In Ukraine, 9.2 million people need humanitarian assistance. The health cluster aims to reach 3 million people in 2025 and requests 130 million USD in funding. [i]
Since the escalation of hostilities in 2022, the WHO-led Health Cluster has worked closely with Ukraine’s Ministry of Health and regional authorities to coordinate over 200 partners in delivering essential, life-saving health services across the country. Through the Health Cluster, 808 health facilities are being supported, and 596 000 people reached as of 31 March 2025. [ii]
This coordinated approach has prevented gaps and duplication while ensuring services reach those most in need. As the conflict continues to strain Ukraine’s health system, the focus is increasingly shifting from short-term response to longer-term recovery planning.
In 2025, as Ukraine undergoes a strategic revision of its humanitarian coordination architecture, there is growing momentum to empower the Ministry of Health to lead humanitarian and recovery coordination efforts. The Health Cluster in Ukraine, in alignment with the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), continues to promote this transition by supporting a more cohesive, forward-looking approach to health coordination. Key to this vision is reinforcing oblast-level leadership, where coordination platforms play a central role in sustaining effective responses and advancing local leadership.
Photo: ©Ukraine Health Cluster
Against this backdrop, the Health Cluster Coordination Training Workshop took place in Kyiv from 8 to 11 April 2025. It brought together 33 participants, including Ministry of Health staff from 10 conflict-affected oblasts, local partners, and WHO technical experts. Led by Health Cluster Ukraine and with support from the Global Health Cluster, with technical contributions from MHPSS and Rehabilitation Technical working groups, WHO health systems experts and OCHA.
The workshop aimed to build practical coordination skills, strengthen local leadership, and support nationally led humanitarian response responses. Over four days, participants engaged in expert-led sessions, interactive simulations, and peer exchange covering key themes such as humanitarian coordination principles, area-based coordination, public health information systems, localization, quality of care, and coordination and leadership skills.
Each day emphasized both technical tools and the lived realities of coordination in crisis-affected settings. Simulations and scenario planning exercises highlighted the importance of adaptability, rapid decision-making, and inclusive dialogue across stakeholders. Participants also explored strategies for resource mobilization and aligning local coordination and humanitarian health response with wider national health recovery priorities.
The workshop concluded with strong agreement on the need for early, inclusive planning to support humanitarian response and recovery, strengthening the integration of regional health authorities in coordination structures, and continued technical support from WHO. Local ownership, harmonized reporting, and shared accountability were highlighted as key to sustaining coordinated health responses in Ukraine’s protracted and recovery-oriented context.
[i] Humanitarian Action https://humanitarianaction.info/plan/1271/ge/7983#page-title
[ii] Ukraine Health Cluster Bulletin # 3 (March 2025) http://bit.ly/43GmGMO