Directory of European Resources > Eurocleft Clinical Network > Registered Clinical Teams > Ukraine

Clinical Teams in UKRAINE

• Kiev

Population
Approximately 50 million.

Health Service
Health care attracts about 2% of the government budget. There is a mixed state/private insurance company system but the latter is almost negligible. Both clinical medicine and research institutes are under-funded as a result of the pressure of socio-economic difficulties faced by the government.

Cleft Care Organisation
Approximately 540* new babies are born with clefts each year in Ukraine. In 1986 the Ukrainian Centre for Children with Congenital Defects in Kiev was established along with five additional regional centres (Donetsk, Lviv, Dnipropetrivsk, Odesa, Kharkiv) offering treatment for clefts. Clinicians involved in the treatment of cleft lip and palate include maxillofacial surgeons, orthodontists, ENT doctors, speech therapists and psychologists. The Professional Association for Specialist Clinicians in Cleft Care is now part of the Ukrainian Stomatological Association and the Ukraine Association for Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgeons, which provide a forum for communication. All treatment is free of charge and a small pension is paid through the social security to children with clefts. An organisation for parents, based at the Kiev centre, is currently being established.

Challenges to Attaining the Eurocleft Consensus Recommendations
Cleft services are extremely under-funded in the Ukraine as is most medical provision. Also communication between professionals and between clinicians and policy makers is fragmented. At present, preparations towards adopting the Eurocleft Consensus Recommendations in a version adapted for the Ukraine, are underway. Methodology for carrying out intercentre studies is presently being prepared, although as yet there has been no participation in intercentre studies or clinical trials.

Future Plans
There is a move towards better co-ordination in providing medical and financial aid for children born with craniofacial anomalies at the order of the Public Health Ministry of Ukraine. The organisation of cleft services in the light of recommendations of the network is improving.

* Number of clefts per annum reported by national representative for Ukraine