Hospital and research institute set up to help children suffering the war – INVEST researcher leads Scientific Advisory Board

Associate Professor Kirsi Peltonen is leading the Scientific Advisory Board of Nadija Children’s Hospital & Research Institute.  The goal of the hospital and institute is to promote and support psychological and somatic healthcare, and pediatric research for traumatised children exposed to war. Its primary focus is to address the needs of children and adolescents in Ukraine. 

– We are just now in Norberg, Sweden.The Children’s Mental Health Hospital project is now at a stage where a virtual hospital platform is being built, a physical hospital is being planned and a research centre is being established, says Associate Professor Peltonen.

The launching symposium brought together world-leading experts from academia, NGOs, UN agencies, and the private sector together with Ukrainian key opinion leaders and funders who support mental health research and practice. The aim is to jointly develop a road map for the proposed research centre.

The creation of Nadija Children’s Hospital & Research Institute was prompted by the knowledge that there is an urgent need for mental health and psychosocial support for the 1.5 million Ukrainian children at risk of developing mental health disorders as a result of the war. The vast majority need psychological care, but there are also children in need of trauma surgery and physical rehabilitation.

The project includes among other things a virtual  hospital with telemedicine, international expertise support and triage for outpatient rehabilitation, a research institute conducting research on the implementation of evidence-based rehabilitation practices for the advancement of medical rehabilitation in Ukraine and a rehabilitation hospital, with inpatient care, trauma surgery, and other specialised departments, with the vision of becoming a centre of excellence in Ukraine.

The symposium will cover key topics including scalable and clinical interventions, school-based interventions, digital methods/interventions, health systems research, and the traumatology of war-affected children. Each topic will be introduced by a leading expert, followed by in-depth discussions between participants and Ukrainian experts to set the research agenda.

The project was initiated in 2023 by Anne Berner, former minister for transportation and digitalization in Finland with a background in family business and with a proven track record of building and launching in 2018 a highly digitized children’s hospital in Finland. Founders are Ilkka Paananen Foundation, Mikko Kodisoja Foundation, Deaconess Foundation, Medicover Foundation, Ferd, Netcompany and The Lundbeck Foundation. The board consists of well renowned Nordic business leaders and experts.

The Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the Danylo Halytsky National Medical University in Lviv have entered into a partnership with the Nadija Foundation to establish a Children’s Medical Rehabilitation Center in Ukraine – “CMRC” – for the purpose of physical and psychological rehabilitation of Ukrainian children who have suffered physical and psychological losses and trauma as a result of the war.