Government approves rural development program

The government has approved amendments to the state's target Program of the rural development 2015, the Information-Analytical Bulletin of the cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine informs.

According to Ministry of Health, the changes in the state program are caused by the necessity of construction, reconstruction, repair and upgrade of health facilities that provide primary health care in rural areas.

It is envisioned that implementation of the proposed changes will require additional budgetary appropriations for construction, reconstruction, repair and upgrade of clinics in the amount of 1882.6 million UAH. Out of them, 273.4 million UAH is planned to be used in 2013, and 1,609.2 million - in 2014.

The funds for implementation of the program shall be committed by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food together with the Ministry of Finance during the budget drafting exercise.

In addition, the government changed the source of funding for these activities. Now they will not be funded directly from the state budget, but by subventions from the state budget to local budgets. According to the Ministry of Health, it will allow to more efficiently use the allocated funds. It is quite obvious that financing out of Kyiv construction or renovation of hospitals, clinics or dispensaries in any regional center or village is inefficient.

According to the Ministry experts, the concentration of state resources, primarily needed to finance health institutions which provide primary health care, is related with the importance of this link of the health care system. They emphasize that the development of primary health care (PHC) should be a priority for the state.

Primary health care is a foundation of the entire health care system. It lays the foundation for formation of public health, holds the major responsibility for its loss, defines a rational and efficient use of healthcare resources.

At the same time, the number of PHC facilities per 10,000 persons in Ukraine is 3 times lower than in the European Union (Ukraine - 1.2 places per 10,000 population, the EU - 4.9 per 10,000 population), the number of doctors of this link is by 1.5 times lower than in the EU countries ( Ukraine - 6.3 doctors per 10,000 population, the EU - 9.4 per 10,000 population).