Bad Homburg v.d. Höhe, December 15, 2022 – The situation for the people in Ukraine has escalated further. In light of the severe need there, over the past months Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS) has gotten eight additional funding supports underway to provide emergency aid for Ukraine.
“In the course of the past weeks and months EKFS has received a large number of thematically convincing and significant project proposals toward relieving the hardship faced by people from Ukraine,” emphasizes Dr. Judith von Heusinger, in charge of development cooperation in medicine at EKFS. At first the foundation had made one million euros available as emergency relief for Ukraine in the spring of 2022, at a point when it was not yet able to be foreseen how the war was going to evolve. “We have now seen that the warfare is going on longer than had been hoped for. With the escalating suffering on the part of the population we are continuing to receive many proposals worthy of support, and for the time being have therefore doubled the money allocated for emergency funding to over two million euros,” explains Dr. von Heusinger. The foundation will make emergency funding relief available for Ukraine in the coming year 2023 as well.
These additional supports to provide emergency funding aid for Ukraine are underway:
CADUS e.V. – Medical evacuations and training courses in Ukraine
The project staff evacuates patients from endangered regions to safe hospitals within Ukraine or to neighboring countries. In addition, volunteers from local NGOs who are also actively involved with medical evacuations (MedEvac) near the front are trained in administering first aid, and local healthcare service providers and medics receive training in emergency medicine in certified courses along with schooling for work in the MICU Bus (mobile intensive care unit). https://www.cadus.org/en/
Deutsches Medikamenten-Hilfswerk action medeor e.V. – Improvement of surgical treatment: Kyiv Regional Clinical Hospital, Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics in Kyiv, Kirovohrad Regional Clinical Hospital in Kropyvnytskyi, Zaporizhzhia Military Hospital and the Mykolaiv Regional Clinical Hospital
It emerged from a polling conducted by action medeor e. V. at the hospitals taken into consideration in this project that, to a certain extent, the number of persons to be treated per month had tripled, and that up to 90 percent more operations are necessary. Within the scope of the project the five partner hospitals are supposed to receive medical technology equipment for existing operating rooms and the development of additional operating rooms. The need is particularly present in terms of anesthesia equipment, suction machines, ultrasonic apparatus, electric operating tables and surgical lighting fixtures. https://medeor.de/en/
German Doctors e.V. – Reconstruction of the feldsher-midwife station
The project is devoted to reconstructing the feldsher-midwife station in Kolychivka. This access point for pregnant women and small children from Kolychivka and the adjoining towns was completely destroyed due to the Russian war of aggression. German Doctors e. V. and its project partner New Way will be accompanying construction activities from the very start and hand over the facility to the local government authorities following completion. https://www.german-doctors.de/en/
HOPE e.V. – Medical devices, equipment and medication for the Mukachevo Central District Hospital in Transcarpathia
The project aims to equip the central district hospital of Mukachevo in order to increase the number of patients and quality of treatment. The war and the influx of refugees have raised the demands placed on the hospital; this takes up even more of the limited resources than already the case. Medical equipment is needed to be able to set up another operating room at the hospital. The supply of medicines is supposed to be improved as well. https://www.hope-ev.org/home/
Jugend Eine Welt – Medical equipment for the Odessa Children’s Hospital (City Children’s Hospital No. 2)
Since the beginning of the war, large numbers of children from the widest variety of regions in the country have been and continue to be treated at the city’s children’s hospital in the Ukrainian seaport of Odessa. There is a shortage of medicines and medical products. Particularly the intensive care unit is swamped with work due to the enormous influx at the hospital. Technical equipment such as incubators are urgently needed but currently not able to be ordered in Ukraine. The funding from EKFS is intended to enable medical equipment to be acquired – among others, a 12-channel ECG for newborn babies and incubators. https://en.jugendeinewelt.at/
ora Kinderhilfe international e.V. – Mobile X-ray unit for the Regional Children’s Hospital of Cherkassy
The Regional Children’s Hospital of Cherkassy is an independent, specialized medical and preventive facility that ensures medical care for children in the region. It is also a support base for the specialization and advanced training of physicians and professional medical staff. The purchase of a new mobile X-ray unit is supposed to be ensured with the help of financial support from EKFS. 50 to 60 more children can be examined and treated daily through this acquisition. https://www.ora-kinderhilfe.de/
TraumaAid e.V. – TPSS+® training for psychologists working in applied psychology as well as for other psychosocial occupational groups in Ukraine
Though specialized therapists do exist in Ukraine, when measured in terms of need ─ which has risen dramatically since the war began ─ there are too few and the population does not have sufficient access to these few specialized therapists. The project aims at creating a broader base of trained, trauma-sensitive professionals. The goal is to empower psychologists working in applied psychology and other psychosocial occupational groups so that they are able to handle the affected client groups on a trauma-sensitive basis. https://www.traumaaid.org/en/
University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) – Medical equipment for the Zhytomyr Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital, the Pediatric Surgery Clinic at the Medical University of Vinnytsia, and the Regional Perinatal Center in Chernivtsi
Two Ukrainian children’s hospitals from the regions of Zhytomyr and Vinnytsia and a perinatal center in Chernivtsi are being supported with medical equipment within the scope of the project “UKSH helps Ukraine”. All three regions report an increased influx of refugees, especially children. At the Zhytomyr Regional Children’s Hospital there is an urgent need for extensive operating room equipment: among others, a respiratory ventilation station is needed. The Pediatric Surgery Clinic at the Medical University of Vinnytsia reported the need for a surgical laser, and the Perinatal Center needs ultrasonic diagnostic systems. https://www.uksh.de/ukrainehilfe.html
Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS) – Advancing research. Helping people.
Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the funding and advancement of medical research and the support of humanitarian projects. To date the foundation has funded around 2,300 projects. With an annual funding volume currently amounting to over 60 million euros it is the largest foundation in Germany that actively funds and supports medicine. You can find more information at: www.ekfs.de/en
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