The Emergency Medical Services and Disaster Medicine Centers in Ukraine have received crucial financial and material support from the World Health Organization (WHO), with backing from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the German government. As part of this initiative, Ukraine has been provided with 23 ambulances, which will significantly improve the provision of emergency medical care during the war.
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What is unique about the provided ambulances?
The ambulances provided have been designed as mobile intensive care units, enabling the delivery of necessary medical care to patients who require life support during transportation to and between hospitals. These vehicles are equipped with defibrillator monitors, mechanical ventilators, medical oxygen delivery systems, infusion pumps, ECG machines, stretchers, and trauma equipment, ensuring the safe transport of severely injured patients.
“Today, we are delivering additional vehicles to Ukraine to improve the timeliness and quality of medical services provided to patients during the war, as well as to strengthen the healthcare system’s capacity to respond to the challenges posed by the conflict,” said Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, Director of the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
“WHO is supporting Ukraine in ensuring the continuity and accessibility of medical services amid the war. Together with our partners, we are delivering Type C ambulances to ensure access to essential and life-saving medical care for Ukrainian patients during their transport to hospitals,” added Dr. Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine.
In which regions will the new ambulances be delivered?
The ambulances have already been distributed among the regional Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine Centers in areas such as Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Sumy, and others.
“In the face of constant shelling and targeted attacks on medical infrastructure by Russia, we are doing everything possible to provide medical assistance to our patients. Effective and high-quality work by emergency medical services plays an extremely important role in this. Therefore, I am sincerely grateful to all partners who support our ’emergency services,’ especially in updating the fleet,” said Viktor Liashko, Minister of Health of Ukraine. According to him, nearly 600 ambulances have been destroyed, damaged, or lost, and this number continues to rise.
Since February 24, 2022, WHO and its partners have delivered 137 emergency medical vehicles to the Ministry of Health. This delivery was made possible thanks to funding from USAID and the German government.
“The United States remains committed to supporting the people of Ukraine. USAID will continue to provide substantial support to the healthcare system and other life-saving services. These ambulances are just one example of the wide range of medical assistance that we and our partners, such as WHO, are providing to the Ukrainian people,” said Julie Koenen, USAID Mission Director in Ukraine.
“Germany has long supported Ukraine and is the second-largest bilateral donor after the US. In addition to supporting recovery, we also focus on knowledge transfer through partnership programs with German hospitals, which create an important network for the development and reform of Ukraine’s healthcare system,” noted Markus Koll, Head of the Cooperation Department at the German Embassy.
It should be noted that recently the Ministry of Health received ambulances from a British fund. Since the start of the full-scale war, Ukraine has received 1,237 vehicles as part of humanitarian aid, including 73 armored ones.
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