Following the plenary session of the Bilateral Conference for the Resilience and Reconstruction of Ukraine, held on the 13th of December at the Ministry of Economics, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, French Healthcare Association mobilized its members and animated the sectorial workshop on health reconstruction, during which the French health experts pledged concrete assistance in response to the needs presented by the Ukrainian Health Minister Victor Liashko.
The health workshop, chaired by the Ukrainian Health Minister Victor Liashko, was designed to allow a direct dialogue between the ministers and the business community on the strategic needs of Ukraine and the ways French companies can respond.
The roundtable was led by Jean-François Gendron, President of the French Healthcare Association, in the presence of Roland Lescure, Minister Delegate in charge of Industry, Pr Raphaël Pitti, associate professor of emergency medicine, anaesthesiologist-resuscitator, army general physician, and Oleksandra Vasylenko, Special Envoy on the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Director of the Economic Diplomacy Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This sequence gave place for an exchange on several major issues in the context of the war and allowed French actors to propose sustainable solutions for rebuilding critical infrastructures and offering assistance in the following areas:
- Reconstruction of hospital infrastructure
- Supply of hospital equipment
- Infection prevention and waste treatment
- Mobility of care and medical transport
- Vaccines and medicines
- Ambulatory surgery
- Psychological reconstruction & training of medical staff
This event is a continuity of the mobilization of French health companies and institutions which from the first days of the war have shown their support. French Healthcare Association, a network of over 300 public and private French health actors, has coordinated, together with its members, several assistance projects to fulfill the emergency needs in health access and infrastructure, by setting up a free remote consultation platform, coordinating donations of equipment and medical assistance.
In order to centralise the French offer in health development and assistance, French Healthcare Association has developed a landing page presenting its members’ solutions in response to the critical needs of Ukraine:
For French companies – This landing page is updated regularly, if you wish to get involved:
France stands by Ukraine
The Bilateral Conference for the Resilience and Reconstruction of Ukraine, initiated by the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, intended to expose the strategic needs of Ukraine to ensure its economic resilience during the war and its medium-term reconstruction, as well as to encourage the mobilisation of French economic players on these two essential issues.
Following a first multilateral sequence at the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the two Presidents opened the bilateral sequence at Bercy in the afternoon, in the presence of Denys Shmyhal, the
Prime minister of Ukraine, and Bruno Le Maire, minister for the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty. The plenary session was an opportunity to present the current economic challenges in Ukraine, the tools available to support projects in a context marked by war, and the essential role that the private sector has to play in preparing the reconstruction of Ukraine.
The 700 French companies participating presented their expertise and support to the Ukrainian infrastructures destroyed by the war, in the sectors of health, agriculture, education, technologies.
The Head of State expressed France’s solidarity with Ukraine, reminded the unbreakable economic ties that unite the two countries, and repeated to President Zelensky that Ukraine will be able to count on France’s support for as long as it takes, to see its sovereignty and territorial integrity fully restored. He shared his confidence in Ukraine’s future, and encouraged local actors to address its critical needs, help rebuild the country and invest in the Ukrainian economy’s potential in the long term.
In a long-applauded speech, President Volodimir Zelenski presented the extend of the destruction suffered by Ukraine since the beginning of the war, praised France’s large scale mobilisation and underlined the opportunities for French companies, given the ease of implementing a large-scale project in Ukraine and the openness of their officials for discussion.
President Zelensky announced that they have restored seaborne agricultural exports from Ukraine, which have been blocked by the Russian fleet since the start of the full-scale war, and exported more than 13 million tons of food in 2022 trough its humanitarian initiative “Grain from Ukraine”, in its efforts to stop the spread of the global food crisis.
First Lady of Ukraine presented the Olena Zelenska Foundation, and one of their fundraising projects dedicated to restore one of the hospitals of the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, the hub hospital in the city of Izyum.
For Bruno Le Maire, “enabling the Ukrainian economy today to withstand the shock of war is a major challenge for starting the country’s reconstruction project tomorrow”. “This bilateral conference desired by the Ukrainian authorities sends a very important signal, that of the desire of French economic players to fully mobilize alongside Ukraine. But beyond the signal, these are very concrete projects that we have concluded or initiated, to meet, as of now, the needs of the key sectors of the Ukrainian economy”.
Following the plenary sequence, the sectorial workshops gave room for direct dialogue between French and Ukrainian ministers and companies on the strategic needs of each major sector and on opportunities for cooperation.
The french healthcare ecosystem has mobilised to collectively support Ukraine
The Health Round Table moderated by the French Healthcare Association enabled the Ukrainian Health Minister, Victor Liashko, to present the major issues in the context of the war and the country’s priorities in health: reconstruction of hospitals, supply of medical equipment, psychological reconstruction, medical training, mobile care, medical transportation, ambulatory surgery, vaccines and medicines, and infectious risks.
Minister Liashko reminded that the health infrastructure is the subject of systematic bombardments by the Russian armed forces: 1,000 sites would now be destroyed, generating major needs in patient care. Following the destruction of hospitals and infrastructure along with the displacement of an estimated 7 million people inside the country, access to essential health care for the wounded and chronically ill has been severely affected. Russian authorities have repeatedly blocked efforts to provide state-subsidized drugs to people in occupied cities, towns and villages.
He has therefore presented the country’s urgent needs in access to care, medication, diagnosis and infrastructure reconstruction.
He highlighted their lack of resources in certain critical areas such as access to medicines, emergency care, neurosurgery, oncology, rehabilitation, vaccines, but also diagnostic needs, particularly in radiological therapies, diagnostic equipment. A major need that French companies will be able to meet immediately is mobile health transport solutions, mobile pharmacies, mobile care units, especially in villages.
French companies were able to present their know-how, and offer concrete proposals on solutions for rebuilding critical infrastructures and the challenges of their future development.
The role of French Healthcare Association in the reconstruction of Ukraine
French Healthcare Association, an initiative led by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, is a network of over 300 French companies, healthcare institutions, research and training institutes mobilized to offer collective solutions adapted to the needs of its partners abroad.
The association responded to the crisis and mobilized its ecosystem from the very start of the conflict, by opening a free teleconsultation platform and by coordinating several support actions both in Ukraine and France, in cooperation with its members.
To provide a first level and well-coordinated response to the needs presented by the Ukrainian officials, the association has resembled French health experts to present solutions adapted to their resources and priorities.
Jean-François Gendron expressed his support, and shared his vision, calling for investment in the future of Ukraine:
“If we are meeting this afternoon at the Bilateral Conference for the Resilience and Reconstruction of Ukraine, around the theme of health, it is because we are concerned about the future of Ukraine and Ukrainians. France has a vision of health as being a common, universal right. We share and defend this humanist vision every day through French Healthcare, a public brand that belongs to the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
Thus, as President of the French Healthcare Association, I can assure you, Minister, that the companies and institutions gathered today all have the capacity, of course, but above all the will to work hand in hand with you to support civil society as well as possible, and allow it to continue, despite everything, to live in good health.”
Concrete exchanges during the Health Round Table – Bilateral conference for the resilience and reconstruction of Ukraine
Several key French health players and French Healthcare Association members, such as DMS Imaging, Invivox, Tesalys, SFEH and Sanofi, have presented their testimonies and proposed solutions in a collective effort to contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine’s health infrastructure both on the short and on the long term.
Pr. Raphaël Pitti, specialist in disaster and humanitarian emergency medicine, shared his experience in war zones from Syria to Ukraine and underlined the importance of acting urgently in the face of the violence, systematic bombing and the danger of Russia’s use of chemicals as a tactical weapon. He addressed the issue of population displacement and the difficulty to access care. He equally called for significant support for the strengthening of hospital infrastructures, in particular with the help of mobile units.
Patxi Ospital, founder of Invivox, recalled the importance of medical training as a tool for the psychological reconstruction of local and displaced healthcare professionals. Invivox responded to the crisis from the start of the war by centralizing its training courses made available on Invivox, translating content into Ukrainian, by creating new content, according to the needs stated, in particular by Pr. Raphaêl Pitti, and by creating partnerships with actors specializing in the reconstruction of physical and psychological trauma related to war crimes.
Hélène Bonvalot, Director of the Primo-Levi Center, spoke about the challenges of psychological rehabilitation. The center has welcomed Ukrainian refugees in 2014, and also offers support to doctors on site by disseminating theoretical content on trauma and psychological help.
Dr Benhamou, President of the French National Academy of Surgery, highlighted the advocacy of all French learned societies in the desire to put the excellence of French surgery at the service of Ukraine and the will of French health actors to export their know-how in support. He presented the project for the use of telepresence robots developed by French startups, installed in all academies in France, and in Ukraine. These robots have not only helped train healthcare professionals in emergency medicine and war surgery in Ukraine, but have also enabled refugee children to attend school remotely.
Adrien Delamare-Debouteville, Director of Sanofi Ukraine, praised the solidarity and reactivity of the health industry in France since the beginning of the war. He also stressed the need to have employees on site to better detect needs and to be able to react in a more precise manner for a more effective reconstruction, in cooperation with the local actors and population. He also recalled the responsibility of the companies recruiting in Ukraine towards supporting the family of their personnel.
Stéphane Girerd, CEO of Toutenkamion, has responded to the problem of medical transport and healthcare access by proposing the use of autonomous and connected mobile medical units, along telemedicine solutions, to provide quality medical services to a large number of people. Toutenkamion Group is already involved in Ukraine. It has provided several mobile x-ray units in partnership with DMS Imaging, and continues to develop partnerships with members of the association, such as FSE GROUP, Tesalys, to be able to offer global solutions to Ukraine’s current and future needs.
Miquel Lozano, President at Tesalys and Foreign Trade Advisor for France, presented the major aspects of infection prevention and waste treatment (human infections, sterilization of equipment, disinfection of air and surfaces, treatment of air), and the expertise of Tesalys in the field. French Healthcare Association has numerous companies with expertise in infection and waste treatment among its members, and according to Mr. Lozano’s testimony, the members will work together to find sustainable solutions adapted to Ukraine’s resources.
Raphaël de Tramasure, Director of FSE, presented French Healthcare Association’s objective to gather the key actors in the French hospital Infrastructures field, in order to be able to propose a global offer, and coordinate know-how in a field which requires a multitude of skills.
The companies present at the Bilateral Conference for the Resilience and Reconstruction of Ukraine also mobilized in the supply of equipment for clinics and hospitals. Samuel Sancerni, CEO of DMS Imaging, a company already involved in the shipment of radiology units, spoke of the ease of forming partnerships between the members of the association, and the ability of French players to offer real expertise to help Ukraine in the long term, with the support of its institutional partners, in particular the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the French Treasury.
How to contribute to health reconstruction in Ukraine?
During the Bilateral Conference for the Resilience and Reconstruction of Ukraine, French Healthcare Association confirmed its vocation to continue to create links between French healthcare companies in order to be able to provide global and coordinated solutions for the reconstruction of the health infrastructure in Ukraine:
“Following this round table, we were able to see that there are many difficulties in accessing medical care in Ukraine, and the response must be global.
As president of the French Healthcare Association, I assure you of my greatest support, and our collective will work in the coming weeks with each of the actors mobilized to provide Ukrainians with the care they need.” Jean-Francois Gendron
President Zelensky confirmed the openness of Ukrainian officials to exchanges and encouraged French companies to invest in Ukraine because of the ease of implementing a large-scale project and the prospects that current needs can offer companies French health.
Therefore, French Healthcare Association invites health actors wishing to get involved in its support actions to complete a questionnaire, in order to appear on the landing developed for Ukraine: https://france-ukraine-health.mystrikingly. com/
Complete the questionnaire here
For more information, we invite you to contact:
Johanna LERFEL, Executive Director/ General Delegate
+33 (0)6.28.93.13.85
Watch the replay – Bilateral Conference for the resilience and reconstruction of Ukraine:
In French :
In Ukrainian: