Challenge
Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has created a needless medical catastrophe for the Ukrainian civilian population. More than 1,700 healthcare facilities have been damaged directly or indirectly as of February 2024, and 201 facilities have been completely destroyed. The World Health Organization assesses that not even half of Ukrainian hospitals are functional in the eastern and southern reaches of the country, nearest the most intense fighting.
More than 50,000 war survivors need critical specialized healthcare such as prosthetics and at least the same number require reconstructive surgery, according to the latest available numbers. Many more have experienced severe trauma and need psychological rehabilitation — the U.N. assesses that at least 3.9 million Ukrainians are suffering from moderate to severe mental health issues as a result of the war.
The crisis is magnified by a troubling lack of medical specialists needed to care for them.
Solution and Impact
Ukraine’s non-profit Superhumans Center, backed by $25 million in political risk insurance (PRI) from DFC, is supporting the country’s life-saving work to care for those who were injured during Russia’s brutal invasion, including those who lost limbs, PTSD victims, and others. The hospital has operated — without state funding — at a facility near the city of Lviv in west Ukraine since April 2023, providing free-of-charge healthcare services to those requiring prosthesis, physical and psychological rehabilitation, and social reintegration, as well as reconstructive and craniofacial surgeries. Superhumans plans to expand to other regions of Ukraine in the near future.
Already, Superhumans’ medical specialists have performed more than 50 reconstructive surgeries for patients with land mine-blast injuries sustained as a result of the invasion.
The insurance from DFC allows Superhumans’ donors to invest with confidence into the charity fund, supporting the upgrade, operation, and expansion of the Superhumans’ hospital. Support from DFC bolsters Superhumans’ introduction of innovative medical services, such as on-site prosthetics production, medical use of 3D printing technology, and other new medical approaches to patient treatment.
Superhumans also fields an education center to address the lack of related specialists in the local healthcare system, and to share the unique experiences of the team with specialists in other countries.
Superhumans is DFC’s first PRI deal in Ukraine since Russia’s expanded invasion in 2022. It serves as an important example of how DFC can help build investor confidence while reducing investment risk in Ukraine during the ongoing conflict. PRI serves as only one of the several financial tools that DFC is employing in Ukraine, where its total portfolio has surpassed $1 billion to help sustain Ukraine’s economic recovery and position the country for reconstruction.