More than 50 severely ill children from Donbas received medications. Who is provided with help and how?
57 Donbas families, who are raising severely ill children, received medical aid as part of "Medications for Children" program of Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center. Half of the applications received via the Humanitarian Center's hotline were the requests to provide anticonvulsants for children suffering from epilepsy, convulsive syndrome and cerebral palsy. Children also need insulin and asthma medications.
The medications are issued to families with severely ill children under 18 living in non-government-controlled areas and peaceful territory of Donbas. They can be received only in the pharmacies of Artemivsk, Mariupol and Kramatorsk, Donetsk region. Currently the Humanitarian Center received about 350 requests for medications. The majority of calls, about 90%, are coming from non-government-controlled areas.
"In addition to the issued, we formed 150 more packages with medical supplies for those families who cannot leave immediately. Parents are worrying, calling back a few times and asking to hold and not issue their medications for 1-2 weeks, until they find the way to come over or obtain an entry permit. We understand the difficult situation many people found themselves in, that is why we make concessions", – Iryna Temerko, the Head of "Targeted Assistance" program at Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center, shares.
The Humanitarian Center allows the closest relatives of families with ill children, living in non-government-controlled areas, to receive the medications per procuration in the aforementioned three towns. But 20% of applicants have no opportunity to leave or ask any of their relatives for help with delivery.
"We have repeatedly mentioned the necessity of clear and well-defined rules for humanitarian medications delivery to non-government-controlled areas. The Humanitarian Center sent follow-up letters to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine with a request to give a detailed explanation of whether it is necessary to have a license to deliver and issue humanitarian medications in non-government-controlled areas. Unfortunately, there was no clear answer to our previous requests, but the Humanitarian Center is looking for ways to solve this problem", – Rimma Fil, the Humanitarian Center's Coordinator, emphasized.
The applications for medications aimed for severely ill Donbas children are still accepted via the hotline of Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center: 0800 509 001. You can find more details on where and how to receive the medications here.
