Although the first active phase of the project, implemented with the support of our partner ISAR Ednannia, has come to an end, we remain committed to supporting neonatal care in Ukraine.

What makes First Breath unique is its comprehensive approach and solutions, which have united both the Ukrainian and international communities around a shared goal: saving the lives of babies born too soon.

Over more than a year of implementation, the ZDOROVI team carried out a wide range of advocacy, communications, and public awareness activities that helped draw public attention to the challenges of caring for premature babies. From their very first moments of life, these newborns require specialized medical care and the dedicated attention of highly skilled healthcare professionals.

Supporting these children is critically important. Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine has led to a steady increase in the number of babies born prematurely. Every newborn life is precious, and the extraordinary dedication of healthcare professionals must be matched by comprehensive financial, technical, and expert support — not only from institutions within the healthcare system but also from the international community — to help address these alarming trends.

At the beginning of 2025, we made the decision to stand alongside healthcare facilities, government institutions, parent organizations, and patient advocacy groups to strengthen Ukraine's capacity to save the lives of premature babies. To turn this vision into action, we began by conducting, with the support of GlobalGiving, a nationwide assessment of Ukraine's perinatal care system. Read the research (in Ukrainian). The study evaluated workforce capacity, medical infrastructure, the organization of neonatal care, the availability of essential medicines and equipment, and the implementation of family-centered care in line with international standards.

Building on the findings of the assessment and the recommendations of leading experts, we developed the First Breath advocacy initiative. The program received grant support from the Askold and Dir Fund, implemented by ISAR Ednannia with funding from the governments of Norway and Sweden.

Eighteen months have passed since we committed to advocating for systemic improvements in perinatal care in Ukraine, and today, we are proud to share the results achieved during this period.

Expert Engagement as a Catalyst for Reform

Ukraine continues to face significant challenges in neonatal and perinatal care, including shortages of specialized professionals — particularly neonatal nurses — limited educational and professional development opportunities, and barriers to international knowledge exchange, especially for healthcare workers from frontline regions. These challenges inevitably slow the development of the sector and affect the quality of care provided to newborns and their families.

To help address these issues, ZDOROVI organized a series of expert events as part of the First Breath initiative, bringing together Ukrainian and international specialists to discuss key issues in neonatal and perinatal care, including:

• roundtable discussion titled “The Personnel Crisis in Neonatology and Ways to Overcome It”;
• roundtable discussion dedicated to the development of a postgraduate education system for neonatal nurses in Ukraine;
• workshop “Architecture of Infection Control and Modern Hygiene Protocols.”

In February 2026, a delegation of Ukrainian neonatologists visited several perinatal centers in Poland to exchange knowledge and participate in expert discussions. The visit included professional meetings with Polish colleagues, as well as the international roundtable “International Expert Exchange as a Practical Tool for Strengthening Neonatal and Perinatal Care Systems.” During the event, Ukrainian specialists shared their experience of managing healthcare facilities amid war and infrastructure disruptions.

A Photo Exhibition That Touched Hearts

Alongside providing practical and financial support to healthcare facilities over the past year, ZDOROVI also launched an initiative designed to raise public awareness of the challenges faced by premature babies in Ukraine. Even in peacetime, these newborns require highly specialized care; during war, they begin life under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.

The photo project, “The First Days of a Premature Baby's Life Through Their Own Eyes,” combined photo collages, personal stories, and audio installations to portray the vulnerability of premature babies, the tireless dedication of healthcare professionals fighting for their lives, and the unconditional love of their parents.

The exhibition has been presented both online and offline at venues across Ukraine and abroad, including pediatric hospital departments, the premises of our partners at Alliance UA CSO, the 8th PRIME PEDIATRICS 2026 Congress of the Ukrainian Academy of Pediatric Specialties in Lviv, and the international Growing Europe 2025 Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, dedicated to “Shaping Europe's Demographic Future: Investing in Families and Every New Life.”

In the coming months, the exhibition will continue its journey to additional venues in Ukraine and internationally, including major medical conferences and other professional healthcare events.

First Breath on the International Stage

Another milestone of the First Breath initiative was the participation of Valeriia Sereda, Advocacy Manager at ZDOROVI, in the OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference 2025. During the session “Children at the Centre: Advancing Democracy Throughout Childhood,” she presented the First Breath: National Perinatal Support Program as an example of how the principles of the rule of law can be translated into practical action to protect children's rights and improve neonatal care.

The conference provided an important opportunity to share Ukraine's experience with the international community. For a country at war, protecting its most vulnerable citizens — children born under the constant threat of conflict — is an essential element of democratic resilience. A country that protects its children is a country investing in its future.

ZDOROVI also raised awareness of the rights and needs of premature babies and the healthcare facilities that care for them at several other international events, including the preparatory meetings for the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Sweden (June 2025), URC 2025 in Italy (July 2025), the international conference “Healthcare During Wartime: How Can the World Benefit from Ukraine's Experience?” in Poland (December 2025), and the Second Conference on Swedish Support for the Recovery and Development of Ukraine's Healthcare System held in Sweden later that month.

Bringing European Standards for Neonatal Care to Ukraine

One of ZDOROVI's priorities within the First Breath initiative is to help integrate European best practices into Ukraine's neonatal care system. As part of this effort, we participated in the implementation of the European Standards of Care for Newborn Health (ESCNH) in Ukraine.

Our team translated and adapted the Nutrition chapter of the standards into Ukrainian. These materials will soon become available to Ukrainian neonatologists, with publication planned in partnership with the Global Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (GFCNI).

Systemic Change Continues

The primary goal of the First Breath initiative has always been to catalyze long-term change by encouraging sustained support for neonatal care from government institutions, civil society organizations, and international partners.

Although the sector's challenges cannot be solved overnight, ZDOROVI remains committed to supporting healthcare facilities through every available resource and to continuing to draw both national and international attention to the needs of premature babies, their families, and the healthcare professionals who care for them every hour of every day.

“At ZDOROVI, we believe that the development of neonatal care in Ukraine is an irreversible and sustainable process, and we are proud to have contributed to these transformations. Every child born in Ukraine today is an investment in the country's recovery tomorrow. We would also like to express our deepest respect and gratitude to the healthcare professionals working in perinatal centers. Throughout this initiative, we witnessed once again their professionalism, resilience, compassion, and commitment to improving the lives of Ukraine's youngest patients,” said Nataliia Tulinova, Foundress and CEO of ZDOROVI.

While the one-year grant supporting First Breath, provided through our partner ISAR Ednannia, has come to an end, our advocacy efforts continue. We are actively securing funding for the initiative's next phase while expanding its impact through complementary projects and partnerships.

Among the results achieved to date:

• We secured USD 600,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of State to procure medical equipment for five perinatal centers.
• With the support of GlobalGiving, we purchased 200 vials of Curosurf, a life-saving medication essential for the respiratory development of premature babies, valued at USD 68,000.
• As part of our initiative to improve accessibility in Ukrainian perinatal centers, we supplied hospitals with inclusive gynecological examination chairs for women with disabilities, worth USD 70,000.
• We provided maternity hospitals with essential medicines for the prevention of postpartum hemorrhage, totaling USD 54,000.
• We donated a specialized postpartum hemorrhage simulation mannequin, valued at more than USD 8,000, to the Regional Medical Center for Family Health in Dnipro to support hands-on training for healthcare professionals.

The First Breath project is implemented with the support of the Askold and Dir Fund as a part of the Strong Civil Society of Ukraine – a Driver Towards Reforms and Democracy Project, implemented by ISAR Ednannia and funded by Norway and Sweden.