On May 11, 2023, our Ukraine Country Director Halyna Skipalska was awarded a Voices of Courage award by the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC). The purpose of this event hosted by the WRC was to celebrate and honor the achievements of exemplary leaders who stand for justice, gender equality, and the lives and rights of refugee women and children.

Skipalska is a human rights activist and renowned gender expert who also serves as the Executive Director for the Ukrainian Foundation for Public Health. Halyna’s work and expertise in both the NGO sector and the provision of care for vulnerable women and girls has led her to work closely with the WRC to catalyze specialized services for survivors of domestic violence/gender-based violence (DV/GBV). One focus area within the WRC is preventing and responding to GBV as well as addressing sexual violence against refugees of all gender identities. Most recently, in response to Russia’s military offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, her organizations have provided social, psychological, and legal services to more than 400,000 women and children in Ukraine.

The HealthRight International community is honored to have Skipalska as our Ukrainian Country Director, whose dedication, initiative, and expertise has significantly impacted the lives of so many individuals within the Ukrainian community.