French Healthcare Association in Ukraine to deliver its promises

Following the exchanges held at the Health Round Table hosted by French Healthcare Association during the Bilateral Conference for the Resilience and Reconstruction of Ukraine, the association joined the delegation of French healthcare companies led by Medef International in Kiev to turn its pledges into concrete actions and projects.

Julien Delpech, executive board member, represented French Healthcare Association and its 300+ members mobilized to meet Ukraine’s needs in health reconstruction. Discussions on the ground with local officials and the Ukrainian Minister of Health, Mr. Victor Lyashko, concluded with the initiation of several concrete projects in the following areas:

• Installation of modular hospitals
• Medical equipment for sorting casualties (portable ultrasound)
• War Trauma Training (physical and psychological)
• Creation of simulation centres

Interview with Julien Delpech upon his return from Ukraine

Julien, in what context did you take part in this mission?

The President of the French Republic held a conference in Paris, attended by over 700 French companies and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by videoconference.

Following the plenary session of the Bilateral Conference for the Resilience and Reconstruction of Ukraine, held 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.

At this conference, we made a commitment to come to Ukraine with a delegation of French companies, so that the promises made will be put in practice and lead to concrete results for Ukraine and for French companies.
It is important to remember that France is the first foreign employer in Ukraine, with more than 30,000 Ukrainians working in French companies.

What was the purpose of this mission?

The objective of this mission was to focus on “resilience” before rebuilding, which will follow soon.

Resilience is about France and its companies supporting Ukraine in its numerous emergencies. Ukraine is in dire need of fire trucks, generators, water treatment and, of course, several urgent medical needs.

What are these urgent medical needs?

Several types of urgent needs exist in the field of health, as discussed them with Mr. Victor Liashko, the Ukrainian Minister of Health.

These needs are related to the raging war on the eastern flank of Ukraine. We should note that 80% of the injured suffer from complications related to shrapnel, the pieces of a bomb, shell, or bullet that has exploded. It is therefore appropriate to offer Ukrainian doctors on the field devices that help them estimate the severity of a shrapnel, and in particular to understand if it has reached or damaged vital organs.

In this case, portable ultrasound machines can play a decisive role.
In order to manage and optimise the care for the wounded, given the damage inflicted by the Russian army on Ukrainian hospitals, we also proposed to Ukraine the delivery of mobile hospitals, fully equipped and operational in 120 days.

We equally developed training modules, in short video format, to enable soldiers on the front lines to perform the first basic actions when one of their comrades is injured.

In the longer term, we have proposed the creation of a training center for post-traumatic syndrome. In France, we have very great skills in this area.

Finally and to conclude, the war must not hide the needs of the population on other pathologies, such as better management of breast cancer, as well as prevention campaigns. On this subject, a memo had been signed in 2020 between the French Ministry of the Economy and the French Ministry of Health. It has been brought up to date, in order to transform this memo into concrete actions.

What is the atmosphere in Kiev?

It takes about 24 to 36 hours to get to Kiev from Paris. Ukrainian airspace is completely closed.
On the spot, you have to imagine an unlit city, with very regular check-points at the level of key buildings and ministries in which we had many meetings.

And paradoxically, next to that, Kiev seems to live normally, but it is of course impossible and even ridiculous to paint a portrait of a city after only two days of mission.

At the level of the various ministers we met, we saw a real conviction in the victory of Ukraine, and the desire to accelerate the implementation of concrete solutions to the current problems related to the war.

Will there be a follow-up to this mission?

Yes, of course, especially since the primary objective of this mission was to identify the right interlocutors and priority projects.
French Healthcare Association will convene its 300+ members at a meeting on 22 February so that all members can position themselves on the needs of Ukraine. Of course, non-members can also take a position.
We owe our Ukrainian friends a serious follow-up and respect for our commitments.

French Healthcare Association mobilizes to respond to Ukraine’s needs in health reconstruction – Bilateral Conference for the resilience and reconstruction of Ukraine