Frontline medical aid charity UK-Med is to receive £600,000 in funding and medicines from the UK government to support emergency health services in Ukraine.
The charity will receive funding worth up to £300,000 from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to train Ukrainian doctors, nurses and paramedics in dealing with mass casualties from Russia’s bombing campaign in the region.
Funding will also be used to set up mobile health clinics to support the most vulnerable Ukrainians still in the country, including young children and the elderly.
In addition, UK-Med will receive £300,000 worth of medicines and pharmaceutical supplies, which is enough to support a hospital for up to six weeks.
“I’ve seen with my own eyes the devastating impact of this cruel war,” said UK-Med chief executive David Wightwick, who is currently in Ukraine.
“Ensuring the more than seven million internally displaced people across the country have access to vital primary health care is and will continue to be of the upmost importance for many months to come.
“This very welcome funding from the UK government will enable us to continue to deliver primary health care and lifesaving specialist clinical training in both the east and the west of the country, reaching those who need it most.
“We’re proud to stand in solidarity with the people and with our Ukrainian medical colleagues in this desperate time.”
During our clinics in the east of Ukraine, we met Olga.
— UK-Med (@UKMed) April 23, 2022
Olga, aged 89, left her home in Eastern Ukraine to escape the war. On the frantic train journey, she had fallen and hurt her back.
Two weeks later, Olga and her family had not been able to see a doctor. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/qoupNiE8iv
The package of funding and supplies for the charity is part of a wider investment in emergency services support for Ukraine announced this week by the UK government.
This includes supplying 22 ambulances and 40 fire engines in a bid to counter Russia’s targeted attacks on hospitals and other health facilities in Ukraine.
“The new ambulances, fire engines and funding for health experts announced today will better equip the Ukrainian people to deliver vital health care and save lives,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“Together with our military support, we will help to strengthen Ukraine’s capability to make sure Putin’s brutal invasion fails.”
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