Today, as part of this larger initiative, a new modular primary health care clinic has been installed in Izyum, Kharkiv region, replacing the previously destroyed primary health facility.
This newly installed structure will serve as an outpatient health facility, providing primary health-care services to a population of over 10 000 people. The clinic will be staffed by medical professionals who were previously working at the damaged facility, ensuring continuity of care. It will have 3 rooms for receiving patients and a vaccination room where approximately 12 health-care workers, including 3 doctors and 9 nurses, will be able to work simultaneously.
The temporary clinic comprises 6 prefabricated modules combined to form a fully functional health facility. It is equipped with essential amenities, including electricity, sanitary engineering, sewage, and waiting and patient examination rooms. Additionally, the clinic is supplied with a generator and air fans to ensure a conducive environment for health-care delivery.
"This initiative brings both hope and practical solutions to communities residing in the most affected areas where primary health facilities were damaged. We prioritize the availability of essential health services, and in collaboration with our partners, we are working hard to make it possible. We will be bringing more modules and support the maintenance of outpatient clinics in Ukraine," said Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine.
Minister of Health (MoH) of Ukraine, Viktor Lyashko, said, "Our priority is to ensure the provision of high-quality, affordable, and free medical care for our citizens. The areas closest to the epicenter of hostilities, which are subject to destruction by the aggressor, require special attention. The establishment of a new modular primary medical care clinic in Izyum, Kharkiv region, is a significant step towards meeting the medical service needs of local residents. We greatly appreciate the cooperation with WHO and other partners. Together, we are developing and implementing necessary solutions to improve the well-being of our communities."
Access to primary health care and essential services is at the core of the emergency response objectives, along with ensuring access and availability of services. Currently, more than 1000 attacks on health care have been verified by WHO, and attacks continue to occur.
Primary health-care centers are amongst those facilities that have been partially or fully damaged. Out of 40 primary health facilities assessed by WHO on the request of the MoH, 15 were damaged in 7 regions identified by the MOH for the project, including Kherson, Zaporizzhya, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kyiv, and Odesa regions.
Denise Brown, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said, “The war has had devastating consequences on the health sector, obstructing access to health services in front-line communities, including Izyum. The modular health clinic being opened today is a first step in restoring some of the essential services that are indispensable for recovering and rebuilding lives.”
“The OCHA’s Ukraine Humanitarian Fund is providing the necessary financial support for this project,” she added. “The Fund has made an important contribution to jumpstart this effort. Since the start of the war, the UHF has allocated over US$ 35 million to rebuild health facilities and to restore basic services. Investments, such as these into health systems, feed into the UN’s larger effort to enable community-driven recovery.”
To ensure continuity of services and infrastructural availability, and to restore functionality to maintain access to essential health services, WHO will install prefabricated modular structures where primary health services have been damaged or are no longer suitable from an infrastructural point of view. These prefabricated modules offer a temporary solution to ensure the full operational capacity of the pre-existing or currently damaged facilities. The modules can function as health-care facilities for over 10 years.
As part of the first stage of the project, Kharkiv region marks the second installation, and 7 more modules will be distributed soon, as indicated by the MoH's priority list for the most affected regions.