Rehabilitation, recovery and reform: A closer look at ESTDEV’s support for the Ukrainian healthcare sector

We currently have several projects underway or in the pipeline, ranging from developing hospitals and rehabilitation infrastructure to training healthcare professionals, providing mental health services and strengthening healthcare education.  

Why is the long-term development of Ukraine's healthcare system important? What Estonian expertise can we share, and what can we learn from our Ukrainian partners?  

We sat down with Epp-Triin Võsu, ESTDEV's Healthcare advisor, to explore the answers to these questions. 

Why is healthcare currently one of the areas where ESTDEV is expanding its activities in Ukraine? 

Ukraine's healthcare sector requires support both to cope with the consequences of the war and to implement long-term reforms, ensuring that high-quality care becomes more accessible to the population. Estonia has a long history of supporting Ukraine's healthcare system; for years, we have collaborated on initiatives such as developing rehabilitation services and training healthcare professionals. Our ongoing cooperation with hospitals and educational institutions has demonstrated that Estonia's practical knowledge and skills align well with the needs of our Ukrainian partners. Building upon this experience and our established relationships, ESTDEV aims to expand its activities and integrate existing initiatives into a more comprehensive framework of cooperation, one with an impact that extends well beyond individual projects. 

What are the most pressing needs of Ukraine's wartime healthcare system? 

The greatest challenges include the treatment of war-related injuries, ensuring the continuity of care for chronic conditions and addressing the growing need for mental health support and rehabilitation. A central issue for the entire healthcare system is securing a sufficient number of healthcare professionals and ensuring essential services and medications remain accessible to the population. 

ESTDEV's projects span a wide range of areas, from rehabilitation and mental health to training healthcare professionals and digitising health data. How do these diverse activities fit together into a cohesive whole? 

What unites these initiatives is the goal of strengthening Ukraine's healthcare sector as a whole. Providing high-quality healthcare requires, among other things, well-trained specialists and a well-structured service organisation. Digital solutions support both healthcare professionals' daily work and service delivery. We aim to consolidate our existing activities into comprehensive programmes, achieve greater long-term impact and provide stronger support for Ukraine's healthcare reforms and its integration with the European Union. 

Why is it not enough to simply provide medical equipment or other forms of direct aid to Ukraine? Why is it also important to invest in people's skills, education and the overall capacity of the healthcare system? 

While medical equipment and other forms of direct aid are essential, our development cooperation also focuses on achieving long-term impact and supporting reforms. By developing healthcare education, we are strengthening Ukraine's capacity to train new specialists and support the continuous professional development of healthcare workers. Updating curricula, training faculty and clinical supervisors, and developing continuing education lay the foundation for lasting improvements in the quality of care. In this way, our contribution extends beyond individual training sessions, supporting the development of Ukraine's healthcare system and its integration with the European Union. 

Estonia has experience in areas such as digitalisation, e-health and developing rehabilitation services. What Estonian experience can we share with Ukraine, and what, in turn, can the Ukrainians teach us? 

Estonia can share its expertise in healthcare education, service organisation, and digital solutions, which supports the implementation of healthcare reforms in Ukraine. From our Ukrainian partners, we can learn how to cope with a prolonged crisis and ensure the resilience of healthcare services. This creates a mutual exchange of experience that supports the development of Ukraine's healthcare sector while also strengthening Estonia's own crisis preparedness. 

Why is strengthening Ukraine's healthcare system important for Estonia as well? What is the connection between healthcare in Ukraine, European security and Estonia's own interests?  

Supporting Ukraine also serves Estonia's security interests, and a functioning healthcare system is vital to Ukraine's resilience. Accessible, high-quality healthcare helps maintain society's functional capacity and takes care of its labour force—the foundation for both national resilience and long-term recovery. Therefore, strengthening the healthcare sector is not merely aid to a single field; it is an investment in the long-term viability of Ukrainian society and the state. A strong and resilient Ukraine, in turn, bolsters the security of all of Europe, including Estonia. 

One of ESTDEV's key focus areas is rehabilitating individuals injured in the war. How significant has this issue become in Ukraine, and what kind of expertise and systems does the country need to address this long-term challenge? 

The war has caused a sharp increase in the need for rehabilitation, presenting Ukraine with a long-term healthcare and societal challenge. To address this, Ukraine must develop a comprehensive rehabilitation system, one that includes trained teams, appropriate treatment environments, clear service organisation and sustainable funding. Central to this is the continuity of care—from the hospital to services close to home—ensuring that treatment outcomes translate into the individual's improved ability to function, as well as the opportunity to return to work and social life. 

What new needs do you see emerging in Ukraine's healthcare sector, and where should international development cooperation focus in the coming years? 

In the coming years, Ukraine's healthcare system will need to build capacity to address the long-term impacts of the war and the evolving needs of the population. This requires developing the healthcare workforce—supporting a new generation of professionals and strengthening their skills—as well as better integrating services and reducing regional disparities in access to care. Digital solutions and health data play a vital role in both delivering care and using limited resources more effectively. Therefore, beyond supporting individual solutions, development cooperation must focus on implementing reforms and strengthening the capacity of local institutions to manage change over the long term. 

Looking at ESTDEV's health-sector projects over a five- to ten-year horizon, what kind of change would you like to see in Ukraine's healthcare system, and what role could Estonia play in achieving it? 

In five to ten years, I would like to see a healthcare system in Ukraine where high-quality care is accessible regardless of one's place of residence, where healthcare professional training aligns with evolving needs and where services form a cohesive, integrated experience for the individual. As a long-term partner, Estonia could support these changes by sharing its expertise in education, healthcare and digital solutions. Our measure of success should not be merely the number of projects implemented, but whether the solutions developed through our cooperation become an enduring part of Ukraine's healthcare system and see wider adoption.