Around forty heads of medical institutions and healthcare specialists gathered that day in Lutsk at the Regional Health Center. The regional conference was opened by the deputy head of the Volyn Regional State Administration, a cardiologist by profession, Volodymyr Karpuk. Having spoken about significant progress in medicine during 2005 and having approved the draft program, he recalled Viktor Yushchenko's words that the issue of health is one of the most important issues for the authorities, and an example of this was the first detailed draft healthcare program. The growth in financing of the medical sector, which in 2005 amounted to 3.4% of GDP, gives the implementation of the program a more realistic appearance.
The head of the healthcare department of the regional state administration, Ihor Vashcheniuk, noted: the main problems that may arise during the implementation of the developed program are that the work of the Ministry of Health was almost always blocked by the Ministry of Finance and the Verkhovna Rada. The political party "People's Union Our Ukraine" was the first among all political forces to take the courage to abandon the abstract concept of free medicine and to address the problem of facilitating access and helping all segments of the population in receiving medical services. An important step will be the development of primary health care and the detection of diseases at the primary stage, especially concerning cardiovascular and oncological diseases. As Ihor Vashcheniuk noted, all of this can be successfully implemented if mechanisms for the operation of the medical sphere are developed that will not depend on the alignment of political forces in the government or parliament; this requires cohesion and support from the authorities.
The draft "Program for the Development of Public Health Protection in the Volyn Region" was presented by the chief specialist in therapy of the healthcare department of the regional state administration, Mykola Bernyk. The developed regional program is based on the inter-sectoral comprehensive program "Health of the Nation" for 2003-2011. The goal of the program is to improve the demographic situation, preserve and strengthen the health of the population, improve the quality and effectiveness of medical and sanitary care, and ensure social justice and the rights of citizens to healthcare. The draft program consists of 39 sections, the main aspects of which are the implementation of an active demographic policy, the formation of incentives for a healthy lifestyle, providing the population with effective, safe and quality medicines, improving the environment, and creating a modern system of information support in the field of healthcare. Mykola Bernyk emphasized that "the goal of medicine is action, not waiting."
After a lengthy discussion, the draft program was approved and delegates were nominated to participate in the national conference that will take place on February 18 in Kyiv. It will be attended by representatives of the government, the political party "People's Union Our Ukraine" and other socio-political forces. At the conference, a national program for the development of the healthcare sector will be approved, which will be included in the "Strategy for the Development of Ukraine" Program that the "Our Ukraine" Electoral Bloc will implement from 2006 to 2011.