Since the fall of the USSR in 1991, policymakers across the post-Soviet space have struggled to reform newly independent healthcare systems in the face of skyrocketing mortality and illness rates.
However, change does not always produce positive results. Following the introduction of Georgia’s health reforms in 2003 and again in 2007, uptake of health services continues to be dangerously low due to the combination of corruption and the high costs associated with medical services and treatments, while basic indicators of effective health provision, such as the maternal mortality rate, show a disappointing lack of progress.
One of the most disturbing aspects of Georgia’s reform model is the possibility of its export, specifically to Ukraine. In March 2015, the Ukrainian government accepted a $215m loan from the World Bank in order to improve its medical system.
