Conflicts and natural disasters affect entire populations of the countries involved and, in addition to the thousands of lives destroyed, have a substantial negative impact on the scientific advances these countries provide. The unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, and the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East are just a few examples. Millions of people have been killed or displaced, their futures uncertain. These events have resulted in extensive infrastructure collapse, with loss of electricity, transportation, and access to services. Schools, universities, and research centers have been destroyed along with decades’ worth of data, samples, and findings. Scholars in disaster areas face short- and long-term problems in terms of what they can accomplish now for obtaining grants and for employment in the long run. In our interconnected world, conflicts and disasters are no longer a local problem but have wide-ranging impacts on the entire world, both now and in the future. Here, we focus on the current and ongoing impact of war on the scientific community within Ukraine and from this draw lessons that can be applied to all affected countries where scientists at risk are facing hardship. We present and classify examples of effective and feasible mechanisms used to support researchers in countries facing hardship and discuss how these can be implemented with help from the international scientific community and what more is desperately needed. Reaching out, providing accessible training opportunities, and developing collaborations should increase inclusion and connectivity, support scientific advancements within affected communities, and expedite postwar and disaster recovery.

This paper presents an inter-disciplinary study of the risk for, and protections against, genetic discrimination in access to life insurance in Ukraine. It aims (i) to review questions related to genetic information, health status, and family history currently included in Ukrainian life insurance application forms; (ii) to analyze the Ukrainian legislation related to equity and nondiscrimination and to determine whether it provides adequate protection against genetic discrimination (GD). Research findings of our insurance application forms review show that Ukrainian life insurance companies ask broad questions about health and family history that may be perceived by applicants as requiring the disclosure of their genetic information. Our legal analysis shows that today there are no genetic specific law protecting Ukrainians people against GD in insurance. However, Ukrainian human rights legislation provides some protection against multiple grounds of discrimination and given the ratification by Ukraine of the European Convention on Human Rights it is possible that these grounds could be interpreted by tribunals as also including genetic characteristics. As a next step, Ukrainian researchers should develop a survey to obtain much needed data on the incidence and impact of GD in Ukraine. Following this it will be possible for policymakers to better assess whether there is a need for an explicit non-GD law in this country. Such a law would have the benefit of explicitly aligning Ukraine’s legal framework with that of many of its European partners.

The paper is devoted to exploring the farming costs (including insurance) indicators of the agricultural enterprises in the European Union. The analysis employs the box plot methodology that provides a five-number summary for a set of data. In this paper, we analyse the evidence of interconnection between the indicators of efficiency and competitiveness and insurance costs regarding food market security. This research discusses the dynamic changes of the absolute value of farming costs (including insurance) indicators and different relative indicators derived from the original one for the agricultural enterprise holdings in the European Union for the period of 2004-2019. The results show that farming costs (including insurance) indicators of the agricultural holdings should be considered as an instrument for providing food market security. Based on these research results, we are going to further explore the impact of insurance on the food market security. In addition, these research results could help to clarify the difference between EU countries and dynamic changes in farming costs (including insurance) indicators of agricultural holdings.

Introduction. The article examines the specifics and role of genetic information for insurance risk assessment in the life insurance market in Ukraine. Problem Statement. The insurance market developments of different countries are increasingly characterized by the adoption of specific regulations regarding the features and conditions of use of genetic information. Therefore, the issue of regulating the rights and obligations of all participants in insurance relations regarding the use of such information of future owners of insurance policies for underwriting in insurance requires a comprehensive solution taking into account the interests of all parties. The purpose of the research is to evaluate the necessity of application of specific regulations on the insurance market, specifically in the field of using genetic data for insurance purposes. Methods. The sources of materials were scientific publications, analytical studies, as well as legislation in the field of regulation of the use of genetic information for the assessment of insurance risks. The research paper used the following empirical methods, such as analysis, synthesis, grouping, description, comparison, theoretical generalization. Results. The results show that currently some risks exist in Ukraine: firstly, the genetic discrimination, since most life insurance companies are interested in the genetic information of policyholders, and can request it from any third parties: therefore, there is a possibility of using it to assess insurance risk; secondly, an information asymmetry, which is a consequence of greater awareness of insurance companies about the insurance risks than that of the policyholders. After all, policyholders may not inform the insurance company about all the genetic data (for example, the results of genetic studies) that describe their genetic predisposition to future changes in health. Conclusions. This study substantiated factors which confirm the relevance of introducing legislative regulation regarding the use of genetic information (including the results of genetic analyzes) for underwriting in insurance. Вступ. У статті досліджено особливості та роль генетичної інформації для оцінки страхових ризиків на ринку страхування життя в Україні. Проблематика. Розвиток страхових ринків різних країн дедалі частіше характеризується запровадженням специфічного регулювання щодо особливостей та умов використання генетичної інформації. Тому питання врегулювання прав та обов’язків усіх учасників страхових відносин щодо використання такої інформації майбутніх власників полісів страхування для андерайтингу в страхуванні потребує комплексного рішення з урахуванням інтересів усіх сторін. Мета – оцінка необхідності застосування специфічного регулювання страхового ринку в сфері використання генетичних даних для цілей страхування. Методи. Джерелами матеріалів були наукові публікації, аналітичні дослідження, а також законодавство в сфері регулювання використання генетичної інформації для оцінки страхових ризиків. У роботі були використані такі загальнонаукові та спеціальні методи дослідження, як аналіз, синтез, групування, опису, порівняння, теоретичного узагальнення. Результати. В Україні наразі існують певні ризики: по-перше, генетична дискримінація, адже більшість компанії страхування життя цікавляться генетичною інформацією страхувальників, можуть запитувати її у них та будь-яких інших третіх сторін, а тому існує ймовірність її використання для оцінки страхових ризиків; по-друге, інформаційна асиметрія, що є наслідком кращої поінформованості страхувальників про їхні страхові ризики, ніж страховиків. Адже страхувальники можуть не повідомити страховій компанії про всі генетичні дані (наприклад, результати генетичних досліджень), що описують їхню генетичну схильність до майбутніх змін стану здоров’я. Висновки. Обґрунтовано фактори, які підтверджують актуальність запровадження законодавчого регулювання використання генетичної інформації (у т. ч. результатів генетичних аналізів) для андерайтингу в страхуванні.