The Humanitarian Media Hub continues its series of professional discussions on the transformation of Ukrainian medicine. In the third episode of the podcast “120 Beats per Minute,” journalist Nazar Onysko and executive director of the Patients of Ukraine charity fund Inna Ivanenko discuss how the state will provide citizens with medicines in 2026.
From financial disaster to state guarantees
The current state of medicine provision is radically different from the situation fifteen years ago. Previously, diagnoses such as hepatitis C were a death sentence not only for health but also for the well-being of entire families. Today, Ukraine has built a system where treatment for many socially significant and serious diseases is fully covered by taxpayers, allowing people to receive therapy without any additional payments.
“In the past, people sold their apartments and cars to buy hepatitis C medication. Now this treatment is available to patients completely free of charge from the state,” says Inna Ivanenko.
The Affordable Medicines Program and Outpatient Care
The Affordable Medicines Program remains a key element of the system for millions of Ukrainians. It allows patients with chronic diseases to obtain the necessary medications at pharmacies using electronic prescriptions. The program is constantly expanding and currently covers not only cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, but also mental disorders, epilepsy, and other complex conditions.
Electronic prescriptions have become a safeguard against corruption and a tool for accurate planning. The state now sees the real need for medications in each region, which minimizes the risk of shortages. Patients only need to have a phone with the prescription code to go to any pharmacy that is a partner of the National Health Service of Ukraine, regardless of their place of residence or registration.
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Free medications within hospitals
A separate set of issues concerns medications that patients receive during inpatient treatment. Every hospital that has a contract with the state receives funds to purchase medications from the National List of Essential Medicines. This includes basic drugs, antibiotics, painkillers, and consumables. Any request by doctors to “bring your own syringes or saline solution” is a violation of the terms of the contract with the National Health Service of Ukraine.
To monitor the availability of medicines, patients are advised to use stands in hospitals or specialized mobile applications. If a drug is on the list but the patient is denied it, this is grounds for an official complaint to the hospital administration or the regulatory authorities’ hotline.
Managed access agreements and innovative therapy
Ukraine has begun to actively use managed access agreements (MAAs). This tool allows the state to purchase original, often unique drugs for the treatment of rare (orphan) diseases directly from manufacturers. Since such drugs can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per course, direct confidential negotiations allow for significant discounts that are not available in regular tenders.
Thanks to the activities of the state-owned enterprise Medical Procurements of Ukraine, the process has become transparent and efficient. This has made it possible to meet the needs in the areas of pediatric oncology, rare genetic disorders, and specific therapies that were previously only available abroad.
The black market and the problem of unregistered medicines
The biggest challenge remains the lack of more than 40 critically important drugs in Ukraine, which are already the gold standard in international protocols. Due to the small size of the market, it is sometimes unprofitable for pharmaceutical giants to go through the complex registration process. This creates conditions for the existence of “gray” supply channels through messengers and unauthorized intermediaries.
“These drugs are brought in bags — this is absolutely not okay. You never know what you are buying. You never know how it was transported,” warns Inna Ivanenko about the danger of not maintaining the correct temperature during such transportation.
The solution to this problem lies in simplifying registration procedures for strategically important medicines and further integrating the Ukrainian medical space into the European one. Only official purchases can guarantee the safety and effectiveness of therapy for patients.
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“120 beats per minute.” A new podcast from HMH about Ukrainian medicine
