On 16-17 May, in Lutsk City, more than 600 health care industry representatives, business, civil society, education, and science representatives discussed the cooperation mechanism for putting innovations in the Ukrainian medical field into practice. 

During the forum, the participants discussed innovative approaches in medicine and education, including the use of artificial intelligence, opportunities for cluster development in Ukraine, and the main areas of medical business as part of the country's economy. Among other things, they discussed the prospects for medical tourism in Volyn Oblast and Ukraine as a whole. 

The forum continues the cooperation between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine and Volyn Oblast. Last year, an open discussion entitled: "Volyn: From Recovery to Development in the Context of War and Post-War Period" was initiated, where proposals were selected for the Volyn Regional Strategy and Action Plan for 2024-27. Participants submitted 186 proposals, including 27 with the topic "Healthy Volyn". 

As a result of the discussion, the Medical Innovation Cluster was established. The Cluster has brought together scientists, medical businesses, regional authorities, and the public sector and established sustainable partnerships with clusters in France and Germany, and companies from the Netherlands. 

"The key topics of the forum are innovation and partnership. Why these topics? Firstly, even in the most difficult conditions, we need to develop through continuous improvement of existing approaches and practices, as well as constant innovations that provide answers to the current challenges and needs of society. Also, partnerships allow us to combine our efforts, finances, and intellectual potential to move forward in the face of extremely limited development resources. Today in Volyn Oblast, there is a dialogue between developers of innovative products for the medical industry and its practitioners — medical specialists. This is how to create the foundation for successful results," said Mustafa Sait-Ametov, UNDP Ukraine Regional Development Programme Manager. 

A separate block of the forum was a discussion of the physical and psychological rehabilitation of war veterans, with the participation of leading Ukrainian experts who shared their experience in creating rehabilitation centres and developed a roadmap for overcoming the challenges of war in the health care system. 

The Healthy Volyn Medical Innovation Forum was held in the framework of the Empowered Partnership for Sustainable Recovery project, implemented by UNDP Ukraine with support from the Government of Sweden.