The majority of Ukrainian orphan patients did not evacuate and remained in Ukraine, but there is no official data, the European Organization for Rare Diseases EURORDIS reported.
“There is no official data on the number of people with rare diseases who left the country. According to unofficial data and feedback from patient organizations, most people remained in Ukraine because they need additional support to leave the country, as well as the help of humanitarian organizations that can contribute to medical evacuation,” the organization told Interfax-Ukraine.
EURORDIS noted that the EU has a developed network of medical institutions specializing in rare diseases that accept patients from Ukraine. At the same time, patients remaining in Ukraine do not have the opportunity to go to such centers without additional assistance.
EURORDIS reported that in all EU countries, Ukrainians are given the same access to medical care as citizens of the country in which they are. At the same time, for many patients with orphan diseases in European countries, there are different methods of treatment than those used in Ukraine, which help to cope with symptoms, prolong life or prevent deterioration.
“In many cases, people living with rare diseases in Ukraine are treated with drugs other than those in an EU country. In such cases, the EU will work with families to identify the most appropriate substitutes. However, this means that a patient with a rare disease it is necessary to contact a specialized center,” emphasizes EURORDIS.
As reported, Airbnb provides patients with rare (orphan) diseases leaving Ukraine with free housing for a period of a month. The project is being implemented as part of a partnership with Airbnb, which is implementing a larger Airbnb.org program to provide housing for 100,000 refugees leaving Ukraine. At the same time, EURORDIS collects information on the situation of migrants with orphan diseases and their needs for short-term housing. Based on this information, Airbnb.org, after reviewing the request, will issue a voucher for booking accommodation through its platform.
The European Organization for Rare Diseases EURORDIS brings together almost 1000 patient organizations in 74 countries.
In Ukraine, there are about 2 million people living with rare diseases (such as spinal muscular atrophy).
The rate of bitcoin against the US dollar fell on Monday to a minimum of six weeks against the backdrop of a general risk aversion from investors due to signals of the “hawkish” mood of the Federal Reserve System (Fed).
The value of the cryptocurrency fell during trading to the lowest level since March 15, $38,223, which is 20% lower than the peak level recorded last month. As of 15:00 CST, the bitcoin rate is $38,812.
Ether (Ether) on Monday fell to $ 2799 – a minimum since March 18.
Experts note that technical analysis indicators point to the possibility of a further rollback of bitcoin.
“Bitcoin breaks a key two-month trend line, which could mean a further pullback to January lows,” said Fundstrat analyst Mark Newton, quoted by Market Watch. He expects bitcoin to drop to $36,300, and if it goes lower, he could test the $32,950 level.
Currently, bitcoin is closer to the lower end of the $35,000-45,000 price range in which it has been trading since the beginning of this year.
The dynamics of the cryptocurrency clearly correlates with the dynamics of the Nasdaq 100 index of technology companies, with a negative correlation with the dollar.
As investors wait for a substantial increase in the base interest rate by the Federal Reserve System (Fed) in the coming months, some of the factors that support the demand for cryptocurrencies are fading away.
“As it becomes more profitable to hold dollars, investors can shift funds from bitcoin or gold,” Nydig experts say. “We see a negative correlation of bitcoin’s performance with both the dollar and interest rates.”
Bitcoin’s momentum is still largely driven by fundamental factors such as user growth and the expansion of the crypto usage network, but it’s important to understand the emerging macroeconomic links as well, says Nydig.
U.S. President Joseph Biden intends to nominate Bridget Brink as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine.
“Today, President Biden announced his intention to nominate veteran U.S. diplomat Bridget A. Brink to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ukraine,” the White House said on its website on Monday.
Bridget A. Brink, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the Slovak Republic. Prior to that, she served as Senior Advisor and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, with responsibility for issues related to Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. She also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Tbilisi, Georgia. Brink spent her twenty-five-year career in the Foreign Service focused on advancing U.S. policy in Europe and Eurasia. She was the Director for the Aegean and the South Caucasus at the National Security Council and served in the State Department as the Deputy Director for Southern European Affairs, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, and Cyprus Desk Officer. She began her career in Belgrade, Serbia.
Originally from Michigan, Brink is the recipient of numerous performance awards. She holds Master’s degrees in International Relations and Political Theory from the London School of Economics and Political Science, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Kenyon College. She speaks Russian and has studied Slovak, Serbian, Georgian, and French.
Passenger traffic on the western border of Ukraine on the day of the celebration of the Eastern rite of Easter by Christians has almost halved compared to the recent average – to 33,000, becoming the lowest since the beginning of the war, the State Border Service reported on Monday.
As the agency pointed out on Facebook, the flow to leave on Sunday, April 24, decreased to 16 thousand from 24 thousand the day before, while the flow to enter – to more than 17 thousand from 33 thousand, including Ukrainians – to more than 15 thousand from 30 thousand
Thus, for the fourth day in a row, the entry flow exceeded the exit flow: in total, over these days, according to the State Border Service, 23,000 people entered Ukraine, or 22.3% more than they left.
The agency clarified that over the past day, the number of registered vehicles with humanitarian cargo fell to 120 from 450 the day before.
According to data from the Polish Border Service on Twitter, on April 24, 11.8 thousand entered Ukraine from the country against 21.1 thousand the day before. In the opposite direction, the flow amounted to 9.8 thousand, which is 35% less than on April 23 (15.1 thousand), and over the first 7 hours of Monday it decreased by another 31% to 1.8 thousand.
In total, since the beginning of the war, the Polish border agency points out, 2.944 million people have entered the country from Ukraine, and 860 thousand in the opposite direction.
According to UNHCR data, as of 13:00 on April 24, a total of 5.23 million people left Ukraine since the beginning of the war (excluding the entry flow), of which 2.91 million went to Poland, 843.74 thousand to Romania and Moldova. , Russia – 605.82 thousand, Hungary – 492.98 thousand, Slovakia – 355.59 thousand, Belarus – 24.48 thousand.
At the same time, according to the State Border Service, 1.17 million people have entered Ukraine by this date since February 28.
In response to Ukraine’s request for the evacuation of patients in need of medical care and forced to leave the country due to the war unleashed by Russia, the European Union is coordinating the relevant work, as well as financing the medical aircraft involved in the transportation.
Balazs Ujvari, representative of the European Commission, announced this on Monday in Brussels.
“As the war continues and people continue to leave the country, health care systems in neighboring countries are under significant strain in Poland, Slovakia, Moldova. For the evacuation of patients in need of medical care, Ukraine requested assistance from the EU. In response, the EU coordinated the evacuation of nearly 200 people through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to eleven European countries. The first RESCEU medical evacuation aircraft funded by the EU has been operational since March and is being accepted by Norway, a member state of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism,” he said.
Ujvari also listed the countries that accept Ukrainian patients. These are Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Romania, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain and Portugal.
The United States intends to allocate more than $322 million in military assistance to Ukraine, the US State Department has announced following a visit to Ukraine by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
“Secretary Blinken told President Zelensky that the United States intends to provide more than $713 million in foreign military financing (FMF) to Ukraine and 15 other allies and partner nations in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. This includes $650 in funding million USD, provided in accordance with the Law on additional appropriations for Ukraine of 2022,” the statement on the website of the US State Department said on Monday.
It is noted that more than $22 million in this commitment is intended for Ukraine and will provide the capacity support that the country needs as Russian forces focus their attention on the Donbas. The State Department indicated that this assistance will also help the Armed Forces of Ukraine switch to more advanced weapons and air defense systems. In addition, the funding will also help NATO allies replenish the capabilities they have transferred to Ukraine from their own stockpiles.
“Additionally, Secretary Blinken told President Zelensky that the agency notified Congress on April 24 of a sale of up to $65 million worth of non-standard munitions to Ukraine,” the US State Department said.
At the same time, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin informed the Ukrainian government that the US Department of Defense will expand military training for Ukrainian military personnel in the region on certain weapon systems.
“He highlighted US efforts to speed up the delivery of these weapons, which are now arriving within days of the announcement. And he stressed that, along with our allies and partners, the United States will continue to coordinate the delivery of additional heavy weapons, ammunition and spare parts from other countries.” , – noted in the message of the State Department.
Austin also presented Ukrainian leaders with the agenda for the Defense Consultative Meeting to be held this week in Germany. The consultative meeting, convened by the United States, will review the operational picture on the ground and review Ukraine’s short-term defense needs, as well as provide participants with an opportunity to explore ways in which Ukraine’s long-term national security interests can be best served.
“Saw the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people during my visit to Kyiv with Secretary of Defense Austin. During our meeting with President Zelensky, we reaffirmed our unwavering support for Ukraine as it resists Russian aggression,” Blinken tweeted on Monday.
Since the start of Russia’s new invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the US has provided approximately $7 billion in security assistance and has provided more than $4.3 billion since the Biden administration came to power.
