As part of its health financing policy papers series, WHO Barcelona Office for Health Systems Financing (WHO Regional Office for Europe) published a report titled “Leveraging health financing to strengthen mental health services in Ukraine”.
“This report’s primary objective is to offer a concise overview of the [mental health] service transformation that has taken place since 2017, with a particular emphasis on health financing-related changes. As such, it aims to reflect on the lessons learned and identify areas that require attention and further development”.
The following abstract from the authors gives a snapshot of its content:
Ukraine has faced significant challenges in recent decades, including the effects of war since 2014 and the COVID-19 pandemic, each with profound impacts on population mental health; 2022 estimates suggest around 9.6 million people in Ukraine may be affected by a mental health condition. In 2015 the Government launched transformative health system reforms and their implementation has continued. This report focuses on understanding how significant shifts in the overall financing
of health services have contributed to promoting the transformation of mental health services delivery in Ukraine. Coverage of mental health services in outpatient settings has expanded, as new models of service delivery have been introduced, including community mental health teams and mental health services at primary care level.The report uses data from the National Health Services of Ukraine’s electronic health system to better understand system-level changes and their implications on mental health care. Implementing and improving financing measures for mental health care needs to be complemented by service delivery reform, improved service standards and health worker training. Despite the ongoing challenges in Ukraine, the lessons learned from its health system reform – explored in this report – are applicable to other countries looking to transform their mental health service delivery models.