“Secret Materials”: Conflict over Odessa Medical University – Ulyana Suprun’s Personal Revenge

The war of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine agains Odessa National Medical University was started because of a personal revenge of Ulyana Suprun. This is stated in a story of the program “Secret Materials” for 1 + 1.
According to the authors of the story, the cause of the conflict could be the Scientific Council at the Ministry of Health. The a.i. Minister Ulyana Suprun decided to liquidate the body, and Valerii Zaporozhan, who had headed it for many years, strongly opposed it. “She has abolished all institutions that provide information on the real state of the industry. We do not know today what is the death rate of children, cancer patients, what is the loss of population, specialists. If we do not have these statistics, we cannot plan what to do. I spoke, and it all started, ”- says Valery Zaporozhan.
In response, the Ministry of Health dismissed Rector Zaporozhan and tried to appoint their acting Rector, contrary to the legislation of Ukraine. At least 6 times the MOH’s deputies have tried to carry out the university’s power capture. The University staff stood up for protection, for which they were deprived of money. For more than six months, the university’s financial activities have been blocked because of an budget that the MoH refused to approve. Employees do not receive salaries, students are not paid scholarships, medicines are expiring at university clinics, and funds for the examination of patients are bought at their own expense. “Every day we are afraid that tomorrow or the day after tomorrow we will not have oxygen. We are running out of drugs, and this is a problem for the anesthesiology and surgery departments,”the doctors say.
The Ministry of Health has also deprived the university of budget places for the next academic year. This means that hundreds of privileged children, including IDPs, children of ATO and OOS veterans, will not be able to study for free. Moreover, the Ministry of Health sent letters to embassies of foreign countries, in which it was not recommended to send students to study at Odessa National Medical University.
The Secret Materials editorial office sent an information request to the Ministry of Health regarding the reasons for the university’s deprivation of budget places, as well as with a request to explain on what grounds the Ministry addressed the embassies, jeopardizing the international image of Ukraine. At the time of the plotting, the MoH did not respond.