Background Paper: Ukrainian general practitioners; the next steps

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Abstract
The Eastern European block frequently looks to its western neighbours to help develop its medical faculties through the creation of exchanges supported by charitable organisations or through the development of International Exchange Fellowships. Such fellowships allow a unique opportunity to encourage observation, exchange and debate in the field of healthcare and medical education. This paper describes the Royal College of General Practitioners Ukraine Fellowship Programme (1993-1997), which has created two unique opportunities to explore healthcare delivery in a new primary care setting and discuss university curriculum design. The authors use these observations to discuss the possible reasons behind Ukraine's poor health statistics and what is needed at both primary care and university levels in an attempt to improve these figures.