Ukraine continues to face acute health system challenges amid ongoing conflict, mass displacement and widespread damage to health-care infrastructure due to persistent attacks. Hospitals remain on the front line of emergency response efforts, operating under extreme pressure and complex risk scenarios. Recognizing this reality, the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the WHO Country Office in Ukraine, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU), are convening a second workshop to advance hospital emergency response planning (H-ERP) for Ukraine with financial support from the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
Building on the progress achieved during the first workshop in April 2025, this follow-up meeting will focus on presenting, finalizing and testing hospital emergency response plans using the WHO H-ERP template adapted for the Ukrainian context. Senior hospital managers, emergency coordinators and representatives from national and regional health emergency authorities will join to strengthen their operational readiness for mass casualty events, wartime disruptions and other high-impact emergencies.
Workshop sessions will include a review of the progress made by the participating hospitals in adapting the H-ERP template, guided work on developing comprehensive emergency response plans using the national H-ERP template and incorporating assessment results, and a scenario-based tabletop exercise to test and refine those plans in coordination with relevant stakeholders. The exercise will emphasize interagency coordination between hospitals, the Ministry of Health, SESU and WHO technical teams.
By the end of the workshop, each participating hospital will have updated their draft H-ERPs in place and will have identified the next steps towards finalizing and institutionalizing these plans, thus advancing the resilience of Ukraine’s hospital network and strengthening continuity of care in crisis situations. WHO and partners remain committed to supporting the rollout of these plans nationwide, ensuring that hospitals are equipped to respond effectively under the most challenging circumstances.