The full-scale war has led to an unprecedented increase in the number of patients with amputations, including complex, multiple, and combined injuries. Today, Ukraine faces not only the need to treat and rehabilitate thousands of wounded military personnel and civilians, but also a growing demand for trained specialists capable of working with such clinical cases at a modern professional level.
Alongside providing prosthetic care for Ukrainian defenders and civilians, Future for Ukraine systematically contributes to the professional development of Ukrainian rehabilitation specialists. More than 100 physical therapists, prosthetists, physicians, and professionals working with individuals after amputation have already completed certified training, earning continuing professional development credits, as part of the foundation’s partnership with the Medical Center Orthotics & Prosthetics.
Recently, we took the next step toward building a modern rehabilitation system in Ukraine by signing a trilateral memorandum of cooperation with the Medical Center Orthotics & Prosthetics (MCOP) and the Bogomolets National Medical University (BNMU). This agreement aims to educate future specialists according to U.S. protocols, starting from their student years.
The goal is to create and implement, at the institutional level, a modern educational program in physical therapy for amputations for Ukrainian medical and military educational institutions.
Olena Nikolaienko, president of FFU USA.This is a comprehensive educational program based on international clinical experience, particularly developed in cooperation with American academic and medical institutions, including George Washington University, which has many years of practice working with patients after combat injuries and amputations. This experience is being adapted to the Ukrainian context and integrated into the university curriculum
Faculty training starts in March 2026. The official launch of the program for students is scheduled for September 2026. The program is implemented with the support of the Pfizer Foundation, which backs initiatives aimed at developing healthcare, rehabilitation, and education for communities affected by war.
The author of the program and key expert, Farhad Ostovari, is a DPT, a practicing physical therapist with over 16 years of experience, and Clinical Director of the MCOP Ukraine.
MCOP Ukraine also serves as the clinical base of the project, where practical training for students and instructors takes place and clinical protocols are tested on real cases.
Future for Ukraine is the project’s strategic and organizational partner. The foundation ensures a coordination process between universities and the clinical base, engagement of international expertise, and support for the sustainability and development of the program.
Anna Kovalova, CEO of Future for Ukraine.For us, this project is an investment not in a single initiative but in the system. Ukraine needs not only assistance today, but also trained professionals who will be able to work with the consequences of war for many years. Thanks to the support of the Pfizer Foundation, we have the opportunity not simply to transfer international experience, but to establish sustainable educational solutions at the level of higher education that will serve Ukraine for years
The project will be implemented through the Train the Trainers model, preparing educators and practicing specialists who will pass knowledge to students and the new generation of physical therapists, integrating international standards into the Ukrainian education system.
This format enables the development of sustainable national expertise, integrating international standards into Ukrainian education, and ensuring the project’s long-term impact.
Trainer education is supported by a system of professional supervision, including mentoring during the first teaching cycles, clinical reviews of complex cases, assessment of methodology application, and adjustment of curricula based on practical experience. This ensures the transfer of actual knowledge into clinical practice rather than the formal usage of completion materials.
The Bogomolets National Medical University acts as the educational partner of the project, which provides training cycles for faculty members and students at the university, implementation of modern approaches to rehabilitation of people with limb loss into the training of specialists in the specialty “Therapy and Rehabilitation,” as well as exchange of expertise and development of programs for military personnel and people affected by war.
Yurii Kuchyn, rector of the Bogomolets National Medical University,Despite everything, we continue to develop, improve the educational process, and adapt its organization to current challenges so that our graduates, future medical professionals, are ready for independent medical practice in the post-war period, possess modern rehabilitation methods, and understand how to work at different stages of recovery for patients with combat injuries
The program for students of Bogomolets National Medical University and the Ukrainian Military Medical Academy will begin in the new academic year, in September 2026.
We thank the Pfizer Foundation for the support of the initiative and our partners for their cooperation. Together, we are creating new opportunities for Ukrainians to recover from the war consequences.
