Kyiv, Ukraine, November 20, 2025 — As Ukraine heads into another brutal winter amid ongoing conflict, people in rural and frontline communities face increasing difficulty accessing the healthcare they need. Chronic conditions are worsening and thousands risk being left without regular medical support. Around 30% of Ukraine’s population lives in rural areas, many of them older and requiring more care, yet only 17% of primary health doctors serve these communities.
New data from the IRC highlights the wide-ranging challenges driving medical staff shortages in rural Ukraine. Healthcare workers cite low salaries, damaged infrastructure, and limited housing as major barriers to accepting rural posts. Many also say they lack adequate professional support in remote settings, where facilities are often isolated and specialist advice is not readily available. Over 40% of the more than 400 healthcare workers surveyed reported feeling unprepared to manage complex cases without access to specialist consultation, while a quarter of respondents say they would never accept a rural posting.
Dr. Marko Isajlovic, Health Coordinator with IRC Ukraine, says:
“While access to healthcare and medicines remains one of top humanitarian needs consistently reported by people living in frontline areas of Ukraine, one in five families also suffers from health issues linked to cold indoor temperatures. Rural health outposts are struggling to heat their facilities, relying on outdated or unreliable systems, and often lacking the fuel they need to keep clinics warm.”
Against this backdrop, limited access to services in rural and frontline areas threatens to deepen an already severe health crisis. Rural communities often face greater health needs, yet the shortage of doctors in remote regions, worsened since the onset of the full-scale invasion, leaves many older people, individuals with disabilities, and patients with chronic illnesses without consistent care.
“Many health workers have told us they often feel isolated in rural settings, where they lack the specialist input their colleagues can rely on in more connected areas,” adds Dr Isajlovic. “But there is a clear path forward: 60% of respondents say they would be more willing to take rural posts if they had reliable access to telemedicine consultations with specialists. Access to psychological support and burnout prevention - particularly in hard-hit regions such as Zaporizhzhia and Sumy - is also critical, underscoring the urgent need for mental health support for healthcare workers, which the IRC has been advocating for.”
The Ministry of Health of Ukraine reports that 2,419 healthcare facilities have been damaged or destroyed as of August 2025, with 311 completely ruined- many located in rural and frontline regions such as Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. According to the World Bank, the estimated cost to recover and reconstruct Ukraine’s healthcare system over the next decade exceeds $19.4 billion USD.
Notes to editors
The assessment on the state of rural health in Ukraine was conducted by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) Ukraine Health Team, with the findings validated by representatives from government institutions, academia, healthcare providers, and national and international organizations. The assessment employed a mixed-methods approach, combining three focus group discussions with a structured survey of 406 respondents across nine oblasts of Ukraine, including rural and urban healthcare workers as well as students enrolled in health-related educational programs. The dataset is currently available on request, with full report will be released in early December.