The WHO Country Office in Ukraine, in collaboration with national and regional health authorities, is using data collection and monitoring tools to assess health-care resources and service availability to inform critical health-care interventions in areas impacted by the war.
The Health Resources and Services Availability Monitoring System (HeRAMS) involves gathering information on the functionality of health facilities, damages incurred, basic amenities and service availability across various domains, including trauma and general services, child health and nutrition, communicable diseases, sexual and reproductive health, maternal and newborn care, noncommunicable diseases, and mental health and psychosocial support.
Data collection began in November 2022 and shows how primary health care services are widely available in affected regions of the country, but more specialized services such as chemotherapy, mammography or management of opioid drug use have been interrupted in several facilities due to the lack of staff and medical equipment.
A high percentage of health services are functional and accessible even in facilities that are partially damaged, as in the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions in particular. The data further demonstrates a high dependence on centralized power, water and heating supply, with a lack of equipment as a core barrier to autonomous functioning of health facilities.
“The HeRAMS is our ears and eyes on the ground and helps us to adjust to provide a stronger health response,” said Laura Lloyd-Braff, Health Service Delivery Specialist, WHO Country Office in Ukraine, during a workshop in February on the use of HeRAMS in the country. The workshop brought together experts from the Ministry of Health, the National Health Service of Ukraine and WHO officials, and highlighted challenges in providing specialized health-care services in areas most affected by the war in Ukraine.
The workshop concluded with a focus on using HeRAMS data to improve decision-making and activities in the health sector.
“The interpretation of data is a very important aspect of our work and the workshop provided the opportunity for reflection on the findings,” explained Aron Aregay, Information Management and Risk Assessment Officer, WHO Country Office in Ukraine. Collecting, interpreting and analysing high-quality data to facilitate evidence-based decisions supports the ongoing work that WHO conducts through the European Programme of Work.
“A report prepared following the workshop will be presented to government stakeholders and wider health sector partners to better understand how we can continue providing support to sustain essential health services in Ukraine,” added Aregay.
Yuliia Hudyno from Donetsk region, one of the workshop participants, shared her experiences of gathering data for the HeRAMS tool: “In our region, almost a third of medical facilities are located on the frontline, where hostilities are active. We spent 3 months collecting information, and now all this information is available in a single package. I hope this data will help other humanitarian organizations that bring aid. They will be able to work more precisely and help those who really need it”.
The second phase of data collection is expected to begin this month.
Financial support for the HeRAMS tool has been provided by the German Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).