40 Ukrainian women media professionals, including war correspondents and chief editors from various regions of Ukraine, participated in the Caring for Our Health program organized by Women in Media in the autumn of 2024. This round of the program was made possible with the support of the Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism.
The purpose of the “Caring for Our Health” program is to motivate Ukrainian women in media to prioritize their health and to encourage editorial offices to create and implement social support initiatives for their employees, including freelancers. This is especially vital during the challenging times of war and intense stress.
As part of the program, Women in Media reimburses selected participants for expenses related to medical examinations, consultations, tests, visits to psychologists or psychiatrists, massages, rehabilitation procedures, and other services tailored to the individual needs of each women media professional. Special attention is given to women’s health, focusing on menstrual health, menopause, cancer screenings, hormone tests, breast cancer prevention, and gynecological examinations. Participants receive up to UAH 7,000 each to cover these medical expenses.
This year, the program supported war correspondents working directly “in the field” with regular assignments to the front lines, as well as women in leadership positions within the media.
Stories of media executives
“The specifics of the topics, the schedule, the stress — all of this defines the work of the Frontliner. But it’s comforting not to feel alone; it’s uplifting to feel like a woman whose needs are supported during such a critical time,” said Yelyzaveta Kovtun, leader of the Frontliner media outlet, reflecting on her participation in the program. This interactive media outlet covers Russia’s war against Ukraine through text reports, photos, and videos.
At the time of completing the “Caring for Our Health” program, Yelyzaveta Kovtun was in the final stages of her pregnancy. She confessed that she continued to work all that time:
“39 weeks and three days — not a single day away from work, just as I’ve been since the start of the full-scale invasion. There’s a cost to everything, and while work is sweeter to me than any dessert, it has taken a real toll on me.”
It was at this time that Yelyzaveta Kovtun discovered the program, which became a turning point, prompting her to focus on her well-being and take a break.
“Thank you for taking care of me. Thank you for supporting me. Thank you for being so strong, incredible, and necessary!” said the journalist.
“I can’t say that I don’t care about my health, but the pace of life and work is such that you constantly procrastinate and put off doctor visits until it becomes urgent. Even though you know it’s necessary. Being accepted into this program gave me the push I needed to take action. The strict one-month deadline motivated me to finally find time to take care of my health,” said Maryna Synhaivska, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of LB.ua, a participant of the “Caring for Our Health” program.
It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of “Caring for Our Health”, she emphasizes:
“It’s not just helpful; it gives you a sense of community that cares, in addition to financial support. A community that supports you in many ways.”
Another participant, Natalia Kalinichenko, director of Bilopilshchyna Media Center LLC in the Sumy region, chose to use the program for both her own benefit and that of her colleagues in the editorial office by purchasing a blood pressure monitor.
“It would seem that having reached my sixth decade, I should have understood the basics of my own well-being. But the frantic pace of life, stress, and living on the edge caught up with me and put me in a hospital bed. The word “stroke,” often used with sympathy for others, became my reality,” Natalia Kalinichenko shared her story.
Treatment and rehabilitation are long and expensive, she added. Moreover, no matter how difficult it was, work couldn’t be put on hold. To prevent such situations from recurring, it’s essential to regularly monitor your body’s indicators. The very first thing to pay attention to is blood pressure, as well as undergoing at least a basic medical examination once a year.
“It felt as if Women in Media had overheard my thoughts and knew about my condition. I hadn’t fully recovered yet, and then I saw the “Caring for Our Health” program. With the thought, “I didn’t take care of my health earlier, but I’ll take care of it now,” I applied and received support. With the allocated funds, I bought a high-quality blood pressure monitor that I can carry with me and use without needing to ask someone to take measurements. We can also use it in the editorial office, as the age and health conditions of my colleagues require constant blood pressure monitoring,” said Natalia Kalinichenko.
In addition, as part of the program, she had her eyesight checked and purchased properly fitted glasses — a purchase she had long postponed due to a lack of time, money, or other reasons.
“Dear and respected colleagues, do not wait until the most valuable and irreplaceable resource — your health — is lost. We still have much to do and much to wait for until victory. Take care of yourselves, do not neglect your health, and join the valuable programs of our colleagues and partners who help us stay strong and continue working,” emphasized Natalia Kalinichenko.
Mental health in focus
Visits to psychologists, psychotherapists, and psychiatrists have become some of the most commonly chosen services by participants in the “Caring for Our Health” program this time. This aspect is particularly important during periods of constant anxiety, stress, and heavy workloads. One of those who chose this option was war reporter and Wall Street Journal correspondent Oksana Hrytsenko.
“I decided to slow down a bit and focus on myself. It was a good thing I knew where to go. In such cases, you need to see a psychiatrist. Just talking alone can’t relieve my anxiety; I also need medication and medical support,” Oksana Hrytsenko shared in her review of the program. The journalist says that thanks to the “Caring for Our Health” initiative, she began to feel much more confident and calm.
War correspondent Yulia Surkova also emphasized the importance of taking timely care of mental health. As a freelancer, she collaborates with AFP, UNICEF, and Reporters. She underlined that journalistic work, especially directly in the field during the war, can be deeply traumatic:
“There are many trainings for journalists now on how to communicate with people who have experienced traumatic events. There is an ongoing debate about whether it is correct, or even ethical, to interview people immediately after shelling. But often missing from these discussions is the fact that journalists themselves are also going through traumatic experiences,” says Yulia Surkova. “When you’re filming the shelling of a house nearby, or the evacuation from your own region, or when only 5% of your region remains unoccupied, how professional are you in that moment, and how human? And when you’ve been filming all of this since 2014, and the subjects of every second interview are crying, how many more years of war can you endure?”
To survive this marathon and remain effective, she added, regular sessions with a therapist and timely health checks personally help her.
Psychological consultations were chosen by Olena Zashko, a war correspondent for the Kyiv Independent:
“I hear from you that you are always in a hurry. You speak so quickly that it’s hard to pay attention to anything around you. Sometimes, we need to slow down to feel what’s inside us.” This is a phrase the psychologist said to me during our last session. This conversation wouldn’t have happened without Women in Media and the Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism. I don’t know how much longer I would have postponed seeing a psychologist or undergoing various tests, because taking care of myself is always the last thing on my mind. After all, who has time for a thyroid ultrasound when there’s a deadline? I’m grateful that, despite everything rushing around, there’s someone who encourages you to take care of yourself and helps a little along the way,” the journalist noted in a review of the program.
War correspondents share their experience
Hromadske war correspondent Oksana Savoskina says that, over nearly three years of full-scale war in Ukraine, she made about four dozen trips, most of them closer to the front line. Around twenty of these trips took place in the first year of the invasion.
“I had never known the map and villages of southern Ukraine, Donetsk, and Kharkiv regions so well before. That made it easier for me to be on the road often, with a lot of work, and rarely stay in one place for long,” the journalist notes.
Now, she adds, she still feels that too few stories were shot, that sometimes they didn’t have enough time, and that some were no longer relevant. Amidst the constant running around in journalism, the most important thing is often forgotten — self-care. This autumn, she became one of the participants in the program and got the opportunity to take care of her health.
“In between business trips, I managed to start a gradual check-up of my body. This is a great initiative from Women in Media, which reminds you that you have only one body and you need to take care of it. Thank you, Women in Media, for your support; it is truly valuable.”
Iryna Sampan, war correspondent for Butusov+, notes that very often women are not taught to take care of their health. She calls herself “a vivid example of this”:
“If nothing hurts, it means you’re healthy, and if it does, it’s not too bad — you can still go on.” This is the example of self-care we inherited from our parents, who also don’t know how to take care of themselves and whom we have to force to see doctors by any means necessary. They insist that “it’s not so bad,” even when it’s no longer tolerable and has already become dangerous.”
The journalist quotes an episode from the book It Serves You Right by blogger and writer Katia Bliostka, where older women teach the heroine that she should never tell her husband about women’s health issues because a woman must always appear healthy and smiling — “who needs you with all your troubles.” This attitude has been passed down through the centuries, and it persists, Iryna Sampan emphasizes. She adds that she does not want to continue this cycle of neglecting her own health.
“I feel privileged to be part of a community of women who encourage me to take care of my mental, psychological, and physical health. Women in Media regularly organizes support groups for media women, offers grants for checkups and psychotherapy, and conducts surveys to assess the need for such assistance,” said Iryna Sampan.
Yevhenia Honcharuk, a war correspondent for Hromadske Radio and Radio NV, also highlights that taking care of her health is often postponed for various reasons. She reflects that the habit of delaying self-care likely came from her mother, who, in turn, inherited it from her mother.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t their choice. But it was important for me to change this paradigm, first of all in my head. In recent years, in case of seemingly minor health problems, I have been trying to persuade myself to go to the doctor. And routine checkups with doctors are a rule that I try to make a part of my life. Because it’s a responsibility,” said Yevhenia Honcharuk.She believes that loving and taking care of yourself is not selfishness or extravagance, but a norm: “Keep this in mind, even in such difficult times.”