Strengthening rehabilitation care financing in Ukraine: WHO and European Observatory present preliminary findings

December 2, 2024.

    Preliminary results of the study from the WHO and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Rehabilitation Services Financing and Organization: Learning from European Countries towards Strengthening Rehabilitation Care in Ukraine, has revealed that countries across Europe pursue different approaches to ensure equitable and sustainable access to rehabilitation services.
    
    These findings have been presented at a policy dialogue in Kyiv, hosted by the WHO Country Office Ukraine together with the WHO Barcelona Office for Health Systems Financing and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. Organized with the financial support of the European Union, the event has brought together national and regional authorities, clinical experts and international partners to discuss how to strengthen rehabilitation care financing in Ukraine, based on the experience and best practices from selected European countries, including case studies from Croatia, England, Estonia, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Spain and Switzerland.
    
    “Rehabilitation is more than just the restoration of physical function to the largest extent possible; it also includes attention to mental and psychosocial issues that often come with disabling conditions,” said Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, WHO/Europe’s Director of Country Health Policies and Systems. “Of course, proper rehabilitation services need proper funding, and in the European Region spending on rehabilitation is still far too low. The preliminary findings we are releasing today are crucial to understand how countries—including Ukraine—can finance these services to meet people’s growing health needs.”