The European Union will support vaccination against coronavirus (COVID-19) disease in Ukraine with project worth EUR 40 million to provide critical assistance to ensure local readiness and preparedness for safe and effective vaccination of the population in each of the six Eastern Partnership countries, according to a press release from the EU Delegation to Ukraine.
“The European Union [EU] and the WHO Regional Office for Europe will work together in a major effort to support deployment of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination in Ukraine. The project, funded by the EU and implemented by the Regional Office, will cover all phases – constituting ‘end-to-end’ support – of COVID-19 vaccine deployment and vaccination. It will also serve as a major investment to strengthen routine immunization system,” a press release, posted on the delegation’s website on Thursday, said.
The project will be implemented by WHO over a three-year period as part of a EUR 40 million European Union-funded initiative to support the Eastern Partnership countries in preparing for, deploying and monitoring the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
“The European Union has stood by Ukraine since the onset of the pandemic. We have provided medical equipment like oxygen concentrators for its hospitals and protective equipment for its frontline workers; we have supported Ukraine’s small businesses and cultural industry with access to finance; and we have mobilised protection for vulnerable groups like conflict-affected people and women whose livelihoods and personal safety were at risk during the lockdown. The WHO has been a key partner for the EU and now that vaccination is becoming accessible, we are happy to continue working hand in hand to ensure Ukraine is ready to receive and deploy vaccines,” Head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine Matti Maasikas said.
“Thanks to support of the European Union and the World Health Organization we will be able to effectively and coherently carry out all stages of vaccination provided by the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan against COVID-19. It is possible to stop the pandemic in Ukraine and in the world only by joint efforts, so we are grateful to our partners for their help and unity for the common goal of overcoming COVID-19,” Chief Sanitary Doctor, Deputy Health Minister of Ukraine Viktor Liashko said.
Dr. Jarno Habicht, the WHO Representative and Head of the WHO Country Office in Ukraine, said: “Vaccines offer hope and protection to those fighting on the frontlines of this pandemic and to those at highest risk. Thanks to this generous support and collaboration with European Union, WHO can scale up its efforts to support Ukraine to ensure that vaccines can reach those who need them most, as soon and as efficiently as possible. Our joint and multi-year actions will support COVID vaccine deployment and vaccination in Ukraine, as well strengthens overall immunisation programme in medium term.”
The funds are reported to be used initially to support the first phase of preparation and deployment, with a focus on immediate needs for strategic program areas such as planning, equipment/supplies, health worker training and awareness campaigns.
The project builds on the European Union’s and WHO’s ongoing support to countries’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the joint EUR 35 million EU Solidarity for Health Initiative, aimed to support the partner countries in their fight against the virus and address better the needs of the most vulnerable people.
“Since early 2020, the EU has mobilised over 190 million euro to help Ukraine face the challenges of COVID-19, supporting its health system, frontline workers, small and medium-sized businesses and vulnerable groups. It has activated its Civil Protection Mechanism to transfer medical equipment and supplies from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland and Slovakia to Ukraine and is providing emergency Macro-Financial Assistance worth EUR 1.2 billion to Ukraine to help limit the economic fallout of the pandemic,” the EU Delegation to Ukraine said.
Finally, the European Union is the largest donor to COVAX, an initiative which is set to provide the first batches of vaccines to Ukrainian frontline workers shortly. These efforts are part of #TeamEurope, the EU’s global approach to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Greek President Katerina Sakellaropula for agreeing to assist in obtaining vaccine against COVID-19 and invited her to the celebration of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence
“I wish health to the Greek people. Grateful to President of Greece Katerina Sakellaropoulou for helping obtain more COVID-19 vaccine. I invite you to the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. Glad to facilitate the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Greek revolution where our Odesa played an important role,” he wrote on his Twitter page.
The incidence of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Ukraine continues to decline, and the number of hospitalizations is also decreasing, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.
“Last week, some 25,500 cases of COVID-19 incidence were detected, which is less than in the previous week (27,157 cases). If you look at the statistics, we see the situation is stabilized. For example, in the first week of December, some 89,000 cases were recorded. The number of hospitalized patients is also changing – in the first week of December there were about 28,000 people, and as of Monday 17,911 people in medical facilities,” he said.
According to the minister, the number of antigen tests is increasing. “During the week, some 144,248 PCR tests were done. The number of tests with rapid antigen tests is also growing, some 52,222 studies were conducted, which is 20,000 more than the previous week. Ukraine is provided with test systems,” he said.
The German government will provide Ukraine with EUR 13.1 million for energy-efficient modernization of medical care facilities, procurement of latest basic medical equipment and equipment for outpatient diagnosis and treatment of coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, the relevant grant and project agreement was signed on February 8 between Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov, Director of the KfW Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia Department Olaf Zymelka and Executive Director of the Ukrainian Social Investment Fund Andriy Laktionov.
The aim of the project is to counter the threats and consequences of the pandemic by means of their energy efficient renewal and provision of the necessary medical equipment.
The funds will be used to upgrade the infrastructure and equip 12 institutions of primary and secondary (reference) medicine in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia regions and in Donetsk and Luhansk regions controlled by the Ukrainian government with latest medical devices and protective equipment.
The project will be implemented by the Ukrainian Social Investment Fund (UFSI) within three years.
In addition, annexes were signed for other projects worth EUR 23.4 million, of which EUR 9 million was allocated to the construction of housing for internally displaced persons (13 facilities) and improvement of infrastructure (six schools and seven kindergartens) in communities hosting IDPs.
The second grant of EUR 14.45 million is aimed at improving the conditions for the provision of medical care. The purchase of new equipment and energy-efficient renovation of hospitals will advert at least 40 facilities in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia regions and in the Russia-occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Health Minister of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov told President Volodymyr Zelensky that today Ukraine received confirmation for the supply of 12 million doses of vaccines produced by AstraZeneca and Novavax, the presidential press service said.
“The sooner we receive vaccines, the faster we will overcome pandemics in Ukraine. I know that the Cabinet of Ministers is carefully working on the development of a website that will help Ukrainians to easily and conveniently register for vaccination. Like every Ukrainian, I look forward to the start of the vaccination process. Some 12 million doses is a good signal from our partners, and this will be enough to ensure vaccinations within the first months after the start of supplies,” Zelensky said.
Deliveries will take place from February 2021.
Thus, during a meeting with the president, Stepanov said an agreement had been reached on the supply of vaccines developed with the participation of AstraZeneca (Great Britain and Oxford University) and Novavax (the United States), which are produced under license agreements at the facilities of Serum Institute (India).
The confirmation received will be implemented through a contract between the Serum Institute and Crown Agents.
Ukraine’s neighboring countries are in the “red” zone for the situation with coronavirus (COVID-19) disease, according to data on the Health Ministry’s website on Friday.
Among the closest neighbors of Ukraine, the “red” zone includes, in particular, Slovakia (468.4 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population), Belarus (222), Poland (196.1), Russia (189.8), Romania (173), Hungary (163.8), and Moldova (172.3).
The “red” zone includes countries with an incidence rate per 100,000 population over the past 14 days higher than in Ukraine (142.3). In total 80 countries.
Portugal, Israel, Spain, Montenegro, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, the United States, Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Georgia, Austria, Germany, and Canada are also among the countries of the “red” zone.
The list of countries of the “green” zone includes, in particular, Turkey, Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, Japan, India, and Egypt.
