As Table 1 shows, Ukraine has the most severe
problems with economic growth, declining
productivity and public debt rising.
We should emphasize that the best indicators are
shown by the countries which have joined the
European Union. They show economic growth,
productivity increase, median income rise, poverty
reduction, public debt decrease and others.
Meanwhile, the best indicator for Ukraine is the
declining trend in carbon intensity. However, it is
mostly due to reduced industrial production, which,
in its turn, is a negative factor.
It should be taken into consideration that the
collection of statistics in Ukraine is somewhat
different from European and international practices.
Some indicators are not recorded by the State
Statistics Committee of Ukraine, which complicates
the calculations.
There is also a substantial discrepancy between
country statistics and real state of affairs. This
deviation is due to a significant share of the «shadow
sector» in economics, which, according to reliable
data, is at least 60 percent of Ukraine's economy.
In practice, Ukrainians face many problems in
inclusive development. In particular, it is
unavailability of vital space for people with
disabilities and inaccessibility of medical care for all
segments of the population except for the wealthy.
Legal requirements for inclusive infrastructure
and public institutions are perceived by business
entities with neglect of standards which makes them
unusable. Besides, implementation of the medical
reform provisions is slowed down by insufficient
funding from the state and by the active resistance of
local entities whose personal financial interests are
interfered.
At the same time, it is worth pointing out that the
reforms started under President Poroshenko have
already yielded positive results.
Ukrainian economics has undergone the greatest
systemic changes due to decentralization reform.
The essence of decentralization reform is to divide
the country into united territorial communities. Thus,
nowadays lion share of the taxes remain in the
community where they are collected. Local self-
government has the right to decide on issues of local
importance themselves without involvement of other
official bodies.
Previously, taxes were accumulated in Kyiv and
distributed among the regions in the form of
subventions. It created significant opportunities for
misuse and corruption.
Today, communities set their own priorities in the
use of funds. Consequently, their members can
control the efficiency of the expenditures more
effectively. The state conducts public consultations
with communities and all-Ukrainian associations of
local self-government.
In addition, some progress in health care reform
has been witnessed. Signing of declarations with
family doctors at the primary level was very quick.
Just in the first half of 2018, 25 million Ukrainians
signed declarations with family doctors. It gave
opportunity to rise funding for primary care and
increase the salaries of doctors. Doctors received a 3-
4-fold increase in salaries, which significantly
improved their attitude to health care reform.
Secondary and tertiary levels, where the reform
did not come so quickly, unfortunately, were not so
successful in terms of reforming their activities. Quite
low tariffs do not allow hospitals to provide patients
with quality medical services.
The most painful problems of healthcare
transformation in Ukraine were such as:
- unwillingness of hospitals to switch to funding
to pay for the results of work (money follows the
patient);
- lack of hospitals readiness to implement patient-
oriented service;
- weakness of hospital unions in defending the
interests of teams in wages and salaries;
- cases of abuse by management in the payment
distribution;
- biased official competitions for replacement of
hospital management positions and other.
The most difficult factor in opposing the reform
was reaction of doctors and patients, who did not
realize the essence and prospects of the reform.
Unfortunately, the reform of the judicial system
introduced by President Petro Poroshenko has not
been implemented yet. The reason for it was the short
deadlines for its implementation.
The Ukrainian law enforcement system has also
remained partially reformed.
The whole system of anti-corruption bodies was
created in Ukraine to fight corruption. Namely, they
are:
- National Council on Anti-Corruption Policy;
- National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine;
- National Agency for the Prevention of
Corruption;
- Specialized anti-corruption prosecutor's office;
- State Bureau of Investigation;
- Supreme Anti-Corruption Court.
During the tenure of the fifth President of Ukraine
Petro Poroshenko, first lady Maryna Poroshenko took
care of inclusive education. The goal of the inclusion
project was to create and develop an inclusive