An average of two attacks on health care – including the bombing of hospitals, torture of medics, and shooting at ambulances – were perpetrated each day from February 24 to December 31, 2022, reported by OCHA.
“Arriving in time, providing the wounded with the necessary first aid en route, and bringing them to the hospital as soon as possible means saving one’s life. That is why the ambulances and evacuation vehicles are one of our top priorities,” emphasizes Ukraine’s Health Minister, Viktor Lyashko, in his address to the representatives of the international organizations.
On behalf of the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal – a joint effort of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) and the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress (UCC), Oksana Wynnyckyj-Yusypovych, Honorary Consul at Canadian Consulate in Lviv, Ukraine, officially handed over 11 new ambulances to the Ukraine’s Ministry of Health on February 21st.
The ambulances are unique four-wheel drive Toyota Land Cruiser J78 off-road vehicles designed to operate in difficult conditions and have high cross-country ability. They are easy to maintain and have a large fuel tank, providing a range of 1,000 km. These new medical evacuation vehicles will safely transport wounded patients to the designated hospitals. They were assembled in Gibraltar.
“This is not the first time that Canadian-funded ambulances have been sent to Ukraine. Ukrainian Canadians have stood shoulder to shoulder with their Ukrainian brothers and sisters throughout the 9-year war and will stand until Ukraine wins,” says Victor Hetmanczuk, Chair of the CUF’s Board and the CUF-UCC joint Ukraine Humanitarian Relief Committee (UHRC) that manages the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal fund. On January 28, 2017, the Canada-Ukraine Foundation and the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress donated 14 ambulances to the Ukraine’s Ministry of Health.
Since February 2022, the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal has supported the Health Sector of Ukraine with 53 metric tons of medications delivered to 78 hospitals in the Eastern Ukraine reaching 790,500 patients, 17 dialysis machines, 20 vacuum assisted closure (VAC) machines, 330 pallets of PPE and 60 generators.
According to UNICEF estimates, by the end of 2022, a total of 17.7 million people in Ukraine were in dire need of humanitarian assistance, including 3.4 million children. Hence, our mission to provide the urgent humanitarian aid remains crucial. Thank you to our 72,000 donors across Canada who have supported our work over the past year. We are grateful to all for their continuous and steadfast support.
Background
The Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal has been established jointly by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) and the Canada Ukraine Foundation (CUF) to formalize a coordinated approach in providing humanitarian assistance quickly and efficiently to those in need in Ukraine to address any further aggression by Russia. The main efforts of cooperation are to provide humanitarian assistance/relief in the areas of assistance to displaced persons, medical care, emergency shelter and food security.