Sapientia per amicitiam
Ukrainian Alliance for
Medical Exchange and
Development
Strengthening Ukraine’s Healthcare System Through Global Collaboration
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered a massive humanitarian crisis, affecting millions. Tens of thousands have been killed or injured, and millions more have been displaced both internally and externally. Critical infrastructure—including essential healthcare services—has been severely strained and, in many cases, deliberately targeted, compounding the immense medical and humanitarian needs.
Prior to the invasion, Ukraine’s healthcare system was already under-resourced and heavily reliant on outdated Soviet-era equipment. Despite significant reform efforts over the preceding decade, many medical standards and protocols remained out dated. The overwhelming scale and complexity of the public health challenges facing both civilian and military sectors have only intensified under the pressures of war.
In response, numerous NGOs, hospitals, and faculty at academic institutions across North America and Europe have mobilized to provide essential material aid, education, and clinical training. To better coordinate and expand these efforts, the Ukrainian Alliance for Medical Exchange and Development (UA-MED) was established. This coalition brings together international partners committed to providing high-impact medical support, education and training for Ukrainian healthcare providers—both inside Ukraine and abroad.
A central pillar of UA-MED’s mission is to expose Ukrainian clinicians and medical scientists to leading-edge practices and innovations in medicine and surgery from North America and Europe. These exchanges are critical to strengthening Ukraine’s healthcare system during wartime and laying the foundation for long-term modernization and resilience. UA-MED’s objectives are to foster enduring collaborations that expand Ukraine’s healthcare capacity, meet current wartime needs, support the nation’s recovery and reconstruction for the future, and capture the medical knowledge emerging from this war. All who share this vision are welcome!
Observerships, training programs, conferences, and educational opportunities for Ukrainian clinicians and health scientists abroad (1) enhance clinical, educational, and research skills, (2) expose learners to efficient and effective healthcare system operations, and (3) foster meaningful and collaborative relationships far beyond the training. Importantly, these exchanges are mutually enriching: Ukrainian clinicians and health scientists gain new knowledge and perspectives, and hosting physicians learn from their partner’s experience, resilience, and ingenuity. These experiences are invaluable.
The UA-MED coalition serves as an umbrella initiative to grow the scope and impact of the above programs by:
- Consolidating resources and initiatives across institutions and organizations.
- Developing and sharing tailored educational programs for Ukrainian clinicians and scientists across coalition sites (e.g., collaborative joint programs with multiple site experiences for an applicant).
- Systematically and uniformly assessing the best practices and impacts of such programs on individual, institutional, and national levels.
- Growing the power to secure funding for such programs for coalition members.
- Synergizing the messaging about the importance and impact of the member programs through joint peer-reviewed publications, as well as scientific and advocacy presentations at conferences and in the media.
Thus, UA-MED’s mission is to coordinate and enhance the efforts of groups and individuals working to support Ukraine’s healthcare system while driving reform and modernization tailored to Ukraine’s unique social, cultural and healthcare system needs. Moreover, UA-MED seeks to foster long-term relationships that promote impactful global health initiatives in Ukraine and as a replicable model for addressing healthcare challenges in conflict and disaster zones worldwide. Capturing and sharing the lessons learned from these mutually enriching exchanges is also a key priority. As such, we aim to document and share the outcomes of these collaborative efforts through peer-reviewed publications and also presentations at national and international conferences. While the war in Ukraine is the stimulus for this Alliance, UA-MED’s vision includes creating a lasting impact on individuals, institutions, and organizations locally and globally.
Our Network
Institutions Hosting Observerships and Training for UA-MED Participants
Conferences
organized by Members of the alliance have hosted conferences on supporting Ukrainian medical exchange and development
- American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
- American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress
- American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
- American Society of Colon And Rectal Surgery (ASCRS)
- European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECMID)
- European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO)
- European Society of Radiology (ESR)
- International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASCL)
- Oncohub
- Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)
- Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics
- Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC)
- Shevchenko Scientific Society
Cumulative antibiogram results of over 6800 diagnostic isolates from the First Lviv Territorial Medical Union, Ukraine
The Lancet
Notes from the Field: Responding to the Wartime Spread of Antimicrobial-Resistant Organisms
CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Resistance is reality: findings from the first Ukrainian cumulative antibiogram
JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance
Volumetric modulated arc therapy total body irradiation improves toxicity outcomes compared to 2D total body irradiation
Front Oncol.
Preventing the Killing Twice Effect: what we can do to support Ukrainian oncology professionals during the war
The Cancer Letter, 2022
