Ukrainian business continues providing its support in fighting the coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic, sending money to crisis response teams or buying artificial lungs ventilators, other equipment and protective equipment for medical workers.
In particular, the RDS group of companies, involved in the construction and operation of roads belonged to Yuriy Shumakher and Yevhen Konovalov, bought the Oricare V8600 artificial lung ventilation machine (the United States) for the city of Odesa, and also provides financial assistance to local authorities for the purchase of protective equipment (masks, disinfectants) in the seven regions where it operates.
Makar Paseniuk and Kostiantyn Stetsenko’s ICU investment group purchased COVID-19 tests and intensive care equipment for Kyiv designated hospitals. In particular, for the Oleksandrivska City Clinical Hospital, which receives the main flow of patients with possible COVID-19 disease, the ICU acquired 200 additional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. The investment group provided the city hospital No. 4, one of the three designated hospitals in Kyiv, with almost 5,000 units of intensive care supplies: virus-bacterial filters, breathing circuits, endotracheal tubes, oxygen masks and drainage bags, and the Kyiv perinatal center received three all-in-one intensive care monitors.
The Regional Gas Company (RGC) of Dmytro Firtash purchased medical equipment, components for it, protective equipment, as well as materials and medicines for the amount of UAH 10 million and plans to send another tranche of assistance. In particular, RGC was able to purchase an artificial lung ventilator and monitors for existing ventilators, 2,000 express tests, 30,000 masks and FFP2respirators, 5,000 special glasses, about 5,000 gowns and special overalls and about 3,000 biosecurity kits, as well as disinfection solutions, medicines and fuel for ambulances.
The P&O Maritime Ukraine towing company transferred UAH 6.8 million to the Odesa crisis response team, and TIS-Grain sent UAH 3 million.
Ukrainian business is backing medical workers in the conditions of quarantine imposed over the coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic, and is actively buying lungs artificial ventilation machines and other required equipment.
In particular, IMC Agroholding CEO Alex Lissitsa told Interfax-Ukraine that he plans to send about UAH 20 million to the fight against COVID-19.
According to him, part of the funds has already gone to the purchase of a laboratory for the diagnosis of COVID-19 for Chernihiv region. In addition, according to Lissitsa, the IMC intends to purchase 20,000 tests for 11 district hospitals in Chernihiv, Poltava and Sumy regions and 100,000 masks.
Agroprodservice of businessman Ivan Chaikivsky plans to send UAH 3 million to the budgets of district hospitals, where the company processes the land (Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Kherson regions).
The Milk Alliance Group allocated UAH 100,000 for the purchase of necessary medical supplies and personal protective equipment and disinfectants to medical institutions in the areas where the group has enterprises: Zolotonosha district multidisciplinary hospital, Yahotyn central district hospital and Yahotyn primary health care center. Also, disinfectants, chlorine and washing solutions were provided to medical institutions.
Using the contribution of Board Chairman of Alef Corporation Vadym Yermolaev, Kiddo Charitable Foundation bought a Savina 300 artificial lungs ventilation machine, as well as respirators of protection class FFP2, FFP3 for the medical staff of Dnipropetrovsk region, thanks to which the number of masks in the region’s hospitals has quadrupled, but still remains insufficient.
The Darnitsa pharmaceutical company allocated funds for the purchase of three artificial lungs ventilation machines for Ukrainian hospitals as part of the initiative of the Zagoriy Foundation and the Ukrainian Philanthropic Marketplace to raise funds for the purchase of 50 artificial lungs ventilation machines.
Using the funds of businessman Pavlo Fuks, two digital X-ray diagnostic complexes OPERA RT 20 with a total value of UAH 13.4 million will be installed in City Hospital No.17 and Kharkiv City Clinical Multidisciplinary Hospital No.25 within 5-7 days.
OKKO will finance 20,000 trips for medical workers through the Uber service, 20,000 trips through Uklon and 10,000 through Bolt.
Restaurant chains Tarantino Family, Mafia, MisterCat, PapaFeta and This is Pivbar organized the delivery of home cooked food for Kyiv doctors. These restaurant chains work with the Oleksandrivska Hospital, the Institute of Neurosurgery named after Romodanov, Children’s Hospital No. 2, Children’s Hospital located at 23, Dehtiarivska Street, and Hospital No. 4 at 17, Solomianska Street. The plans of cooperation of restaurateurs are to increase delivery to 2,000-3,000 hot lunches daily. For these purposes, a separate transport, separate kitchens and separate couriers are provided.
The mobile communications operator lifecell provided healthcare workers with free 20 GB and 1,500 minutes of calls in Ukraine for the period until April 30, 2020.
The Kyivstar mobile operator provided free access to the Doctor Online application with the ability to consult a doctor via chat, audio or video call (previously the cost of the consultation in the application was UAH 50).
The Shafa marketplace launched a charity marathon #rozvantazhuyus in order to support health workers. Marketplace will direct all its profits from the sale of things of the marathon participants from March 24 to March 27 to the urgent needs of hospitals. The funds will be transferred to the Tvoya Opora charitable foundation.
The charitable foundation Lifelover, Garik Korogodsky and Tina Mikhailovskaya, provided 2,000 grocery sets for elderly people. Separately, the Department of Social Policy of the Kyiv City Administration in conjunction with the Lifelover foundation will provide 390 children with disabilities, living only with their mothers, with essential kits.
The NOVUS trading network has provided 10,000 essential kits.
Arzinger Law Firm created the Anti-Crisis HelpDesk, highlighting a team of specialists who can be contacted on issues related to COVID-19, economic and other challenges that may have consequences for business.
The Barristers Lawyers Association during quarantine provides free advice to employees of healthcare institutions on criminal and administrative liability, as well as on the observance of the legal rights and interests of health workers.
The microcredit company Moneyveo announced a donation of UAH 3 million for the purchase of artificial lungs ventilation machines for Ukrainian hospitals.
Accordbank set a rate of 0.001% on previously granted consumer loans to health workers and canceled all types of fees under contracts.
PrivatBank allocated EUR 1 million to supply 28 hospitals with artificial lungs ventilation machines and other equipment necessary for overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Four machines have already been delivered to hospitals in Kyiv, Odesa and Lysychansk.
Synevo, part of Sweden’s Medicover holding, has handed over the COVID-19 diagnostic equipment using PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests – the most reliable method for diagnosing this coronavirus disease, to the Public Health Center, Synevo Development Director Mykola Butenko said at a video press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
The equipment made by Swiss Roche will allow increasing the speed and the number of COVID-19 tests and will significantly increase the accuracy of test results, removing human element from the process.
The analyzer’s capacities are 96 tests per hour. Different types of biomaterial (blood, saliva, cerebrospinal fluid and others) can be tested.
The equipment has already been delivered by Synevo to the virology reference laboratory of the Public Health Center in Kyiv, which will perform COVID-19 testing.
“In Ukraine, because of the high cost of equipment, this initial stage is usually tested manually by laboratory staff. This limits the speed and number of tests performed. Using the new analyzer will minimize the human factor. As a result, we will significantly increase the number of tests performed and eliminate the risk of human error,” Butenko said.
The use of new equipment will increase the safety of the laboratory staff, since the apparatus performs the process of RNA extraction from the biomaterial automatically, therefore, the laboratory staff will no longer have to contact samples of potentially infected biomaterial.
To launch the analyzer, representatives of Roche Diagnostics in Ukraine will be involved in the startup of the equipment, as well as in special training for employees of the Public Health Center’s laboratory how to use the equipment.
The PCR method directly detects DNA or virus RNA in the biomaterial, therefore this method is the most reliable in the world for the diagnosis of COVID-19.
Biopharma, which is one of the ten largest Ukrainian manufacturers of the pharmaceutical industry and specializes in human blood plasma drugs, has submitted to the laboratories of the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine equipment that will allow the presence and absence of samples to be determined quickly and by modern methods agents of coronavirus disease. This decision, in conjunction with entrepreneur Vasyl Khmelnytsky’s UFuture holding company, is a continuation of a series of social initiatives undertaken by Ukrainian entrepreneurs amid a coronavirus pandemic.
“The Center will become the main reference site that will monitor the correctness of diagnostics throughout Ukraine. In other words, samples from laboratories will be sent here to confirm or refute the diagnosis. Without the transferred equipment, effective control of coronavirus disease in Ukraine would be defective,” Kostiantyn Yefymenko, President of Biopharma, reported.
The first unit is the Nuclear Acid Extraction Equipment from Thermo Fisher Scitific with consumables for 20,000 samples. The equipment helps prepare samples for analysis. The second unit is the equipment of Bio-Rad CFX 96 for molecular genetic analysis by PCR for the presence of a DNA virus and a system test for the detection of COVID-19.
The total cost of the equipment exceeds six million UAH, its installation and startup is performed by the company “ALT Ukraine LTD”. The equipment allows to process up to 100 samples in 60 minutes and in total about 2 thousand analyzes per day.
“Business should do everything in its power to stop the spread of the coronavirus and bring Ukraine back to normal. First of all, we need quality and timely diagnostics. already hundreds of millions of hryvnias and assistance continues,” Vasyl Khmelnytsky, founder of UFuture, said.
In addition, UFuture purchased two lung ventilation devices and all materials for their operation for the amount of 1 million 700 thousand UAH to one of the hospitals in Kyiv, and Biopharma — equipment for Bila Tserkva city hospital №3 (reference infectious hospital for the Kyiv region) with an amount of five million UAH.
Among them:
• two AR-203 artificial ventilation apparatus;
• AS-200 biochemical automatic analyzer;
• 3-Part DiffH 18 light hematology analyzer;
• EasyStat blood gas and electrolyte analyzer;
• BM1600 patient monitor with BM200 module;
• Laura Smart urine analyzer;
• two microscopes Micromed Fusion FS-7620.
The total cost of assistance from the holding companies is more than 12 million UAH. Also, masks and systems for rapid tests for the hospitals of Bila Tserkva will be purchased soon.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
UFuture is a holding company of Ukrainian entrepreneur Vasyl Khmelnytsky that integrates his business and impact-investment projects. The company has a diversified portfolio of assets in the fields of real estate, infrastructure, industry, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and IT. Currently, UFuture’s assets are estimated at $550 million, and the total capitalization of the businesses it invested in is more than $1 billion.
Biopharma is a Ukrainian immunobiological pharmaceutical company that which specializes in the drugs of human blood plasma. The number of employees – more than 300 people. The company exports drugs to 36 countries. In 2019, the company opened in Bila Tserkva a “built from scratch” manufacturing facility, investing about $75 million. Its the only plant of its kind in Eastern Europe.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is ready to redirect funds issued for programs in Ukraine for fight against coronavirus, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba has said.
“I spoke with the European Investment Bank, which is ready to redirect certain funds allocated for programs in Ukraine to measures to overcome the coronavirus,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
In addition, Kuleba said that at a meeting with the head of the mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Ukraine, Florence Gillette, he discussed the question of what kind of help the ICRC can provide to Ukraine in preventing the spread of coronavirus.
“We are ready to receive something as humanitarian aid, to purchase something, but this search is being conducted at all levels, in international organizations, in business contacts,” the minister said.
According to him, the entire system of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine is now working on two fundamental tasks: the return of Ukrainians from other countries and the search for humanitarian assistance and procurement.
Myronivsky Hliboproduct (MHP) will allocate about UAH 14 million to purchase high-priority equipment for hospitals and personal protective equipment in Cherkasy region.
MHP said on Facebook that on March 19 representatives of Cherkasy Regional State Administration and the agricultural holding developed an operational plan to counter the spread of coronavirus.
“To date, a commission has been created, a headquarters will be created in the coming days,” the company noted.
According to MHP, the priority task for today is the purchase of needed equipment for hospitals and personal protective means. In addition, the company will support the purchase of all necessary devices by involving its specialists from the logistics department.
“The local authorities and MHP are urging other businesses, whose facilities are located in Cherkasy region, to actively participate in reducing the risks of the spread of coronavirus,” MHP said.
MHP is the largest producer of poultry in Ukraine. It is also engaged in production of grains, sunflower oil, meat.
