Russian propagandists continue attempts to discredit Ukraine’s healthcare system. This time, a quote attributed to Ukraine’s Minister of Health, Viktor Liashko, was circulated online, falsely claiming he announced cuts to funding for prosthetics and rehabilitation for veterans starting in 2025. Here’s why this is not true.
With the support of the USAID Health Reform Support project, VoxCheck analyzes and refutes public health narratives spread in the information space of Ukraine, Belarus, and russia on a weekly basis.
Information is being shared online alleging that Ukraine’s Minister of Health, Viktor Liashko, announced cuts to funding for veterans requiring prosthetics and rehabilitation. Supposedly, the minister stated that people lost their limbs not because of the state but because they were “simply unlucky”, and therefore, they have no grounds to make claims against the government.
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What’s the reality?
We checked the social media accounts of Viktor Liashko, Ukraine’s Minister of Health, and found no such statements. Furthermore, this information is absent from credible Ukrainian media sources. None of the individuals sharing this fabricated quote provided any links or videos of the alleged statement by the minister. Neither the minister nor other government representatives have announced any cuts to funding for veterans’ rehabilitation.
On November 28, 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed the state budget law for 2025. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the Ministry of Social Policy manage funding for prosthetics and rehabilitation. The Ministry of Health announced that 5.7 billion UAH would be allocated for medical rehabilitation in 2025.
In 2024, 508 institutions have agreements with the National Health Service of Ukraine to provide medical rehabilitation services, with a total contract value of 5.2 billion UAH. Considering inflation since the start of the year, the 5.7 billion UAH planned for 2025 is almost equivalent to this amount. Therefore, rehabilitation funding will not increase significantly but will also not decrease, as claimed in the fake news.
Rehabilitation services are free of charge for both civilians and military personnel under the Medical Guarantees Program. Veterans, in particular, can receive examinations, various types of rehabilitation, psychological assistance, and more. Additionally, the Ministry of Health’s website includes instructions on how to obtain prosthetics under a special state program.
This information piece was produced with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), provided on behalf of the people of the United States of America. This article’s content, which does not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, is the sole responsibility of Deloitte Consulting under contract #72012118C00001.
Photo: depositphotos.com
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