Healthcare Program

Goal: Provision of comprehensive social, medical, and psychological services, covering various levels of support for different population categories, including vulnerable groups, older people, and victims of war events.

Mission: Provision of integrated social and medical support to all segments of the population in accordance with the values and mission of Caritas Ukraine.

Vision: Creating a healthy and supportive community where every person has access to quality medical care and socio-psychological support.

Values: Humanity, mutual respect, inclusivity, efficiency.

Guiding Principles: Partnership, innovation, community involvement.

Target Groups:

• Elderly people and individuals with disabilities.
• Veterans, military personnel, and their families.
• Internally displaced persons.
• All segments of the population, including children and adults.

564,367 services provided in 2023:

• 20,554 Caritas Medical Centers
• 161,784 Palliative Care
• 340,657 Home Care
• 19,500 Mental Health and Psychosocial Support
• 32,772 Homes for the Elderly
• 3,660 Rental of Rehabilitation Equipment
• 24,030 Individual Consultations on Basics of Home Care

10,426 direct beneficiaries:

• 3,526 Caritas Medical Centers
• 600 Palliative Care
• 1,744 Home Care
• 2,376 Mental Health and Psychosocial Support
• 896 Homes for the Elderly
• 3,660 Rental of Rehabilitation Equipment

9 projects within the program

• 385 staff members
• 1,570 volunteers

6 Medical centers (primary and secondary medical care)

4 Medical centers (currently undergoing licensing)

24 Home Care centers

7 Palliative Care centers

6 Homes for elderly IDPs and local residents with social and psychosocial services

Program/Activity Direction: “Healthcare”

Almost a year and a half after the escalation of the war in Ukraine, the growing number of people needing care, financial and logistical hurdles and damaged infrastructure, make the access to essential services more and more challenging. 

Thanks to the help of Cordaid, Caritas of Ukraine opened five medical centers in October 2023, which provide basic medical care to Ukrainians, in particular to those who have become internally displaced persons.

The pilot project shows how emergency relief can go hand in hand with a holistic healthcare approach. The medical centres in Drohobych, Kolomyia, Brody, Khmelnytsky, and Nadvirna have general practitioners, specialists, paediatricians, nurses, therapists, laboratories and mobile teams for home visits.

Numerous clinics and other medical facilities in Ukraine have been destroyed. On top of that, many people have also lost their income, which makes much-needed care unaffordable for them. Even finding transportation to reach the medical centres can be a challenge.

Ukrainians who have experienced the violence themselves or have fled, in many cases suffer from mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Khrystyna Semegen-Bodak (Caritas of Ukraine) and Inge Leuverink (Cordaid) in the medical centre in Drohobych

“Many things have become unaffordable and there are many displaced people who still need to find an income. During my visit to one of the centres, I came across a group of war victims. Seeing the amputated legs and prostheses, suddenly brought the war very close. The government cannot provide the necessary health care for everyone. It is so important that Cordaid and Caritas Ukraine can step in and provide basic care to people who need it most: displaced persons, the elderly, the chronically ill, the handicapped”, said Cordaid’s humanitarian expert Inge Leuverink. 

Khrystyna Semegen-Bodak, Head of the Healthcare Program. She is a medical professional and a mother of a 16-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son, shares what it is that keeps her, her staff and the Ukrainian people going. As the wife of a mobilised military major in the medical service and the owner of a family medical business in the southern city of Kherson that was tragically damaged by a missile strike, she draws strength and determination from her experiences.

“I know we will never live the way we did before”, Khrystyna says. “We already lost so much. Friends, family, money. But we keep working towards our dream. We want to win this war and we want to be independent. It helps a lot that we feel the support from our European partners. It is also crucial because we were draining our resources fast. I’m confident our model of providing care will prove to be very effective and successful.”

Main activities of the program:

• Medical Centers providing quality primary and secondary medical care (including telemedicine services) and psychological support.
• Comprehensive medical, social, and psychological services for Home Care for elderly people, people with disabilities, and those in difficult life circumstances..
• Homes for elderly displaced persons and local residents with social and psychosocial services.
• Palliative Care and multidisciplinary mobile palliative teams.
• Rental of medical and rehabilitation equipment for those in need.
• Individual consultations on the basics of care for relatives of beneficiaries, caregivers, social workers, and volunteers.
• Training on the basics of first aid.
• Physical and psychological rehabilitation, including a specialized training center for rehabilitation.

Development Plans:

• Opening of a center for psychological and physical rehabilitation for individuals affected by the war, with a training base for rehabilitation specialists.
• Establishiment of All-Ukrainian Network of Physical and Mental Rehabilitation.
• Expansion and development of the network of primary medical care centers with psychological support.
• Expansion of the network of palliative care centers, including children’s care. Creation of inpatient hospice care centers.
• Ensuring the sustainability of Home Care centers. Expansion of services of mobile Home Care teams.
• Conducting informational-consultation and training sessions for social workers, caregivers, volunteers, and relatives of beneficiaries.
• Expansion of the network of rehabilitation equipment rental centers.

How we work with our beneficiaries

History of assistance to elderly spouses from the Home care project

Tatyana Dmitrivna is almost 72 years old, and her life became a real test when her husband met his first stroke (at the age of 61). Since then, the woman has taken care of him every day.

“They did the operation because they said otherwise he would either die immediately or be in a coma. The stent was placed in Kyiv. After that, he needs periodic hospitalization, or it gets very bad. We stay with him in the hospital 3–4 times a year.”

“When I found out about your organization, it helped me in everything. Thank you very much. Ira is a social worker, she helps in everything: she calls, comes, helps as much as she can. I am very grateful to her for everything: for moral help and help in self-care, and to Caritas Kharkiv for diapers and food kits. Help is coming from all sides. I am very grateful to Caritas and grateful to Irina, who does not leave us without her attention, and everything has become easier for me: both morally and materially.”

Due to constant care for her husband, Tatyana Dmitrivna feels exhausted not only physically, but also mentally. Fortunately, since she became a beneficiary of the Home Care project, that has changed.

The psychologist of Caritas Kharkiv conducts various psychological trainings aimed at relieving stress, coping with stress, development and finding reasons for joy, art therapy, tea parties, etc.

Ms. Tetiana tries not to miss art therapy and other activities, actively participates and likes to communicate with other wards. It is important for her to come to distract, rest and relax.

Thanks to the help of the social worker and psychologist of the project, the life of Tetyana Dmitrivna and Oleksandr Vasyliovych improved. Due to the caring attitude, the woman’s psychological condition has improved, and her husband has not regressed, which is a very good indicator, considering his health problems.

Mobile work of the Caritas-Brody medical center

Every month, the team of our “Caritas Brody” center goes to neighboring villages, especially to those located far from large settlements. These visits have become an important part of our work, as they allow us to provide medical care to those who have limited access to medical services.

During each visit, our specialists conduct consultations, measure blood pressure, sugar level and pulse, which allows you to quickly identify possible health problems and provide the necessary recommendations. Residents of villages who receive such medical care directly in their communities are very grateful for this service.

Thanks to these visits, more and more people learn about the “Caritas Brody” medical center and its services. Many of them decide to visit our center to make a declaration and receive regular medical care.