In 2017, residents of the Semenivka village council began to consult the doctors of the Berdychiv City Hospital, as the rayon hospital specialists refused to provide medical services. In addition, the absence of traumatological, ophtalmological, maternity and other departments of the rayon hospital prompted villagers to seek quality services at the city hospital. But the funds of the medical subvention allocated to the hromada went to the rayon budget to maintain the rayon hospital.

«We transfer money, but residents do not receive services. This became a problem. So we started looking for a solution. And already in 2018, we have agreed with the city hospital on financing certain services for our residents,” shares Natalia Semeniuk, head of the Semenivka village council.

Thus, in 2018, a medical subvention of UAH 200.000 was distributed to finance medical services in city hospitals. Subsequently, when planning the hromada budget for 2019, the amount has increased to 350 thousand hryvnias.

"The long-term and coordinated cooperation of hromadas led to the beginning of negotiations on signing of a cooperation agreement on the implementation of the joint project “Creating a modern system for early detection of cancer and tuberculosis diseases for the residents of the Semenivska AH and the city of Berdychiv,” emphasises Serhii Romanovych, decentralisation adviser of the Zhytomyr Local Government Development Centre of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme.

33 intermunicipal cooperation agreements have already been concluded between the hromadas of the Zhytomyr Oblast.

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