Ukraine: Developments and Priorities in Public Health
Published by The Ministry of Health of Ukraine (moz.gov.ua) 18.12.2025
The outcomes of the 2025 efforts of the country’s regional centres for disease control and prevention [ЦКПХ – центри контролю та профілактики хвороб], as well as the priority areas for work in 2026, were discussed at the final meeting of the year between the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation, and representatives of the regional health centres.
The public health sector’s first response to emergency situations on the regional level, the work of medical teams in communities, especially under the preventative care programmes and preparations for the rollout of the new Vaccination Calendar; these were all topics at the Ministry of Health’s final meeting of 2025 with experts from WHO, and the heads of regional health centres.
During this meeting, experts and participants discussed a wide range of areas:
- upgrading the regulatory framework for the public health sector’s activities
- the functioning of the first response centres
- the procedure for epidemiological surveillance and investigation of outbreaks
- the implementation of the national ”Health Screening for 40+” program
- the implementation of the updated Preventative Vaccination Calendar, from 1st January 2026
Representatives of the regional health centres exchanged best practices, especially with regards to epidemiological surveillance of HIV with the use of medical information systems. the development of recommendations for the surveillance and laboratory diagnosis of Legionellosis, and the implementation and evaluation of the digital monitoring systems for infectious diseases, etc.. Additionally, during the conference, participants summarised the outcomes of 2025, in particular the work towards improving epidemiological surveillance, monitoring of communicable and non-communicable diseases, and also development of regional programs for the prevention and response to threats to public health. Particular attention was paid to the issues of cooperation between different sectors, increasing the availability of preventative services, and coordination with local medical teams.
The rapid response to public health emergencies, strengthening of preventative work in communities, and preparation for the rollout of the updated 2026 Preventative Vaccination Calendar were identified as the key priorities for the regional health centres in the upcoming year.
As a result of the meeting, representatives of the regional health centres agreed to exchange data and best practice between regions, and also to support local teams in implementing priority areas in the sphere of preventative vaccination, epidemiological surveillance, and increasing preparedness of communities for health challenges.
