The role of the public health system in the implementation of the Healthcare System Development Strategy until 2030 was discussed at the international level in UzhNU
On 3-4 October, UzhNU hosted an all-Ukrainian scientific conference with international participation entitled ‘The Role of the Civil Health System in the Implementation of the Healthcare System Development Strategy until 2030’. The co-organisers of the event were: All-Ukrainian Association of Public Health Professionals, Uzhhorod National University, Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Public Health Centre of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, USAID project ‘Building a Resilient Public Health System’.
‘This is our sixth conference with international participation dedicated to public health issues,’ says Ivan Myroniuk, Vice-Rector for Research at UzhNU, ’For the second year in a row, we have been organising the conference in cooperation with the USAID Building a Resilient Public Health System project. This year, the All-Ukrainian Association of Public Health Professionals joined us. Thus, Uzhhorod National University has become a traditional platform for discussing public health. This is a large-scale event, because we have very respected participants from the USA and Switzerland. These are major global players in the field of public health, who have been coming to us for many years to share their experience, provide information and technical assistance for the development of the public health system in Ukraine, both in the scientific field and in education - training of future specialists.’
The event was aimed at professional discussion of ways to develop the public health system in Ukraine, as well as current challenges for the public health sector and ways to overcome them in the context of the war in Ukraine and future post-war reconstruction by managers, public health practitioners, scientists, representatives of higher education institutions, national and international partners in the field of public health.
During the opening ceremony, the Rector of UzhNU Volodymyr Smolanka said: ‘I am glad to welcome you to UzhNU. And I am doubly happy because the topic of the conference is extremely important. Public health is becoming more and more important in the healthcare system of our country, and it is of particular importance during the difficult time of a large-scale war in the country. However, we believe that as a country, we have a great future ahead of us. The reforms that we have seen in recent years are beneficial to the national healthcare system. And it is important that today we will not only consider the role of the public health system, but also discuss many practical things and share our experience. The conference programme is very modern, so thank you for that, thank you for inviting important guests from countries that are the locomotives in this field. It's nice that UzhNU is the place for such important events, we will be glad to see you again and again.’
The conference brought together the best experts in the field of public health. In particular: Ihor Kuzin (Ministry of Health of Ukraine), Iryna Mykychak (Mental Health Coordination Centre), Ruslan Savchuk (NGO ‘All-Ukrainian Association of Public Health Professionals’), Robin Martz (USAID), Anna Fenchak (USAID Building a Resilient Public Health System Project), Charlotte Marchandiz (European Public Health Association), Chris Chanyasulkit (American Public Health Association), Oleksandr Slobozhan (Association of Ukrainian Cities) and other distinguished guests.
The conference participants discussed the impact of the war on the health of the population and the healthcare system of Ukraine, discussed measures to minimise the negative impact and support the public health system, and considered the current state and further strategies for the development of public health human resources. The working sessions addressed the following issues:
- healthcare system development strategy until 2030: the role of the public health system in maintaining and promoting public health in the context of war and post-war recovery
- European integration course of formulating policies and approaches to the development of the public health system;
- intersectoral cooperation to maintain and improve public health;
- effective multisectoral approaches to work in communities to improve public health;
- formation of responsible and valuable attitude to health;
- the role of research in the implementation of modern approaches to the development of the national public health system;
- development of human resources in the public health system;
- the impact of the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Programme ‘How are you?’ on the preservation of the mental health of Ukrainians.
Thus, the conference allowed for a professional discussion, debate and identification of priority measures to continue the development of the public health system in Ukraine, taking into account the necessary roles and contributions of public health professionals, representatives of science and education, the non-governmental sector, local governments and territorial communities, and international partners.
