Kyiv, February 14, 2025 – The Yasinya Hospital in Transcarpathia has been strengthened with a new rehabilitation ward, made possible through the support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in collaboration with Missione Calcutta, FOCSIV, and FAV. This project addresses the growing demand for healthcare services in the region, which has been hosting thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The Yasinya Hospital serves as a crucial healthcare facility for both the local community and IDPs in Transcarpathia, one of the Ukrainian regions that has welcomed the highest number of people fleeing the conflict. According to the Transcarpathian Regional Military Administration, the officially registered number of IDPs is approximately 150,000, but estimates suggest that the actual figure may exceed 350,000. This influx has put significant pressure on the local healthcare system, making urgent upgrades and expansions necessary.
The new rehabilitation ward, funded by the Italian Cooperation, responds to this need through infrastructure modernization, the introduction of advanced technologies for telemedicine and rehabilitation, and the enhancement of healthcare personnel’s skills. The training of medical staff has been developed in collaboration with the Don Calabria Sacro Cuore Hospital in Verona, ensuring a level of specialization suited to the current challenges.
“The hospital plays a strategic role within the local healthcare network. The new ward will improve care for patients undergoing post-trauma rehabilitation and for veterans with disabilities, expanding available services in a region with an increasingly vulnerable population,” explained Pietro Pipi, Head of AICS Kyiv. “This project, part of the Emergency Initiative funded by the Italian Cooperation, is a concrete example of cooperation on the ground: we support local hospitals, collaborate with Italian NGOs active in Ukraine, and facilitate the exchange of expertise between Italian and Ukrainian doctors and healthcare workers to improve access to care for those who need it most.”
The initiative is part of the Health care for safety and rehabilitation project, implemented under the AICS Emergency Initiative by Missione Calcutta in collaboration with FOCSIV and FAV, and supported by various Italian and Ukrainian organizations. These include the Kharkiv Regional Clinical Hospital, the V. T. Zaizev Institute of General and Emergency Surgery of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, the Sant’Orsola Polyclinic in Bologna, and the IRCCS Don Calabria Sacro Cuore Hospital in Verona. Locally, a key role has been played by the Greek-Catholic Archdiocese of Ivano-Frankivsk and the Charitable Organisation “Don Calabria Ukraine Charity Foundation.”
The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation will continue working alongside Ukrainian authorities and partners to ensure that hospitals like Yasinya can meet current and future healthcare challenges, contributing to the establishment of a stronger and more self-sufficient healthcare system.
This intervention is part of the Emergency Initiative for populations affected by the conflict, through which the Italian Cooperation has funded 26 multisectoral projects, reaching nearly 1 million beneficiaries across Ukraine and Moldova.