The UK is sending further vital medical supplies to Ukraine to
help treat casualties of the Russian offensive.
Over 70 pallets of bandages, crutches, wheelchairs, and other
much needed medical supplies are being donated to UK-Med, a
frontline medical NGO, for those injured in Russian attacks. The
supplies come from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Office’s emergency response stocks and will be used across
Ukraine, including in Dnipro, Poltava and Lviv, to boost UK-Med’s
ongoing work to establish mobile clinics to reach and treat
vulnerable people.
They include tents to be used for temporary treatment centres
where health facilities have been damaged, as well as nearly 80
beds, over 30,000 gowns, aprons, bandages, needles, and other
vital pieces of medical equipment.
UK-Med’s support in Ukraine provides a range of vital medical
services, from surgical interventions and primary health care to
mental health and psychosocial support. They are also training
civilians in trauma first aid and delivering psychological first
aid training for medical teams.
The donation comes as the Foreign Secretary visits the US and Canada,
where he is meeting with members of the Ukrainian diaspora and
discussing support to Ukraine with US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken and Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly.
Foreign Secretary said:
“Putin’s brutal bombardment of civilians and infrastructure
across Ukraine is continuing to have a massive human cost, with
the Ukrainian people paying the price.
“This latest UK donation will help ensure medics on the
frontline can continue to provide life-saving medical support to
those caught in the conflict.”
The UK has previously donated equipment and pharmaceutical
supplies to UK-Med, in addition to £300,000 funding, to set up
mobile health clinics and help train Ukrainian doctors, nurses
and paramedics on how to deal with mass casualties. This latest
donation builds on that work, to support the most vulnerable
civilians remaining in Ukraine, including the elderly and young
children.
Tom Godfrey, Operations Director at UK-Med,
said:
“UK-Med is very grateful for the donation of these supplies
which will make a real difference to the day-to-day work of
clinicians in Ukraine, working in very challenging conditions to
provide healthcare to conflict affected populations.
“This builds on donations from FCDO in 2022 and helps to
cement UK-Med as a key partner for the Ministry of Health in
Ukraine. This will contribute to our work directly treating war
wounded through surgical interventions as well as providing
primary health care including mental health care support to
affected populations which is supplemented by an extensive
capacity building program.”
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is killing innocent
civilians and destroying vital infrastructure. The UN estimates
that almost 18million people in Ukraine need humanitarian
support. This donation is part of the UK’s commitment to provide
medical supplies and basic necessities on the ground, saving
lives and protecting vulnerable people. This includes over £220
million worth of humanitarian support through the UN, the Red
Cross and NGOs, including the Disasters Emergency Committee
members and UK-Med.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
1. This donation is worth approximately
£260,000. It will be donated to UK-Med to use as they deem most
efficient and effective.
2. UK-Med deploys British medical experts to
support responses on the ground in international crises. Two of
their UK Doctors were recognised in the New Year Honours for
their humanitarian work, particularly in Ukraine.
3. FCDO’s Emergency Deployments Team 2
programme provides ongoing support to UK-Med to maintain the UK’s
Emergency Medical Team capability so that it is ready to deploy
to medical emergencies around the world.
