Restoring Ukraine’s Healthcare Sector: What $19 Billion Really Means
As part of Ukraine’s large-scale postwar reconstruction, the healthcare sector requires over $19 billion that’s 4% of the total recovery estimate of $524 billion. Despite its relatively small share, healthcare has been defined as a priority area for 2025. This is not just about hospitals, but about the infrastructure of survival in the context of prolonged war and mass internal displacement.
As Deputy Minister of Health Olha Zykova stated at the Ukraine ReHealth 2025 conference, since February 2022 the vast majority of state funds have been directed to defense. In this environment, Ukraine relies heavily on international partners, particularly for sustaining its healthcare system. Her words reflect a key trend of recent years the growing dependency of the social sector on external funding.
Recovery in healthcare isn’t just about rebuilding destroyed hospitals. It’s about a system-wide transformation one that must meet not just urgent needs but also European standards that Ukraine is aiming to align with.
Olha Zykova emphasized:
“Restoring the healthcare sector is not just about investments in infrastructure and salaries. It’s about a systemic transformation aligned with European standards.”
These standards demand more than architectural redesigns. They require technological modernization, governance reform, staff development, and a rethinking of how primary and specialized care functions. And all of this must happen amid ongoing destruction, rising numbers of internally displaced persons, and chronic overburdening of existing facilities.
Ukraine ReHealth 2025: From Emergency Aid to Strategic Partnership
On September 4, 2025, the first international Ukraine ReHealth 2025 conference took place in Kyiv, providing a platform for discussing reforms, modernization, investments, and the role of international partners. The event marked a shift in the model of engagement from crisis response to strategic collaboration. Participants included representatives of the Ministry of Health, international financial institutions, private sector actors, and donor organizations.
Zykova outlined five key principles shaping this new architecture for recovery:
- Flexibility and Strategic Partnership
Ukraine is transitioning from emergency response to strategic partnerships that combine financial tools with structural reform. The idea is that assistance should not only fill gaps but help change the system from within. - Improved Donor Coordination
The Ministry of Finance now leads coordination of financial flows to prevent duplication. Each international financial institution has a defined role:- The World Bank supports structural reform;
- The EBRD works with state-owned enterprises in healthcare;
- The EIB invests in infrastructure projects.
This helps build a multi-level, coherent system of cooperation.
- Implementation of EU Standards
Ukraine insists that it is “building back better”, meaning not just rebuilding what was lost but also reforming the system to meet EU norms in treatment protocols, governance, and financial transparency. - Blended Financing Model
Rather than relying solely on loans, Ukraine integrates grants into financial programs, reducing debt burden. This model has proven effective and is being considered for scaling up. - Involving the Private Sector
Private healthcare institutions not only alleviate pressure on public budgets, but also drive innovation. Participants at ReHealth 2025 underscored the importance of expanding public-private partnerships (PPP), already a standard approach across much of Europe.
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$145 Billion Already Mobilized, but Needs Keep Growing
Over the past 3.5 years, Ukraine has received nearly $145 billion in international support. This is a massive figure, but the funding gap remains significant. Government forecasts suggest that in 2026, Ukraine will need an additional $8 billion in external support, especially for non-commercial sectors like healthcare.
In this context, donor confidence is closely tied to transparency. As Zykova pointed out, the government is actively working to build trust:
“International partners are showing flexibility, creating new tools for cooperation with Ukraine. The government, on its part, continues to strengthen transparency in order to boost donor confidence and increase aid volumes.”
Ukraine’s healthcare system is not just undergoing reconstruction it is facing a moment of reset. The funding is critical, but without political will for reform, transparent procedures, investment in e-health management systems, and a shift in financing approaches, these resources won’t bring systemic change.
The Ukraine ReHealth 2025 conference was more than just an industry gathering. It served as a litmus test for whether Ukraine is ready to think long-term not just plugging holes but building a healthcare model that can survive more than one crisis.
Recovery is not about going back to the old. It’s a chance to build something new. And that chance, despite everything, is still within reach.
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