The Canadian Red Cross has already transferred more than 220 million dollars in support to Ukraine and will continue to provide assistance. This was announced by Conrad Sauvé, President and CEO of the Canadian Red Cross, during a meeting with Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko.

“Ukraine is sincerely grateful to the people of Canada for their strong support, which has significantly increased since the beginning of the full-scale war in our country. We appreciate the assistance provided, including in the healthcare sector. War is an extraordinary challenge that causes both direct and indirect losses. The constant destruction of infrastructure, bridges and roads, the fuel crisis last summer, inflation, economic challenges and many other factors make us pay more and more attention to the issue of access to healthcare for Ukrainians. Especially for those living in remote areas. That is why the initiatives implemented by the Canadian Red Cross and the National Committee of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society are extremely important. We look forward to continuing and expanding our cooperation in this area,” said Viktor Liashko.

The participants of the meeting discussed the importance of focusing efforts on meeting the basic needs of Ukrainian patients in primary healthcare services. Currently, as part of the initiative of the National Committee of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, 1,000 nurses are already working in Ukraine. According to Maksym Dotsenko, Director General of the National Committee of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, the number is expected to increase to 5,000 by the end of 2025. There are already 100 mobile teams across Ukraine that travel to remote communities. The number is expected to rise to 150 soon. Each mobile team consists of highly qualified professionals with extensive medical experience who provide a range of medical and psychological services.

Besides, the participants focused on cooperation in the field of mental, physical and social rehabilitation, as the need for it was constantly growing.

As a reminder, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has recently instructed agencies to intensify work on organising rehabilitation care in their subordinate healthcare facilities in line with the approaches introduced by the Ministry of Health through the Medical Guarantees Programme.