Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko hopes to continue cooperation with the Canadian Red Cross and the National Committee of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS).

"Ukraine is sincerely grateful to the people of Canada for their powerful support, which has increased significantly since the start of a full-scale war in our country. We appreciate the assistance provided, including in the field of healthcare. War is an extraordinary test that brings both direct and indirect losses. Permanent destruction of infrastructure, bridges and roads, last summer's fuel crisis, inflation, economic challenges and many other factors make us pay more and more attention to the issue of access to medical care for Ukrainians, especially those living in remote areas. Therefore, the initiatives implemented by the Canadian Red Cross and the National Committee of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society are extremely important. We hope to continue and expand cooperation in this direction," Liashko said at a meeting with Director General of the URCS National Committee Maksym Dotsenko, President and Director General of the Canadian Red Cross Conrad Sauvé.

As the URCS reported on Facebook, the parties noted the importance of concentrating efforts to meet the basic needs of Ukrainian patients in primary healthcare services.

The URCS, in cooperation with the Canadian Red Cross, supports the Ukrainian healthcare sector in various areas, in particular, by implementing Home Care projects and mobile medical teams.

Currently, 1,000 social assistants of the URCS are already working in Ukraine, who provide social services for single people and people with disabilities. It is planned that by the end of 2025 the number of such assistants will increase to 5,000. Ukraine also has 100 mobile medical teams traveling to remote settlements. It is expected that soon there will be 150 of them. Each such team consists of highly qualified specialists with extensive work experience who provide a range of medical and psychological services.

The meeting participants also discussed issues of cooperation in the field of mental, physical and social rehabilitation, the need for which is constantly growing.