From displaced to contributor. How displaced health workers can support host communities

Abstract This session offers a personal story of resilience, adaptation, and professional reintegration through the lived experience of Dr. Diana Melnyk, a Ukrainian physician displaced in Czechia due to the war in Ukraine. With the assistance of target programs facilitated by Czech health authorities and the support of WHO with key partners, Dr. Melnyk's journey reflects the impact that multi-sectoral collaboration can have on an individual's life and their communities at large. The session will illustrate Dr. Melnyk's journey from arriving in Czechia as a refugee who applied for temporary protection, to being able to begin her professional career as a physician in Czechia after graduating from a medical university in Ukraine. This session will follow her experience from the barriers that she initially encountered, including language limitations, licensing requirements, and her journey through integration strategies in place. Her story in Czechia underscores how support programs, and the assistance of international organizations and relevant stakeholders framed within targeted national policies can restore livelihoods among displaced health workers, and contribute to existing needs for health and care professionals across the WHO European Region. Her experience as a displaced Ukrainian health worker contributing to the Czech health system will put a human face to an existing need across European countries, and it will ultimately highlight how other displaced health professionals in the WHO European Region can also continue their professional development and support host communities.