Gynecologist consultations, cancer screenings, eyeglasses, psychotherapy sessions, blood pressure monitors — these are just some of the medical services covered for participants in the spring wave of the Caring for Our Health program from Women in Media. The initiative was made possible with the support of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF).
Living in a reality full of anxiety
Through the program, more than 30 women journalists received funding for medical check-ups, consultations, and lab tests tailored to their individual needs. Caring for Our Health was not only a chance to finally make time and find the money for long-overdue care but also feel the sense of support from within the community proved just as vital as the care itself.
“Working in journalism, women are often stretched to their physical and emotional limits. We carry the weight of both our professional responsibilities and our family lives. We’re still here, because it’s a calling, a way to realize our potential, and a way to make a living doing what we believe in. But amid all those personal and professional things, women often lack time and money to care about their health,” said Oksana Havrysh, a journalist at Rivne-based online media outlet Chetverta Vlada and one of this spring’s participants.
She believes initiatives like this are the great reminder that women’s health deserves attention and care right here and right now. Especially in war conditions, when media women have family members serving in the Armed Forces deterring Russian aggression, and daily life is clouded by constant emotional and physical stress.
“Caring for Our Health and Women in Media came into my life when I needed it the most. Leaving occupation, moving abroad, returning to Ukraine… and then throwing myself into covering war crimes, interviewing CRSV survivors, constantly searching for updates from the occupied Luhansk region — all of this took a toll. I’d almost forgotten about my chronic conditions, but this year, they came roaring back,” Maryna Kovaliova, a freelancer who works with LB.ua, Skhidnyi Variant, and Realna Gazeta shared her story.
After U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration froze funding, the projects Maryna was working on were suspended. The organization she collaborated with continued providing financial support, but it wasn’t enough to cover the cost of several necessary examinations and treatments.
“I rent my apartment and raise my young daughter alone. Women in Media covered some of my medical expenses — two ultrasounds, a gynecological consultation, and a few costly tests. That marked the beginning of my treatment. I’m deeply grateful to my colleagues, they were responsive and supportive every step of the way,” says Maryna Kovaliova.
Taking care of physical condition
Liudmyla Fediuk, editor of Karpaty newspaper in Putyla, Chernivtsi region, used her Caring for Our Health grant to buy protective glasses for screen work and a portable fitness device to ease the strain on her back:
“Glasses for work with different screens are essential for me. But if not for the program, I would’ve bought the cheapest ones — probably the kind that don’t actually protect my eyes,” Liudmyla Fediuk admitted.
Both her vision and back suffer most from long screen hours: the media woman says that she can spend 18-20 hours a day at her laptop or smartphone. This is working in the office, at home, on the train or bus.
“Sitting for hours, I could feel the pain creep in. But I didn’t have the motivation or the money to commit to regular workouts,” she said. “This simulator became a great alternative to the gym and inspired me to carve out at least 30 minutes a day for myself. I even bought dumbbells, a press roller, and a jump rope. This spring really became a healthy one — and I’m sincerely thankful to Women in Media for that.”
Caring for Our Health allowed media professionals to solve not only issues related to their own health, but also to take care of their colleagues. For example, the editorial office of Kherson-based Ukrainskyi Pivden bought a modern blood pressure monitor using funds allocated by Women in Media.
“Our editorial team works constantly with emotionally charged topics, so it is very important to stop once in a while and check your blood pressure —you need to be healthy to move forward. Thanks to this support, the media bought a blood pressure monitor that works with or without a power supply. Taking care of your health, care about each other’s needs — all this is important. We are the team working under pressure for three years now, trying to do our part to free the Kherson region from Russian occupants,” said Lidiya Hryhorieva, editor-in-chief of the media outlet.
Another participant, who requested anonymity for security reasons, also bought a blood pressure monitor. In August 2022, she had to flee her home on the Left Bank of the Kherson region, which is still under Russian occupation.
Even before the full-scale invasion, the woman was diagnosed with hypertension because of irregular hours, tight deadlines, continuous travel, sleepless nights, snacks on the go and enormous amounts of coffee as the stimulator. Then she bought her first blood pressure monitor. However, during the evacuation, she left it to her elderly neighbor, who could not leave the city.
“After relocating, settling in a new place, job struggles, everyday chores, accompanied by air raid alerts and worries for my relatives and friends, my health deteriorated even more. The general practitioner I went to for an appointment said that my health had worsened due to severe emotional stress. He added that it is absolutely impossible to let the disease take its course, because the consequences can be very disappointing. To make the treatment more effective, I needed to keep my blood pressure under constant control,” shared the media woman in her comment to Women in Media.
She was able to fully follow the doctor’s recommendations only after purchasing a blood monitoring device. Explaining to her the importance of self-monitoring, the doctor noted that measuring blood pressure was key to keep her heart under control. Otherwise, it may be difficult to understand what exactly is happening: it became scary while staying in shelter, she could have, for example, pre-infarction syndrome.
“Now my blood pressure monitor is like Google: it immediately shows whether I may continue working or I need to pause and take care of my health,” adds the journalist.
Don’t put it off — go all the way
“In 2014, I had to jump out of maternity leave when my child was only half a year old, because my editorial staff needed me. In 2022, I worked 12-14 hours without Saturdays and Sundays, and I didn’t feel tired, rushed by terror-fueled adrenaline. Then in November, I crashed so hard I thought I wouldn’t get back up. Since then, I’ve been trying to restore my health bit by bit,” said Anna Murlykina, editor of Mariupol outlet 0629.com.ua and the project manager at DII-Ukraine.
Anna admits that the program was the only thing that finally pushed her, and others like her, to see a doctor. “We always put ourselves last,” she said. She encourages other media professionals to participate in the next waves of the Caring for Our Health: “If we get sick, there will be no one to take care of the country.”
Viktoriia Horobets, editor of Zolotonosha.City, had been living with untreated allergy symptoms for years. Like many, she downplayed them — chalking them up to seasonal discomfort that antihistamines could handle. But they never really helped.
Thanks to Caring for Our Health, she finally did a comprehensive allergy screening — the ALEX2 test, one of the most accurate currently available showing results for different group of allergens. She had postponed the test for months because of financial constraints and more urgent expenses.
The journalist says: the project implemented by Women in Media is not only about the opportunity to take care of yourself. It is also about responsibility for the people who made this possible, and it is connection that is incredibly motivating:
“You feel that someone really cares about your well-being, and it is important to prove that you care too and that you are really grateful for support. It’s about feeling important, to realize that someone thinks about you, and those “someone” are people from your industry. It’s about understanding that you matter, your health is valuable, because healthy journalists mean qualitative development of journalism.”
Women in Media NGO regularly organizes programs to support the mental and physical health of Ukrainian media women. These include self-support groups, retreats in the Carpathians for female journalists and their children, individual psychological assistance programs, and compensation for medical examinations, among others.
The Take Care of Your Health initiative by Women in Media is implemented within the framework of the Voices of Ukraine support program. The program, led by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, is part of the Hannah-Arendt-Initiative and is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.