An additional UAH 11 billion is required from the national budget to increase salaries of doctors and medical workers, Health Minister of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov has said.

"We need about UAH 11 billion to raise the salaries of 435,000 doctors. We will address the government and the Verkhovna Rada looking for changes to the national budget. We believe that our health workers should receive a substantial increase in salaries this year, not less than 50%," he said at a briefing on Tuesday.

Stepanov said that starting May 11, the Health Ministry will begin an examination of the entire medical infrastructure "to determine the capabilities and effectiveness of the hospital network."

Starting May 11, the Health Ministry also plans to start developing and approving national standards for providing health care with the involvement of scientists and leading industry experts.

"After that, based on these data, the Health Ministry will develop fair tariffs at which the sector will be financed in 2021," he said.