Advancing Ukraine’s Healthcare Through International Collaborations: GMKA Co-Organizes Heal Ukraine 2025 Conference at Harvard

As a member of UA-MED, the Global Medical Knowledge Alliance (GMKA) helped organize the conference, contributing to two days of presentations, panel discussions, and workshops. The conversations spanned across a broad spectrum of critical topics, all united by a central question: How can deeper collaboration among the United States, Canada, and Ukraine accelerate the strengthening of Ukraine’s health system during wartime? Participants explored the most urgent gaps, identified opportunities for innovation, and examined how medical organizations can work together to deliver effective, sustainable solutions.

GMKA leadership took part in key panels and presentations, sharing insights from the organization’s educational programs and offering recommendations to strengthen partnerships between Ukrainian and international medical communities.

Nelya Melnitchouk, MD, MSc, FACS — surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and GMKA founder and CEO — introduced the HealUA, a secure, AI-enabled mobile application that connects Ukrainian physicians with each other and with global medical experts for peer-to-peer consultations. She encouraged the medical community to join the platform, enabling more Ukrainian physicians to access expert support and share their unique knowledge.

“Despite having access to books and guidelines, managing patients can often be challenging without peer discussion. In U.S. academic communities, we are fortunate to consult colleagues daily on patient care — but many Ukrainian physicians lack this opportunity. Their access to expert guidance can be limited, yet doctors in Ukraine are eager to learn and grow. This app provides a way to give them the support and knowledge they need. Most importantly, the knowledge shared on the platform is accessible to everyone, allowing all users to learn from real clinical cases and firsthand experiences,” she said.

Serguei Melnitchouk, MD, MPH, FACS — Cardiac Surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and Co-Founder of GMKA— joined the Transplant Care panel. In 2022–2023, he led an intensive lung-transplant training program for Ukrainian physicians at MGH. He shared his experience and offered recommendations for strengthening Ukraine’s transplant programs.

“Ukraine needs a competent, sustainable lung transplant program. Performing one or two transplants per month is enough to maintain expertise and ensure cohesive teamwork. It’s like playing in an orchestra — without regular practice, the rhythm is lost, the team falls apart, and patients suffer,” he explained. “This work requires not only surgeons, pulmonologists, and cardiologists but also social workers, physical therapists, dietitians, and coordinators. The entire system must function as a well-tuned mechanism, and building such a system should be a national priority. There is also a critical need to improve nursing care and develop strong multidisciplinary structures. Nurses and allied health professionals play an essential role. Finally, medical specialties need stronger self-regulation. Ukraine’s medical community must organize specialized teams capable of setting and maintaining high standards of care.”

During the panel Behind the Scenes: How American NGOs Drive Major Medical Impact, Olga Maihutiak, MD, GMKA’s Chief Operating Officer, highlighted GMKA’s work in Ukraine and shared plans for 2026, including the translation of the 11th edition of the ATLS textbook and the development of Centers of Excellence at existing hospitals in Ukraine. 

“At GMKA, we understand how essential education is for Ukrainian physicians and for enabling systemic change. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, GMKA has worked to address longstanding educational gaps. We translated Joint Trauma System protocols in partnership with groups like American Ukrainian Medical Foundation, and these translations helped the Ministry of Health update national clinical guidelines for combat trauma care. We conducted a nationwide oncology needs assessment for WHO, which will significantly influence EU funding for Ukrainian oncology in the coming years. We are implementing Quality & Safety (Q&S) protocols in six Ukrainian hospitals, helping clinicians work more efficiently, reduce errors, and use limited resources more rationally,” she noted.

Dr. Maihutiak also emphasized the need for stronger coordination among organizations supporting Ukraine:

The Heal Ukraine 2025 conference at Harvard showed that collaboration, innovation, and sharing knowledge are key to improving healthcare in Ukraine. GMKA works toward this goal by partnering with leading international institutions and local hospitals, updating care and training practices to address urgent needs while building long-term capacity. Together with our partners — UA-MED, Harvard Scholars at Risk, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, Heal Ukraine Group, Razom, Nova Ukraine, Help Ukraine Group (HUG), Doctors United for Ukraine, MedGlobal, United Help Ukraine, UMANA, and others — we share best practices, lessons learned, and scientific insights, while supporting education, partnerships, and practical solutions.

By working together, GMKA and its partners are helping Ukraine meet today’s healthcare challenges and building a stronger, more resilient healthcare system for the future.