Kyiv court rules to remove acting health minister from post

A Kyiv district
court ruled on Feb. 5 to temporarily remove Acting Health Minister Ulana Suprun
from continuing to serve in her post, citing her dual U.S.-Ukrainian
citizenship and her service as acting minister exceeding the one-month limit.
The ruling came in response to a complaint filed by Radical Party MP Ihor
Mosiychuk, whose fellow party members joined a chorus of prominent Ukrainians
opposing her reforms in the medical sphere. (Dr. Suprun’s reforms also have
drawn many prominent supporters, particular among Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic
advocates.)

In late January, a
prominent psychologist, Dr. Semen Gluzman, sent an email to his colleagues
alleging that President Poroshenko was ready to remove Suprun from her post,
which he supported. Yet after the court ruling, Poroshenko expressed his full
support for Suprun and her reforms in remarks to the American Chamber of
Commerce, stressing that she is a full citizen of Ukraine. Regarding the court
ruling, Poroshenko said “the lower courts are not yet reformed, but I don’t
have any doubt that the reformed Supreme Court will establish the truth,” as
reported by the pravda.com.ua news site.

Since becoming
acting health minister in July 2016, Suprun has pursued dramatic reforms in
Ukraine’s ailing medical sphere such as financing of hospitals and clinics
based on active patients, rather than number of hospitals beds. She led the
establishment of a system of family medicine, encouraging Ukrainians to visit
physicians at their practices and paying them directly, rather than going to
overwhelmed hospitals for basic treatment. She also saved costs by merging
children’s hospitals with district hospitals in many regions and eliminated
corruption schemes for acquiring pharmaceuticals and medical devices, with
those affected fueling the criticism against her.

Zenon Zawada: We believe the court ruling is a
political football for various politicians speculating on both her popularity,
and her antipathy among the electorate. We believe it’s likely that Poroshenko
viewed Suprun as a distraction for his re-election efforts and tacitly
supported the court complaint to remove her. But he also saw the need to voice
his support for her so as not to upset Western authorities, who have actively
backed Suprun’s reform efforts.

Until a ruling is
reached in the appeals court, Suprun and her reforms will continue to serve as
a football for the various political players through the October parliamentary
elections. Despite Poroshenko’s alleged support, we view her being reinstated
as unlikely because she has been such a polarizing figure.