The signing of the first grant contract in Siedlce on 27^th March marked the symbolic start of the Programme's regular projects. As befits the cross-border Programme with Polish-Ukrainian projects, a twin ceremony in Ukraine could not be missed. On 22^nd April, during a ceremony in Lviv, Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, representing the Programme Managing Authority – the Polish Ministry of Development  Funds and Regional Policy - and Director Andrii Myskiv, a representative of the Lead Partner – the Communal Non-Commercial Enterprise of Lviv Territorial Medical Association 'Clinical Hospital for Planned Treatment, Rehabilitation and Palliative Care' – signed a contract for the first large infrastructure project in the Programme. With the grant contract, the partners of the project 'Development of palliative, geriatric and treatment care, and also improving the quality of medical services for cancer patients in the hospitals of Lviv, Ternopil and Krosno' will receive 3.4 MEUR in EU funding under the Programme.

This is one of the two largest health area projects in cross-border cooperation between Poland and Ukraine. The funds allocated in this financial perspective are unprecedented. We are ready to support Ukraine in the effective use of EU funds. We are willing to share this knowledge at state, city and regional level - said Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz at the ceremony.

Care like at Home (CareLikeHome), the acronym of the project perfectly describes the goal that the partner institutions, which, in addition to the lead partner, want to achieve after the project is implemented: Communal Enterprise ‘Ternopil Regional Clinic’ of the Ternopil Regional Council (UA) and The John Paul II Podkarpacki Regional Hospital in Krosno (PL).

The realisation of the objective expressed in the name and acronym of the project will be possible through the main activities, which are:

1. Creation of a Palliative Care Unit, Mobile Treatment Groups and a Psychological Oncology Unit on the basis of the 4^th Lviv City Clinical Hospital.
2. Adaptation of hospital premises for the development of a Care and Treatment Unit in Krosno.
3. The establishment of a Hospice Care Unit for cancer patients in Ternopil.

The planned exchange of experiences will allow partners to learn from each other, share best practices and identify effective healthcare solutions. This will enable them to improve their skills and adapt them to the changing needs of patients.

After the ceremony, the guests went to the  Lviv Region State Police Headquarters, where they were able to admire the results of the large-scale infrastructure project 'Establishment of the system of dynamic response to information of crimes and other events in Lviv' implemented under the CBC Programme Poland-(Belarus)-Ukraine 2014-2020. You will soon find a report from this visit on the PBU Programme website.