The Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy named after V.P. Filatov (Odesa) received medical devices and medicines as part of the Shelter Ukraine charitable initiative, which is being implemented by SiLab Ukraine, Valores Foundation, Teple Misto charitable organization, Vplyv charitable organization in cooperation with Razom For Ukraine.
The clinic told the Interfax-Ukraine agency thanks to this initiative, the institute, in particular, was able to obtain suture materials, medical devices and medicines.
The received medical devices and consumables are used, among other things, in corneal transplantation operations, said Halyna Drozhzhina, the head of the department of pathology and microsurgery of the cornea of the eye.
“Such interventions are almost always the patient’s last chance not to lose sight, and they can only be done with such tools,” she stressed.
She pointed out that during the COVID-19 pandemic and the start of the war, “people hesitated and turned to ophthalmologists at the wrong time.”
“The number of patients in need of such interventions has increased. Therefore, such assistance is extremely necessary for us, it will help prevent vision loss in dozens of patients from different parts of Ukraine,” she said.
The clinic stressed that during the war, the institute, like in peacetime, continues to provide highly specialized ophthalmological care to patients from all over Ukraine, including citizens who were evacuated from the zone of active hostilities.
During the UK-Ukrainian infrastructure summit in London, Ukraine and the UK, as well as representatives of UK business, signed a Memorandum on Ukraine’s infrastructure restoration.
The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine said in a report on its website on Saturday that this memorandum provides an opportunity for UK business to fully participate in the restoration of Ukraine’s infrastructure destroyed by Russia.
In partnership with UK business, a working group has been created that will work on the restoration of the critical infrastructure of Kyiv city and the region.
“The Ministry of Infrastructure is already developing a public register of damaged infrastructure and, together with colleagues in the government and international partners, is developing solutions for digital recovery management,” Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov was quoted as saying.
According to him, now about 30% of the infrastructure in Ukraine has been destroyed.
At the same time, in the course of work on the restoration of transport communication, 41 temporary crossings have already been installed, almost 1,000 km of roads have been cleared.
The Ministry of Infrastructure said that the government of the UK, in particular, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps, from the start of a full-scale invasion of Russia, provided full support in repelling aggression, restoring destroyed infrastructure and establishing supply chains in the condition of the war.
The World Bank will soon provide Ukraine with a $100 million loan to help internally displaced persons (IDPs), World Bank Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe Arup Banerji has said.
He said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine that given the acute need for central budget financing, the World Bank is currently focusing on providing quick and immediate assistance, which, in turn, can help the population, especially the most vulnerable groups of the population. First, very soon we will allocate another $100 million to help internally displaced persons, he said.
Banerji added that the World Bank continues to provide assistance in the healthcare, infrastructure and energy sectors under existing projects.
We are also exploring opportunities for cooperation with other bilateral development partners (for example, Italy, Japan and the United States) who are very interested in attracting PEACE (Project Support to Public Expenditure to Sustainable Public Administration in Ukraine) loan and funding others types of confirmed budget expenditures, the World Bank regional director noted.
Specific items have not yet been agreed, but will certainly include additional payments to internally displaced persons and other vulnerable groups in Ukraine, Arup Banerji added.
HELP, IDPS, LOAN, WORLD BANK
Germany will help Ukraine in demining, said German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock.
“We, like Germany, will help in demining to a greater extent. Because it is not only about military demining, where we will help you. It is also about demining in cities, villages, and doing it together so that people were able to return home,” Burbock said at a press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Since the beginning of the war, Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group has allocated UAH 1.176 billion to solve social problems of people, as well as to help the military.
Starting February 24, the group has largely restructured its operations, according to a company press release. By the decision of shareholders Rinat Akhmetov and Vadim Novinsky, in addition to supporting the economic stability of Ukraine, the company threw all its efforts into helping Ukraine and Ukrainians.
At the same time, humanitarian support for the population in several key areas has become a 24/7 job for many Metinvest employees. Thus, together with DTEK (the SCM energy business), Metinvest became one of the founders of the Saving Lives humanitarian project. The work of the project is coordinated with the Rinat Akhmetov and Vadim Novinsky Foundations.
The main objective of the humanitarian initiative was the purchase and delivery of humanitarian goods, primarily food products, from Europe to Ukraine. In two months, about 30,000 people received assistance. Thanks to charitable contributions from almost 70 companies from around the world, 1,644 tonnes of food, essential goods, hygiene products and medicines were transferred to the affected areas.
In close cooperation with the Ministry of Health, a medical assistance program was launched in Zaporizhia, Kryvy Rih, Kamianske, Pokrovsk and Avdiyivka, which combines the purchase and transfer of thousands of sets of medicines, as well as the purchase of medical equipment for hospitals and outpatient clinics. The company also donated 150 tonnes of oxygen to COVID-19 patients.
The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine has published a collection of leaflets and publications on chemical security risks to help civilians take care of their safety in the conditions of ongoing hostilities.
“Military campaigns in such an industrialized country as Ukraine bear serious risks of incidents with the release of toxic chemicals, endangering people and the environment. Interruptions in work of enterprises, targeted or accidental hits of industrial facilities in the course of combat or as a result of air and rocket strikes – these factors increase chemical security risks immensely,” said Ambassador Henrik Villadsen, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.
An assessment produced by Ukrainian State Emergency Service in 2018, mentioned that 655 facilities across the country stored more than 216,000 tons of dangerous chemicals. Research on the environmental impact of hostilities in Donbas, performed with the support of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator, highlighted severe chemical security concerns, as more than 500 major interruptions of work for enterprises in the eastern part of Ukraine were recorded between 2014 and 2017.
The awareness-raising materials include a leaflet, “Chemical Incidents. Leaflet on Risks and Safety Measures” that provides generalized guidance on safety measures related to accidents with toxic substances. Four other leaflets contain specific guidance for occasions of release or spills of most widespread chemicals – ammonia, mercury, chlorine and nitric acid. They also contain practical advice on administering medical assistance in such cases. In addition, the Co-ordinator is organizing a webinar for journalists to help them better understand the risks in this context.
The collection also contains publications, created specifically for the training of emergency response personnel, which will also be the basis for further production of awareness-raising materials and as a useful source of information for local authorities and other civilian services in planning measures in response to possible emergencies.
These materials, updated according to the recent developments, were developed by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator with the financial support of the European Union, United States of America, and Germany as one of the project’s activities aimed at enhancing chemical safety and security in Ukraine.
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