3rd International Ukrainian-German Symposium “Public Health in the Global and Regional Dimensions – Challenges in the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Prospects for Development” was Held at TNMU

On September 22-24, 2020, the 3^rd International Ukrainian-German Symposium “Public Health in the Global and Regional Dimensions – Challenges in the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Prospects for Development” was held at I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University. It was organized and prepared jointly with Akkon University of Human Sciences, Berlin and supported by the Federal Ministry of Health of Germany.

It has become a tradition for the Department of Public Health and Health Care Management of TNMU to hold the International Ukrainian-German Public Health Symposium in September, the third year already. This scientific event covers topical issues of public health; the scientists and public health professionals from all regions of Ukraine, Germany and other countries have the opportunity to highlight urgent matters and global health challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as public health issues at the regional level.

The COVID-19 pandemic is trully a challenge of these days. All countries of the world are facing it, thus the symposium focused on “Public Health in the Global and Regional Dimensions – Challenges in the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Prospects for Development”. This was also the reason for holding the symposium online in order to comply with all quarantine measures.

Professor M.M. Korda, the Rector of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Honoured Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, welcomed the participants. In his speech he stressed the need of introduction of a strong preventive system of public health in Ukraine, justifying this position by a number of problems in Ukraine, in particular, growing prevalence of HIV, tuberculosis, a large number of landfills which occupy huge areas, the negative consequences of the Chernobyl disaster affecting the health of the population and the urgent need for their solving. The rector of TNMU drew the attention of the symposium participants to the fact that public health depends on various factors: climate, environment, economic, lifestyle, but at the same time the system of measures and procedures, consolidated efforts of society has an increasing impact on life quality and expectancy, organizations aimed at improving health, disease prevention. In developed countries, Public Health as a scientific and practical discipline has already been introduced a long time ago, the best universities in the world train specialists, who work on the development and implementation of basic principles of disease prevention and health promotion. Mykhaylo Mykhailovych noted that TNMU is one of the first institutions of higher education in Ukraine that has introduced master’s program in public health owing to cooperation with German partners from Akkon University. The Rector of TNMU also emphasised great success of the university in international projects on public and global health, i.e. the international Erasmus+ grant for the BACE project on Global Health “Building Academic Capacity in Global Health in the Eastern Europe – Central Asia Region (BACE)”; its aim is development and modernization of educational programs in health care and environment, update the management of institutions of higher education and help strengthen relations between these institutions in Ukraine and other countries of the Eurasian continent and the world. Thanks to this project, TNMU became a co-founder of the International Eurasian Alliance for Global Health; its important tasks are capacity building of academic and scientific potential of the members of this Alliance. Mykhaylo Mykhailovych wished fruitful work to all participants of the Symposium: “I believe that our team of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University are taking all the efforts to improve the established public health system in Ukraine, because today we need it more than ever.”

A welcoming speech and a report on “Public Health of the Corona Pandemic – Evaluation and Lessons Learned” was delivered by the Director of the Institute for Research and International Cooperation of the Akkon University of Human Sciences, Berlin, Professor Timo Ulrichs.

He congratulated all Ukrainian partners on the 30^th Ukraine’s Independence Day and wished the country prosperity and development, especially in health care and public health. Professor Timo Ulrichs noted difficulties in the healthcare sector of Ukraine after the previous Semashko system was terminated, and focused the attention of the Symposium on current problems, in particular, presented a detailed comparison of the wave-like development of the COVID-19 pandemic with Spanish flu (1918-1921) and explained the similarity of the dynamics in part by the irresponsibility of the population regarding security. Also, Professor Timo Ulrichs emphasized that the increase in the number of COVID-19 patient beds encourages the government to allocate additional funds regarding this problem.

Gaby Feldmann, the project coordinator of the Institute for Research and International Cooperation of Akkon University of Human Sciences, Berlin, made a report on “Public Health in Ukraine – a Publication Review in Akkon-Schriftenreihe”.

She presented a report on the 5^th issue of the Public Health in Ukraine, Akkon University of Human Sciences, Berlin, which covered materials on improving health care in Ukraine. The published materials were focused on improvement of science in health care.

The scientists of national and international scientific schools were involved in the issue dedicated to health care in Ukraine.

The origins of development of the Public Health discipline were reported by Professor Hruzieva T.S., the Academician of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Head of the Department of Social Medicine and Public Health of Bogomolets National Medical University, on “Origins of the formation of the Kyiv social and hygienic scientific school: from the basics of medical science, medical police and sanitary statistics to social medicine and public health (to the 180^th anniversary of the Bogomolets National Medical University)”.

The report presented by Professor Lehan V.M., the Head of the Department of Social Medicine, Organization and Management of Health Care of Dnipropetrovsk State Medical Academy, the Honoured Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, on “Assessment of the activity of the customer of medical services by the heads of primary health care institutions” covered the issues of economic approaches to organization of medical care.

The report by Linnikov S.V., the Head of the Department of Health Promotion of Odessa Regional Centre of Public Health, and Professor Myroniuk I.S., the Dean of the Faculty of Health and Physical Education, on “Communication crises in the field of public health of Ukraine: the start of vaccination against COVID-19 in Odessa region” covered the matter of decisive influence of communication on solving the problems of the pandemic.

The report on “Main prospects and directions of formation of regional centers of control and prevention of diseases on the example of the State Institution “Ternopil Regional Center of Control and Prevention of Diseases” of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine” by Chaichuk O.T., the Director of the State Institution of Ternopil Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, which was presented by the doctor-epidemiologist Kulachkovska I.V., was trully urgent and informative.

Associate Professor I.V. Hushchuk, the Head of the Department of Public Health of the National University “Ostroh Academy”, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the NGO “Ukrainian Association of Public Health” (Ostrog, Ukraine), in the report on “Ukraine’s experience in public health in the context of European reforms of national health care systems” stressed the need of changing the paradigm of health care and medical care, by substantiating the obvious strategy of health care development as a system of prevention and prophylaxis.