CYIL vol. 16 (2025)

NATALIYA ISAYEVA Introduction

The war in Ukraine has been ongoing for more than 10 years. In 2014, people, as well as the state as a whole, encountered the concept of internally displaced persons for the first time. The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine has changed significantly from 2014 to 2024. While the figure remained around 1.5 million in 2021, in 2022, more than 7.5 million IDPs were officially registered. This large-scale increase has significantly affected the state’s ability to ensure the constitutional rights of these citizens, which, in turn, has affected the level of social protection available to them. This dynamic is clearly reflected in the changing number of internally displaced persons, as illustrated in the diagram below. 2

Figures 1

While such a rapid and significant increase in the number of IDPs affects all social spheres of life in each community, we focus our research primarily on the health issues associated with displacement. The objective of the research is to comprehensively assess the access of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to medical services in Ukraine and to analyze the realization of their constitutional right to health protection during the war. The main tasks include: 1. Assessment of IDPs’ access to healthcare services and the effectiveness of the realization of their health rights based on an analysis of legislation, state responses, and available statistics. 2. Evaluation of the accessibility and efficiency of healthcare services for IDPs at the regional level. 3. Identification of the specific medical needs of IDPs. 4. Analysis of the dynamics of IDPs’ requests for medical care between 2014 and 2025. 2 ISAYEVA, N. Socio-economic Rights of IDPs in Ukraine: Challenges and Solutions Amidst the War. Deutsch Polnische Juristen-Zeitschrift, 2025, vol. 1–2, pp. 29–35.

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