Building a Stronger Ukrainian Health System
Building a Stronger Ukrainian Health System: Assessment of SAFEMed’s Capacity-Strengthening Efforts, 2017–2025
Ukraine’s transformation of its pharmaceutical and supply-chain systems is a story of sustained partnership and institutional growth. The US-funded SAFEMed Activity, led by MSH, supported Ukraine from 2017 to 2025 to strengthen the policies, systems, and digital tools that make access to safe, affordable medicines possible.
This assessment examines how eight years of capacity-strengthening work advanced five areas: evidence-based policy, product quality, procurement and reimbursement, supply-chain optimization, and digitalization. Using more than 300 project documents and 40 interviews, it traces how technical assistance evolved into locally led reform.
The findings illustrate what good technical assistance looks like: locally led, data-driven, adaptable in crisis, and designed for independence. Ukraine’s experience shows that when capacity-building is rooted in partnership and digital innovation, it delivers lasting, system-wide results.