European Union and EMERGENCY Expand Healthcare Access to Vulnerable Communities in Eastern Ukraine

Under a European Union-funded programme also involving Johanniter International Assistance, UK-Med and the local organisation Eleos-Ukraine, the EU is providing EMERGENCY with 1,162,488 EUR to support access to care for vulnerable people in frontline oblasts of Ukraine, while strengthening and improving the sustainability of the primary healthcare system of a country that continues to endure war.

More specifically, EU humanitarian funding is supporting the expansion of EMERGENCY's primary healthcare network in the eastern Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, and the restoration of essential services for vulnerable communities near the frontline.

With EUR 5 million in funding provided across the consortium, more than 33,000 unique beneficiaries will be supported between 1 May 2026 and 30 April 2027. EMERGENCY's project focuses on the refurbishment and equipment of primary healthcare clinics, improving the availability and delivery of services and alleviating pressure on secondary and tertiary care facilities. Support will also go toward training local healthcare and non-healthcare staff, including in emergency preparednessand mass casualty response,and integrating them with a network of Community Health Workers. These workers travel from house to house to map local vulnerabilities, identify access barriers to and establish pathways for continuity of care from primary to specialist services.

"Behind every number are people whose lives have been disrupted by war, yet who still need to see a doctor, receive treatment and care for their families. Through our joint project with EMERGENY, the European Union is helping bring essential healthcare closer to people living near the frontline, so that their access to care does not depend on where they live or how close the war is," says Marianna Franco, Head of the European Union Humanitarian Aid in Ukraine.

More than four years after the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine, the war ranks as one of the deadliest in the world, with a 1,200-km frontline and attacks frequently targeting essential infrastructure and civilians. The WHO reports more than 3,000 attacks on healthcare from February 2022 to August 2026 (WHO) while this year, an estimated 10.8 million Ukrainians will need humanitarian assistance, including more than 4.4 million in need of health support (OCHA).

Along the frontline and in remote rural areas, basic services have collapsed and emergency response has slowed significantly. With active combat zones receiving urgent operational attention, populations in rural areas remain marginalised within the humanitarian response.

"At its heart, our work is about continuity, both for individuals who need to regular access to care but also for the wider health system. We are restoring primary care services with long-term sustainability in mind, rather than creating a parallel and temporary route," says Luca Rifiorati, EMERGENCY Programme Coordinator in Ukraine. "One example is ensuring the provision of pharmaceutical items and biomedical supplies that frontline communities would otherwise struggle to access. We are increasing the availability and the quality of health services for vulnerable communities in Ukraine, and increasing local capacity for service delivery - because no one should be left behind."