NAKO experts assessed the degree of implementation of the recommendations of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC). These are the recommendations contained in the 2021 study "Top 10 Corruption Risks in the Medical and Social Expert Commission for Disability Determination". The results of the monitoring have been included in the NAPC's updated study for 2024.
The recommendations for 2021 have not yet been implemented or are still in the process of being implemented, said NAKO experts. In particular, the digitalisation of medical and social expertise (MSE) services and the revision of the documentation system have begun. However, the concept of reforming the MSE system has not been approved, the International Functioning Classification has not been adopted as the methodology for determining disability, outdated requirements (e.g. regarding compulsory hospitalisation) have not been removed, etc.
"Out of 19 recommendations, only a few have been implemented, and the most critical ones have not even been started. It was only after this year's major corruption scandals involving the heads of the MSEC that the Cabinet of Ministers submitted a bill to the Verkhovna Rada to reform the MSEC. Only time will tell whether this will help improve the situation, as the risks of corruption have not yet been eliminated," said Oleksandr Saienko, NAKO military expert and analyst, which has been monitoring the implementation of the recommendations.
According to the NACP's strategic analysis of corruption risks for 2024, the procedure for determining disability is complicated and non-transparent. Among the shortcomings contributing to corruption, the NACP identified the lack of electronic document management, gaps in legislation and excessive powers of officials.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine, 64 MSEC officials were suspected of committing crimes in 2024, and another 9 have already been convicted. And 4,106 disability certificates issued on the basis of fictitious documents have been cancelled. Under martial law, the process of determining disability is used to evade mobilisation and to illegally cross the border by persons liable for military service. All of this points to systemic abuse and the need to introduce anti-corruption safeguards, the NACP said.
In the updated study, the agency made a number of recommendations aimed at minimising the risk of corruption in the disability determination process. Their implementation will be assessed in June 2025.
