When international medical missions operate in crisis zones, the logic is usually simple: arrive, provide assistance, and leave. But the experience of the team from Mackay Memorial Hospital in Ukraine demonstrates a different model—one that combines aid, training and long-term change.
Since 2023, Taiwanese doctors have visited Ukraine seven times. Their work is a response to the war. But at the same time, it serves as an example of how humanitarian medicine can operate differently.
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‘We come to help, but we stay to learn’
For Dr Weide Tsai, the mission leader, this experience goes far beyond clinical work.
‘We come here to help, but we stay to learn. To learn how to become more mature, both physically and mentally, and to be prepared for challenges and risks. We could leave, but the local people don’t have that option. They stay, and we learn from them.’
This approach transforms the very logic of humanitarian aid: the mission ceases to be a one-way endeavour and becomes a two-way process.
How it all began: from a reaction to a partnership
Our collaboration with the Christian Medical Association of Ukraine began in April 2023 in Zakarpattia. The initial visits were a rapid response to the needs arising from the war: mobile clinics for displaced people and primary healthcare.
But within a few months, the idea arose to transform the approach. “We quickly realised that we could not just work together, but shape the approach together,” explains Tsai.
Thus, the collaboration gradually evolved into a long-term partnership.
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What sets this model apart
The key difference lies in how the mission is structured.
“Together with the team from the Christian Medical Association of Ukraine, we identify what is most needed here and now, and that is how we plan our work. We don’t simply bring what we are good at. We adapt to the actual needs,” says Tsai.
This means that the mission does not impose itself on the context, but is shaped within it.
In practice, this model combines three levels of impact:
- patient support;
- training of doctors and students;
- developing partnerships with hospitals and universities.
How it works in practice
The seventh medical mission is taking place from 16 to 24 April. This time, the team is operating mobile clinics in Korosten, Zviahel and Ternopil.
During these visits, Ukrainian and Taiwanese doctors provide free medical care to servicemen and their families, who often have limited access to regular healthcare services.
For patients, this is more than just a consultation.
“I am very impressed by the doctors’ attitude. Here, they really listen to you, explain things and pay attention. For me, it was an opportunity to check my condition and not be left to deal with it on my own,” says Tetiana, an internally displaced person from Kakhovka in the Kherson region.
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Education as a strategy
Over time, training itself has become a key part of the missions. Ukrainian doctors are gaining access to emergency care courses based on American Heart Association standards. Over 80 specialists have already been certified.
The aim is also to train Ukrainian doctors as instructors in the future, so that they can train others themselves. In this way, the knowledge does not disappear when the mission ends, but remains within the system.
A new generation of doctors
A key part of the model involves working with students. Over 100 medical students have already joined missions as part of the ‘Praktesezno’ programme. They work alongside international doctors and gain experience that cannot be replicated in the classroom.
Over the past two years, the collaboration has gone beyond individual trips. Partnerships have been signed with hospitals and universities, Ukrainian doctors are undertaking placements at Mackay Memorial Hospital, and new practices are being integrated into the local system.
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