At a glance
CDC established a country office in Ukraine in 2010 and continues to work closely with the Ukraine Ministry of Health (MOH), the Public Health Center of Ukraine (UPHC), and other partner organizations to build and strengthen the country’s core public health capabilities. Priority program areas address public health systems, emergency response, HIV, antimicrobial resistance, immunization, and meeting obligations under International Health Regulations (IHR 2005). Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, CDC has mobilized technical and financial resources to support the resilience and continuity of the public health systems, including efforts to halt the spread of antimicrobial resistant pathogens among the war wounded throughout the Ukraine health system, western Europe, and beyond. CDC’s work aims to protect the health of Americans and support public health around the world.
Key accomplishments
- Established scalable digital solutions for rapid monitoring of microbiology laboratory data at hospital and aggregate-levels.
- Trained laboratory staff in biosafety, security, and genomic sequencing alongside developing the national plan for biosafety cabinet certification, inspection, and maintenance.
- Supported training for 44 public health professionals who graduated from the Advanced Field Epidemiology Training Program since 2018.
- Deployed rapid responders to support the mitigation of emerging health threats resulting from the Russian attack against the Nova Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant in 2023.
- Conducted a one-day colonization screening at four large hospitals uncovering an overall combined carbapenem resistant organism burden of nearly 29%, highlighting the need for further attention to address the spread of multi-drug resistant organisms.
Global health security
In 2022, Ukraine accepted the designation as an Intensive Support Partner (ISP) Country for Health Security by the U.S. National Security Council. CDC’s global health security work in Ukraine focuses on supporting Ukraine to strengthen the country’s public health system and address leading public health threats. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine marked a pivotal moment for the resiliency of the Ukraine public health system. With support from CDC, efforts to leverage detailed action plans on disease surveillance, laboratory systems, workforce development, biosafety and biosecurity, immunization, and other critical areas have been prioritized for system continuity and health service provision.
CDC focuses on partnering with Ukraine across the following initiatives:
National Public Health Institutes
CDC assisted Ukraine’s MOH to strengthen the UPHC, which serves as an organizational home for global health security programs and activities. In 2022, with support from CDC and other interagency partners, Ukraine passed key legislative reforms to facilitate greater coordination and cohesion across the public health and health system at the regional level.
Workforce development
In 2018, CDC supported the establishment of the Advanced Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) in Ukraine. This is an intensive two-year training program to prepare graduates for leadership roles in public health at the national level. In 2021, the Frontline FETP was established to provide three-month training for local- and community-level health workers. Since 2021, Ukraine has also participated in the Eastern Europe and South Caucasus Intermediate FETP. Despite the ongoing war with Russia, Ukraine has maintained engagement in FETP and leveraged the program to address the acute needs of the public health system and for internally displaced Ukrainians.
Since 2021, Ukraine has also participated in the Eastern Europe and South Caucasus Intermediate FETP. Despite the ongoing war with Russia, Ukraine has maintained engagement in FETP and leveraged the program to address the acute needs of the public health system and for internally displaced Ukrainians.
CDC also supports Ukraine, in collaboration with the Association of Public Health Laboratories, to implement the Global Laboratory Leadership Program (GLLP). The Ukraine GLLP launched in 2021 and models a One Health approach that recognizes the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.
HIV and TB
As a key implementer of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), CDC plays an essential role in the fight against HIV and TB. With unmatched scientific and technical knowledge and long-standing relationships with ministries of health, CDC is uniquely positioned to advance HIV, TB, and other global health security activities that keep Americans safe at home and abroad.
Through PEPFAR, CDC provides critical support to Ukraine's public health infrastructure, improving the country's ability to prevent, detect, and respond to HIV, TB, and other infectious diseases and minimizing their risk from entering the U.S.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
With CDC’s support, Ukraine has achieved observed improvements in:
- Diagnosing AMR
- Producing the first ever genomic sequencing on AMR isolates at UPHC and at one regional hub public health (rCDC) laboratory
- Identifying probable hospital AMR outbreaks
- Addressing hand hygiene among health care workers
Additionally, CDC develops annual antibiograms to guide antibiotic treatment; regularly monitors AMR surveillance data to assess progress and look for outbreak signals. CDC also further develops infection prevention and control programs for environmental cleaning, device reprocessing, surgical site infection prevention, and wound care; monitors health care associated infections through annual point prevalence surveys; and implements quality improvement projects at the hospitals and rCDCs.
Immunization
Ukraine’s low immunization coverage, worsened by COVID-19 and the war, has increased the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases. CDC supports Ukraine’s MOH by strengthening leadership and management capacity, improving partner collaboration and coordination, revising immunization policies, addressing vaccine hesitancy, enhancing vaccine safety surveillance, and advancing risk communication strategies.
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Success story spotlight
Supporting Ukraine's Children after Hospital Blast
On July 8, 2024, a Russian missile attack devastated the Okhmadtyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine. Four hospital staff members died. Thankfully, due to the swift actions of the staff in moving the children to shelter as soon as the air raid siren sounded, no children were harmed in the blast. However, the hospital suffered significant damage, and there is much healing still to be done.
Staff from CDC's Ukraine office joined U.S. embassy leadership at the site on July 9 to see what support the U.S. could offer in the wake of the tragic event. Because of CDC's relationship with the hospital, United States Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink asked CDC to take the lead in coordinating a visit to meet with hospital leadership, patients, and families to express the U.S. government's commitment to supporting Ukraine.
Joining the Ambassador and CDC Ukraine Country Director Dr. Ezra Barzilay on the visit were U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery, Penny Pritzker, and the CEOs of three major U.S. companies who had come to Kyiv for an official visit with Pritzker. During the visit, which took place on Monday, July 29, the group witnessed the damage from the recent attack and discussed community recovery efforts. They also visited patients in the hospital's oncology ward, giving gifts to the children.
"There's a favorite Ukrainian proverb of mine that I have found to be apt throughout the years of the war," says Dr. Barzilay. "It says: In dark times, bright people shine even brighter.'"