Following the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Czechia encountered an unprecedented arrival of refugees from Ukraine, mainly women and children. This situation posed a new set of challenges. As of July 2023, 65% of these refugees have chosen to stay in Czechia, primarily in Prague and the Central Bohemian Region. Integrating refugees into the education and health systems, already strained by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, is crucial. Those with protection status face challenges such as income poverty, employment, language barriers and housing issues.
Czechia has a legislative structure for migrants and asylum seekers. In response to the Temporary Protection Directive from the European Commission, Czechia activated three acts in what is known as the Lex Ukraine and established temporary protection status primarily for foreign nationals fleeing the Russian invasion. This move offered full public health insurance coverage at no initial cost.
World Health Organization (WHO) and the Czech Ministry of Health (Ministerstvo zdravotnictví) conducted a joint review mission to provide a comprehensive overview of the health system's response, with the aim of understanding service delivery challenges and identifying opportunities to further support Czechia in strengthening health system capacity and ensuring continued access to health services for refugees and host communities.