Reaching children in remote areas with quality healthcare
For families with young children in mountain villages in Lviv region, medical services are now within easy reach
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In mountain villages in Ukraine, getting to a doctor can take several hours. But thanks to the Home Visiting Programme, quality healthcare services now arrive directly at families’ doorsteps.
For more than two years, Oksana Bihun, a family nurse, has been making home visits to families with children aged 0 to 4 in the mountainous community of Strilky in Lviv region.
“Our community is large. It consists of 21 settlements. In the most remote areas, the local bus to the clinic runs only twice a day: early in the morning and late in the evening. So it used to be extremely difficult for families to get a doctor’s appointment,” the nurse recalls.
To ensure access to quality healthcare for young children in hard-to-reach areas, UNICEF and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine are strengthening the Home Visiting Programme. This includes equipping health workers with the resources they need to deliver these vital services.
“Now we have a car, which means I can visit several families in mountain villages in a single day. It makes my job much easier and allows families to have consultations without leaving their home,” says the nurse.
More than 200 families with children under 4 years old live in the Strilkivska hromada. For most of them, the family nurse’s visit is their only constant point of contact with the healthcare system.
“In our mountains, there isn’t always mobile coverage, so sometimes I’m not just a nurse. I’m a real bridge between the family and the doctor,” Oksana explains.
Today, she begins her day with a visit to 18-month-old Danyil. The boy recognises Oksana immediately. The nurse asks Danyil’s mother Svitlana about his diet, records changes in his height and weight, and plans his next vaccinations with her.
“Now that we have a car, I can not only check the child’s health but, if needed, also take them to the clinic for vaccination. It’s convenient for the family, and I feel reassured that everything is under control,” Oksana says.
For Svitlana, Danyil’s mother, these visits have become a real source of support. “We live in a place where it’s simply impossible to get to a doctor quickly. Thanks to the nurse’s visits, I can be sure that my child’s development is constantly monitored, and that we aren’t missing anything important,” she says.
As part of the Home Visiting Programme, health workers not only monitor the child’s development but also support parents: teaching them how to feed their babies properly, create a safe environment at home, keep track of vaccinations, and identify potential risks at early stages. This enables them to refer children to additional healthcare and social services that address these risks immediately.
As of November 2025, more than 21,900 children aged 0 to 4 and over 33,600 parents and caregivers in 15 regions in Ukraine have received healthcare services and support.
By operating in 15 oblasts, including hard-to-reach areas, this programme helps ensure that every child can access quality healthcare services, regardless of where they live.
The Home Visiting Programme is implemented by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine together with UNICEF, with support from the Government of Japan, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) via the German Development Bank (KfW), and Citi.
