Ternopil National Medical University and the Belgian Humanitarian Mission “Stay Safe” Expand Cooperation

On April 8, 2026, partners and good friends of Ternopil National Medical University — representatives of the Belgian humanitarian mission “Stay Safe” — visited the university. Among them were family physician and General Director of the “Stay Safe” organization, Dr. Günter Constandt, and nurse, palliative care expert, and General Director of the company “Sumacura”, Conny Vervynck.

During the meeting with the Rector of TNMU, Professor Petro Lykhatskyi, the parties discussed key areas for further cooperation. The head of the university expressed sincere gratitude to the Belgian benefactors for their many years of support and proposed taking the partnership to a new level. The discussion covered not only the development of nursing education, but also the strengthening of the medical faculty and the expansion of the university clinic.

“We highly value your sincere help and solidarity, which you have shown throughout our entire cooperation. Your support is not just humanitarian missions — it is a real contribution to the development of medical education in Ukraine and to saving lives. Thank you for your open hearts and tireless work for the benefit of our university and the entire country during this difficult time,” emphasized Petro Lykhatskyi.

The meeting was also attended by the Director of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Nursing, Associate Professor Svitlana Danchak, Acting Vice-Rector for Research, Professor Oleksandra Oleshchuk, and Acting Deputy Rector for International Relations, Professor Mykhailo Korda.

Mykhailo Korda addressed the representatives of the “Stay Safe” humanitarian mission with a request to assist in finding highly qualified psychologists and psychotherapists who have experience working with military personnel. This is necessary to establish a psychological support service for our defenders at TNMU.

Oleksandra Oleshchuk proposed establishing a strong collaboration between Belgian scientists and researchers of our university for joint writing of scientific articles and conducting research.

Günter Constandt and Conny Vervynck noted that upon returning home, they will organize a series of meetings and negotiations with representatives of higher education institutions, the scientific community, and humanitarian missions.

It should be recalled that this is not the first visit of Belgian doctors to TNMU. Thanks to their efforts, in February 2026 the Educational and Scientific Institute of Nursing received modern training equipment — a labor island, which has been installed and is being used for educational purposes at the Simulation Training Center for the preparation of future nurses and doctors. The equipment was donated by AZ Saint Lucas Hospital (Ghent, Belgium) to the charitable organization VZW “Stay Safe”.

Also, as part of the cooperation, the Belgian partners last year provided sets of surgical instruments that are used during the practical training of students at the Institute of Nursing.

Günter Constandt and Conny Vervynck also regularly share their experience with TNMU students.

Thank you to our Belgian friends for continuing to stand with us!