First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska participated in the “Healthcare Initiative for Ukraine” conference held in Czechia.
The First Lady of Ukraine expressed gratitude to Czech First Lady Eva Pavlová for the invitation, as well as to the event’s organizers: the Czech Health Technology Institute, the Czech government, the Minister of Health, and the participating countries – Poland and Denmark – for their consistent support.
Olena Zelenska also thanked the European Commission for the Ukraine Facility initiative, noting that Czechia was the first country to utilize this tool for rebuilding Ukraine’s healthcare sector.
“Right now, the burden on every doctor and hospital in Ukraine is several times, if not dozens of times, heavier than in our neighboring countries. According to our Ministry of Health, 83% of people experience stress, and 78% directly link it to the war. At the same time, peacetime illnesses haven’t gone away. And that is why I am grateful to the Czech Republic for being with us on this path of saving people, their physical and mental state,” Olena Zelenska said.
In the presence of both First Ladies, Ukraine’s Minister of Health Viktor Liashko, and Czech Health Minister Vlastimil Válek, several international medical partnership memorandums were signed.
One of them is between the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital and the Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine. This partnership will provide for Ukrainian doctors’ internships, joint educational events and conferences, knowledge-sharing on healthcare processes, and the implementation of digital solutions and innovative treatment methods in Ukraine.
Another memorandum was signed between the Regional Medical Center of Family Health of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council and the University Hospital Brno. The collaboration focuses on the development of haemato-oncology, pediatrics, mental health, and the integration of innovative treatment approaches.
“Every partnership is invaluable, because it inevitably saves someone. But, as in all partnerships, this one is a two-way street, because it’s not just Ukraine receiving knowledge and skills. Our doctors, with their wartime experience, also have much to offer – enriching global medicine and care,” Olena Zelenska concluded.