in the Donetsk region (37.8 percent of the total cost of damage), the Kharkiv region (12.6 percent), the Luhansk region (12.5 percent), and Kherson region (7.3 percent), where the fighting was most intense,” the report stated.

Ukrinform noted that, according to the World Bank’s Fourth Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA4), the total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine is $524 billion over the next decade, which is $38 billion more than previous estimates.