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The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) stands ready to provide a loan to Ukraine to scale up investment in the oncology care development. In addition, the Kuwaiti government has expressed its interest in learning more about Ukraine's experience in implementing the ongoing healthcare reform.

The cooperation between Kuwait and Ukraine in different sectors, including healthcare, was discussed during the fourth meeting of the Ukrainian-Kuwaiti Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Technical and Trade Cooperation.

Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine Pavlo Kovtoniuk noted that the meeting participants had discussed future cooperation in the healthcare sector "in particular, the development of investment projects focusing on oncology care and bone marrow transplantation. It is no secret that these are currently the biggest challenges in Ukraine’s healthcare. For instance, about UAH 580 million have been allocated from the state budget to the "Treatment Abroad" program this year. That is why we need more investment projects to develop transplantation in Ukraine".

The progress in the ongoing healthcare system transformation in Ukraine was also discussed during the meeting of Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Rozenko and Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine Pavlo Kovtoniuk with Minister of Health of Kuwait Sheikh Dr. Basel Hamoud Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

"The Kuwaiti side has expressed an interest in the changes we are currently implementing, because the Kuwaiti government also plans to launch a substantial reform of the national healthcare financing system in the near future. According to Kuwait’s deputy Health Minister, the system should be as effective as possible, no matter how much money the country allocates to healthcare. That is why Kuwait’s deputy Health Minister considers the development of primary care a priority, and is interested in our experience," commented Pavlo Kovtoniuk. The Kuwaiti side has already planned a working visit to Ukraine to learn more about the ongoing reforms and changes.

It is worth noting that a fundamental transformation of the national healthcare financing system is currently underway in Ukraine.

The National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) has already paid a total of UAH 1.615 billion to 623 contracted PHC providers nationwide for the actual services rendered to patients under a new capitation model. These facilities provide care to over 23 million Ukrainians, more than 12 million of whom have already chosen their PHC physicians.

The next stage of the healthcare reform will start in the second half of 2019, with the launch of the Free Medical Diagnostics Program. With a referral from a PHC physician, patients will be able to undergo free of charge up to 80% of all medical diagnostic tests and procedures, including x-rays, ultrasounds, mammography, echocardiography, and other medical analysis and diagnostic procedures at any NHSU-contracted health facility of their choice.