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Business non-governmental organizations (NGOs), medical workers and scientists demand that the Ukrainian government propose a national strategy for developing Ukraine's health care system and involve professionals in the review of the state of health care. A respective address was sent to the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers following debates at the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE).
The document was signed by the heads of the ULIE, the Federation of Employers in the Health Care Sector, the National Academy of Medical Sciences, the League of Insurance Organizations, the Heart Institute under the Health Ministry of Ukraine, the Trade Union of Health Care Workers of Ukraine, and others.
Members of the expert debates propose holding a special meeting of the government as a first step to review the state of the health care system. Representatives of the scientific community, employers and trade unions are invited to join.
The next step should be the creation of an expert council under the Cabinet of Ministers for the development of a national strategy. The latter should clearly define national policy on health care, form the basis for drafting detailed programs, specifying technology, human resources, infrastructure, and the sources of funding that will be involved.
Ongoing monitoring and the implementation of strategies for development and practical programs in the health sector will be key in order to constantly improve their efficiency and effectiveness.
For now, they propose that the budget for 2017 should be immediately amended by increasing the level of subsidy given to health care to eliminate the deficit of medical care workers' salary fund and cover expenditure on specialized research of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine.
The document stresses the need for a clear analysis of the current state of the health care sector in Ukraine and the health of its citizens. Its findings will become the basis of an annual national report.
"We believe that the introduction of transformational changes to the political, social and economic life of Ukraine is an absolute must and that only a broad public dialogue will help find the best model of the national health care system and make it work," the signatories to the document said.
Health care workers and their partners from NGOs hope for the beginning of joint work with government officials and parliamentarians in health care reform.