“I want to express my deepest gratitude to Pelion and Direct Relief for launching the Health4Ukraine initiative,” said Ambassador Brzezinski. “As we gather here today, we celebrate the tireless efforts and dedication of all the individuals and organizations involved in this noble cause through their unwavering commitment to alleviate suffering and providing aid to those in need. They have shown that when we come together as a global community, we can overcome even the most significant challenges.”

Health4Ukraine received 15 million USD in funding from Direct Relief last year.

“This highly efficient program, which puts a layer of innovation on top of existing systems, personnel and logistical infrastructure, allowed us to provide tailored assistance to meet the medical needs of every refugee covered by the program, no matter where in Poland they are,” said Thomas Tighe, President and CEO of Direct Relief.

Other funders included the Polish Red Cross, ING for Children Foundation, Deloitte Foundation Poland, Bristol Myers Squibb, and LOGEX.

“At Pelion, we got involved in helping immediately,” said Jacek Szwajcowski, CEO of Pelion S.A. “We didn’t have a second thought. From the first day refugees started showing up in our country, we knew we wanted to help them, as strongly as we could. And preferably together with others who have the same goal. We ended up with the best partners we could think of. It is a phenomenon on a global scale that we are able to account for such a large aid campaign to every cent donated, indicating to whom, when and for what the amount was transferred.”

Since its launch in April 2022, the program supported 316,894 Ukrainian refugees in Poland with more than 17 million USD (70,706,000 PLN).

Nearly 70% of the funds were used to purchase medicine. The remaining purchases included personal care products such as dental hygiene and soap.

Women and children comprised most fund recipients (92%), with ages ranging from as young as five days up to 97 years.

An analysis by epruf found that demand for prescription medications varied according to age, with children mostly requiring medications for temporary use like anti-infectives (32%) and respiratory therapies (30%).

Women aged 55 or younger were more likely to purchase medications for the digestive tract and metabolism (15%) and the genitourinary system and hormones (13%). In comparison, men in the same age group mainly required digestive system and metabolism (22%) and cardiovascular (16%) medications.

Older patients tended to buy medications for chronic illnesses, with cardiovascular drugs (34%) being the dominating category for men and women aged 55 or older, followed by prescriptions for the digestive system and metabolism (18%).

Health4Ukraine also includes free online medical consultations for Ukrainian refugees provided by doctors of the Dimedic Clinic, one of the largest telemedicine clinics in Poland. Thanks to $1 million in funding provided by Pelion, Dimedic doctors have helped more than 30,000 patients, including prescription renewals for chronic diseases (diabetes, hypertension).

“In addition to providing information, we tried to provide emotional support to the participants of the program,” said Olena Sydoruk, Health4Ukraine, Hotline consultant. “We intuitively knew they needed it. In my opinion, the Health4Ukraine hotline played an important role as a link between the organizer and the Participants. We received valuable feedback from them about the initiative, which helped us optimize the program and make it even better.”

Editor’s note: Since the war began in 2022, Direct Relief has deployed more than 1,350 tons of medical aid, 254.1 million defined daily doses, $32.2 million in financial assistance, and $899 million in material aid assistance to Ukraine.

The post After One Year, More than 300,000 Ukrainians in Poland Received Funds For Medical Costs appeared first on Direct Relief.

PART ONE

THE SITUATION

“Direct Relief was created out of the ashes of WWII by Europeans who fled. It’s stunning and sad that humanitarian assistance is needed again in the same neighborhood, but it’s consistent with our organization’s roots, initial focus, and longstanding mission.”

– THOMAS TIGHE, Direct Relief President & CEO

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 caused widespread and long-lasting disruptions to the country’s health care system while drastically increasing the need for health services across all geographies and demographic groups. As of the end of January 2023, over 3.6 million people remained internally displaced, and another 8 million remain outside Ukraine as refugees. In areas of Ukraine where Internally Displaced Persons (IDP)s are concentrated, the number of people seeking healthcare has strained local resources, particularly at the primary care level.

Persistent attacks on health, power and water infrastructure have reduced service capacity across the health system. The greatest impacts occurred in areas close to the front lines in the eastern and southern regions. The intensified attacks since the beginning of October 2022 have destroyed or damaged more than half of Ukraine’s power infrastructure, leaving millions of people without a steady supply of power and limited access to water or heat. To battle cold weather, generators and fuel tanks are in high demand. Medical facilities are no exception. Power remains a challenge for the maintenance of the existing services – the medical equipment requires an uninterrupted power supply to operate and to ensure it remains calibrated and functional.

Likewise, reduced access to transportation – given damage, cost, and safety issues – continues to affect every aspect of Ukraine’s health system, from patient visits to supply chains. Transportation limitations have reduced physical access to care for many patients and led to persistent stock-outs of needed medications throughout the pharmacy and clinical network. Shortages of medicines exist at the primary health care level, particularly for chronic diseases, including insulin, thyroid gland medication, hormonal therapy, and medicine for heart diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as a lack of vaccines for tetanus, diphtheria, and other common vaccinations. Access to care remains better in larger towns and cities, but outpatient clinics in smaller settlements and villages are left with almost no equipment and supplies. The situation is worse in frontline areas and recently de-occupied areas, where there are shortages of primary health care providers and almost no functional pharmacies.

Despite the impact of attacks on health infrastructure and other services, health care within Ukraine remains manifestly resilient to shocks. A recent survey by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that 95% of Ukrainians were still receiving primary care services, 90% reported having access to chronic disease care, and 93% were able to access a family doctor either at a clinic or through an expanding network of telemedicine services. The resilience of the health system is a testament at once to the commitment of Ukrainian health professionals and to the strength of international support and collaboration.

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PART TWO

THE APPROACH

“Whenever we are considering an impending donation in the most difficult of conditions and the question is raised internally “Who might be able to handle such a formidable task?” – the answer is always clear. For that reason, we feel proud and humbled to be working so closely with Direct Relief.”

– AMALIA ADLER-WAXMAN, SVP, Global Head, ESG and Head of Corporate Affairs of International Markets, Teva Pharmaceuticals

Direct Relief is prioritizing the following strategic areas in its response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine:

• Increase access to health services, including primary health care, prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases, emergency medical services, and specialized care
• Ensure delivery of medicines and medical supplies to Ukraine
• Develop and strengthen rehabilitation services for people wounded by war
• Increase access to mental health and psychosocial support services
• Increase access to medical supplies and services for Ukrainian refugees

In its Ukraine response, Direct Relief continues offering two types of support: medicine and supplies to address disruptions in the medical supply chain, and financial assistance to increase access to health services, improve the supply of medications, and improve the health and well-being of the population.

Direct Relief has built within Ukraine an extensive and constantly expanding network of medical provider partners that include the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization, regional health departments, public hospitals and clinics, select private hospitals providing services without charge, and local humanitarian foundations and associations.

Since February 2022, Direct Relief has donated 8.3 million units (e.g., bottles, vials, pre-filled syringes) of prescription medications. Direct Relief also provided millions of units of non-pharmaceutical products such as pen needles, oxygen concentrators, generators, ambulances, medical consumables, and other health care technology.

Letter from The Ukrainian Ministry of Health

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PART THREE

BROADENING Access to health services

“This was nothing about business. We didn’t think to help or not; it was so natural. It was a natural consequence of so many people needing help.”

– ZBIGNIEW MOLENDA, Founder and VP of Pelion S.A., Poland’s largest healthcare sector business

Direct Relief is engaged in several different lines of activity to bolster primary health care in Ukraine. In areas where rural geography and the impact of war have curtailed access, support for mobile health care units will be expanding capacity for early diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Where health care facilities have seen reduced ability to provide services due to loss of power, the installation of generators and fuel tanks ensures continuous electricity. At the same time, access to medicines is being ensured through a vetted network of non-governmental partners capable of providing regular distribution to primary health facilities and community pharmacies.

In many cases, primary health care can be an excellent place to provide rehabilitation services for those injured by war. Direct Relief is assessing the possibility that an expanded landscape of rehabilitation services can be developed through primary care networks. Likewise, primary care services are linked in Ukraine to the provision of emergency care. Direct Relief is continuing to support emergency services through provision of funding, ambulances, medicines, and supplies.

Issue Spotlight

Diabetes Care for Ukraine

Cancer Care for Ukraine

Primary, Emergency, and Specialized Care Grants

Support for Dobrobut Medical Network

Emergency Vehicles for Ukraine

Sustainable Power for Ukraine

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PART FOUR

Supplying Medical Material

“We are grateful to be able to use our global network to offer logistics support for organizations like Direct Relief who have long been committed to sourcing and delivering critical supplies in times of crisis. This situation impacts many, including our own Ukrainian team members, and we remain committed to helping during this devastating time.”

– KAREN REDDINGTON, Regional President of Europe, FedEx Express

When the war began, Direct Relief had existing relationships with Ukrainian health providers and the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, but it quickly established a far more robust pipeline working closely with European pharmaceutical companies, warehouses, and logistics companies. Direct Relief has increased its agility and flexibility while deepening its relationships and capacity in Europe.

Supporting the Humanitarian Medical Supply Chain

In a country with a government-led healthcare system, Ukraine’s Ministry of Health has played a central role in the medical supply chain, both pre-war and during the war. As humanitarian donations of medical supplies poured into Ukraine from around the world, the capacity of the MoH to handle the flow was strained. Direct Relief stepped in to shore up Ukraine’s medical supply chain, ensuring that humanitarian medical supplies reached the people that needed them most.

For the first few months of the war, the MoH estimated operations costs related to the receipt, handling, and distribution of humanitarian aid at up to $750,000 per month. Currently, with the volume and frequency of donations significantly decreased, the MoH has estimated the added cost of warehousing, handling, and distributing humanitarian medical supplies at $200,000 per month.

Direct Relief has approved a grant of $2 million to the MoH to cover these humanitarian logistics costs for 10 months through the end of 2023.

Direct Relief also provided seven organizations with operational grants to offset the expenses for the receipt and distribution of donated products:

Deploying from Europe

While Direct Relief’s Santa Barbara, California,warehouse remains its global distribution hub, the outbreak of war drove Direct Relief to establish a very strong medical supply chain within Europe. More than 40% of pallets of product delivered to Ukraine over the past year have been fulfilled within Europe. Direct Relief has more than doubled the number of healthcare companies donating medicine to the organization from within Europe.

Direct Relief achieved this significant increase in part by establishing exceptional pharmaceutical warehousing capacity in the Netherlands – fully licensed, professionally staffed, with space for thousands of pallets, and experience in complex humanitarian product imports, exports, and customs clearance. Direct Relief has also arranged large medicine donations drop-shipped directly from donor manufacturer facilities within Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe to its Ukrainian partner organizations.

Cold-Chain Requirements

Many of the most important pharmaceutical products needed in Ukraine – such as insulins, cancer therapies, antibiotics, and immunotherapies – require cold-chain logistics (maintaining temperatures between 2° C and 8° C from factory to patient). Direct Relief has developed a very robust capacity for global cold-chain medicine delivery, using modern software to validate shipping lanes and properly pack the shipments, as well as extensively monitoring temperatures in real-time during the delivery process.

Direct Relief has been able to deliver over 2.1 million units (vials/cartridges/prefilled syringes) of various types of insulin to its many partner organizations in Ukraine that treat diabetic patients, as well as over 320,000 additional units of cold-chain medicines to treat cancer, infections, immune conditions, blood disorders, and other serious conditions. Included in these figures were shipments to the WHO of donated insulin. Direct Relief also provided 40-foot refrigeration containers to help Ukraine address cold-chain storage capacity issues at key facilities such as the Ukrainian National Cancer Institute in Kyiv.

Generic Industry Provides Vital Essential Medicines

With important coordination and support from the Association of Accessible Medicines (AAM), Medicines for Europe, and the International Generic and Biomedical Association (IGBA), Direct Relief worked closely with its generic pharmaceutical company donors to provide over 130 million defined daily doses of generic medicines to the impacted population of Ukraine.

The companies providing these prescription medicines, which fulfilled them to Direct Relief from both Europe and the United States, include Accord Healthcare, Ajanta Pharma, Alvogen, Apotex, Baxter, Edenbridge, Hikma, ICU Medical, Meitheal Pharmaceuticals, Perrigo, Teva, and Viatris. Their products have been vital to the success of Direct Relief’s humanitarian response in Ukraine and provided over 2.5 million units (bottles or vials) with a wholesale value exceeding $170 million. The medicines address therapeutic areas including infections, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, mental health conditions, ulcers, pain, cancer, and other serious conditions.

Amalia Adler-Waxman, SVP and global head of ESG at Teva, said, “Whenever we are considering an impending donation in the most difficult of conditions and the question is raised internally, ‘Who might be able to handle such a formidable task?’ The answer is always clear. For that reason, we feel proud and humbled to be working so closely with Direct Relief and look forward to many more years of collaboration and support.”

Support from Pharmaceutical and Medical Supply Companies

Sixty-nine global healthcare companies have thus far donated medicine and medical supplies to Direct Relief for its humanitarian response in Ukraine, with a wholesale value of over $763 million USD. The companies that provided the donations include:

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PART FIVE

BOLSTERING REHABILITATIVE SERVICeS

“We are very grateful to Direct Relief for the support of unbroken Ukrainians. With this funding, we will get even more opportunities for the treatment and rehabilitation of our people.”

– OLEG SAMCHUK, General Director of the First Lviv Medical Union

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), Ukrainian civilians have suffered nearly 12,000 injuries since the start of the war, and Ukrainian soldiers many more. Many of these individuals require significant medical interventions to repair trauma and physically rehabilitate. Supporting rehabilitation and recovery from war injuries, both physical and psychological, has been a central tenet of Direct Relief’s financial support strategy in Ukraine since the war’s start.

To strengthen rehabilitation services in Ukraine, Direct Relief is prioritizing the following areas:

• Strengthening in-patient rehabilitation departments in hospitals identified by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health (MOH) to enable them to receive civilian and military casualties by providing equipment, training, and supportive supervision by expert teams
• Targeting rehabilitation centers with some existing capacity while making sure not to neglect regions with high needs and no existing capacity. The priority list will be determined jointly with the MOH
• Supporting the development of highly specialized services (wounds, burns, prosthetics-orthotics) to further develop capacities at the Unbroken center in Lviv while also providing equipment for smaller centers closer to the front lines
• Assessing the feasibility of providing assistive devices and community- and home-level follow-up by trained professionals through existing primary healthcare services (including by training primary health care providers on specific rehabilitation needs and interventions)

Partner Spotlight

UNBROKEN

As the war rages on in Ukraine’s east, it creates a steady flow of wounded people needing complex surgeries, long-term rehabilitation and prosthetics. Many of these patients arrive by evacuation trains and ambulances at the Unbroken National Rehabilitation Center in Lviv.

Direct Relief has granted $1 million to Unbroken to procure rehabilitation equipment, develop treatment protocols, and train rehabilitation personnel. The rehabilitation programs focus on amputation recovery, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and psychosocial support.

Unbroken is part of the First Medical Union of Lviv, an umbrella association of multi-specialty clinics that has provided care to 80,000 internally displaced persons since the beginning of the war.

Direct Relief has also provided $250,000 to UNITED24 for renovating the Mental Health and Rehabilitation Center Veterans “Lisova Poliana” in the Kyiv region of Ukraine. The center specializes in treating disorders related to combat stress, assisting survivors of captivity and torture, and providing physical rehabilitation services.

The institution needed to scale up operations urgently due to the rapidly increasing number of people impacted by the war. The funds will expand patient services and improve the facility. The 220-bed center, which provides inpatient services for physical rehabilitation, will undergo reconstruction and overhaul to meet demand.

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PART SIX

INCREASING ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICeS

“The unprecedented support by Direct Relief is truly appreciated. In our experience, this is an exceptional case where support was provided when it was most needed and on a scale that can make a difference.”

– ANDREJ VRSANSKY, CEO of League for Mental Health Slovakia

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 20% of individuals who directly experience war develop or have increased effects from mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), schizophrenia, and many other issues. Based on these estimates, WHO places the number of Ukrainians needing mental health care for one or more conditions at nearly 10 million people.

Mental health is an integral part of Direct Relief’s Ukraine response, cutting across many categories of work: medicine donations, primary care, rehabilitation aid, care for refugees and more.

Partner Spotlight

Razom for Ukraine

Razom initiated its Together with You program in July 2022, providing psychological help to war-impacted individuals, including children. Direct Relief has provided $550,000 in funding to Razom for Ukraine for this program.

Razom provides care at two centers in Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk, where 10 experienced psychologists work with different age groups and specialize in different types of psychological trauma. In addition to individual therapy sessions, the specialists conduct group sessions at centers for displaced persons, hospitals, rehab facilities, geriatric institutions, and orphanages.

A recent assessment done by RAZOM shows that 80% of the newly admitted individuals to the program have never received psychological support in their life. Therefore, to scale the mental health efforts, RAZOM seeks to open eight additional counseling centers and begin offering online counseling, focusing on the people in de-occupied regions and those returning to their homes.

HromadaHub

HromadaHub is a nonprofit providing humanitarian medical supplies to medical facilities throughout Ukraine and providing emergency psychology treatment. The organization was founded by two Ukrainian women in February 2022 as a humanitarian hub to help quickly and decisively get humanitarian and medical aid to people in Ukraine affected by war.

Direct Relief has donated $540,000 to Hromada Hub, including $220,000 as operational support (receiving, warehousing, and distributing donated material) and $320,000 for emergency psychosocial support. This includes training up to 300 psychologists and social workers in emergency psychology and then deploying teams to affected communities for up to 70 visits. Emergency psychology provides rapid intervention by crisis intervention specialists to help people cope with traumatic situations, trying to minimize the subsequent impact.

Grants for Mental Health

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PART SEVEN

SUPPORT FOR REFUGEES

“This is an absolutely incredible partnership…to care for so many Ukrainian refugees. Truly life saving work, and we are grateful to help support it in our small way.”

– CHRISTINE EDWARDS, Senior Foundation Manager of Bungie Foundation

More than 18.5 million Ukrainians have fled their country since the war began, and more than 8 million of them remain outside Ukraine as refugees, according to the Centre for Research & Analysis of Migration. An estimated 90% of the refugees from Ukraine are women and children. Most have fled to Poland, but significant numbers have sought safety in Hungary, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, and other countries in the region.

Immediately following the invasion, Direct Relief offered support to Ministries of Health of the neighboring countries and has since established strong partnerships with nonprofit health organizations in Poland and Slovakia, working to increase access to health care for Ukrainian refugees abroad.

Slovakia

Unlike Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic, which have opted to fold refugees into their public health insurance systems, the Slovakian government currently only provides emergency medical services to the roughly 100,000 Ukrainian refugees who fled there. That means Ukrainians living with depression, anxiety, PTSD, or any other mental health conditions are not able to receive care from the national health system until their condition reaches a critical state.

The League for Mental Health, a national NGO that has worked on reforming the mental healthcare system in Slovakia for decades, decided to step in. As the war in Ukraine began, their team established a Ukrainian-language telephone helpline but then saw that more help was needed.

“Where do we find new capacities?” League director, Andrej Vršanský, remembered asking himself.  “The answer was obvious: through people who were coming to our country from Ukraine. This would help them, would help the country through creating additional capacities and of course would help the new Ukrainian communities.” 

Since June 2022, Direct Relief has provided $3 million to fully fund a mental healthcare program launched country-wide by the League for Mental Health to provide mental health support to Ukrainian refugees living in Slovakia. The League currently has 112 Ukrainian refugees on staff as mental health specialists to provide counseling, support groups, and other free psychosocial services to fellow Ukrainians scattered throughout the country’s eight regions and the capital of Bratislava. Since the beginning of the program, the organization has served nearly 25,000 individuals.

Moving forward, the program will attempt to reach some of the Slovakian communities hosting Ukrainians that are directly affected with the process of integration of refugees. The trained psychologists and social workers have also developed a plan to replicate the program in Ukraine – once the situation on the ground stabilizes.

Poland

Since the start of the war, over 9.5 million Ukrainians have crossed the border between Ukraine and Poland, and over 1.5 million have registered for temporary protection status within Poland. To help meet their needs for medications and other health goods, Direct Relief teamed up with the Polish healthcare company Pelion and its fintech subsidiary, Epruf, to provide $15 million in funding to create and sustain the Health4Ukraine program.

Through Health4Ukraine, over 266,000 Ukrainian refugees have received digital cash payment cards that cover 100% of prescription medication co-payments and 85% of non-prescription drug costs at pharmacies located in every region of Poland. These cards have been used in 57% of all nationwide pharmacies.

As compared to a demographically similar group of Polish citizens, Ukrainian users of the Health4Ukraine program tended to purchase drugs for non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular diseases at significantly higher rates, as well as drugs for treating respiratory illness, musculo-skeletal disorders and viral infections.

The partnership with Pelion has been a lifeline for hundreds of thousands, while reducing the burden of healthcare costs on the Polish government and leveraging the core expertise, resources, and systems of the private sector to move quickly and accurately to meet the specific and evolving health needs of Ukrainian refugees.

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PART EIGHT

GLOBAL DONOR SUPPORT

“All of us at Global Citizen are so proud to stand alongside Direct Relief in this work amid the ongoing crisis.”

– ALEXANDRA STABLER, Director of Global Partnerships, Global Citizen

Direct Relief recognizes that the generous supporters who made financial contributions over the last year to help people in Ukraine did so with the express intent that their contributions benefit people in Ukraine and those who fled to neighboring countries as a direct result of the war.

In accepting funds for the response to the situation in Ukraine, Direct Relief understands that both those who contributed and the Ukrainian people for whose benefit the contributions were made deserve to know, in detail, how Direct Relief is using these funds.

contributions to the response

In response to the war in Ukraine, Direct Relief received 151,669 Ukraine-designated financial contributions totaling $101,129,967.

Donations were received from people in 83 countries (including Russia and Belarus) and from people in all 50 U.S. states, Washington DC, five U.S. territories, and three U.S. overseas military addresses.

*Data from February 24, 2022, to January 31, 2023

To date, Direct Relief has spent and committed a total of $39.4 million (39%) on the response. Of that, $38.6 million has been disbursed, and $748,000 has been committed.

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PART NINE

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

“Our laboratory [now] has a powerful generator, so we no longer have to stop work during power outages and are able to conduct sample analyses at any time.”

– YULIA KOVALEVA, Senior Laboratory Assistant, St. Panteleimon Clinical Hospital in Sumy, Ukraine

Total Grants Committed: $30.8 MILLION

Supporting the flow of medical material into Ukraine

• Ukraine’s Ministry of Health – $2 million – Granted funds to the Ukrainian government to facilitate and sustain medical logistics operations in-country through December 2023.
• Charity Fund Modern Village and Town – $610,000 – Funding went to support the operational costs of this Ukrainian nonprofit, which has worked with Direct Relief since 2015 and provides humanitarian medical supplies to medical facilities to Ukraine’s Cherkasy region.
• Polish National Agency for Strategic Reserves (RARS) – $350,000 – The Polish Government appointed RARS to act as humanitarian hub for medical aid intended for Ukraine. RARS has worked with Direct Relief to support forwarding of shipments into Ukraine and to store medical aid safely.
• HromadaHub – $220,000 – Funding went to support the operational costs of this Ukrainian nonprofit, which was founded by three Ukrainian women at the start of the war and is providing emergency psychology treatment as well as humanitarian medical products to medical facilities in Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Chernivtsi oblasts.
• Fondation Humanitaire Internationale AICM Ukraine – $250,000 -This group of 31 medical experts, engineers, and project managers has been conducting health projects in Ukraine since 2004. During the current conflict, they have been delivering medical aid to support 150 medical facilities concentrated in the northeast of Ukraine. This funding went to support their operational costs.
• Charity Fund “TAPS” – $220,000 – Founded in 2018, this Ukrainian non-profit’s mission is to support the families of fallen soldiers, which they do in part by distributing medicines and medical supplies to those in need. Funding went to support their operational costs, as well as the purchase of an electrohydraulic operating table which was requested by a nearby hospital
• Charitable Fund Humanitarian Hub Zhytomyr – $210,000 – Funding went to support the operational costs, including payment of the formerly all-volunteer staff, of this Ukrainian nonprofit providing humanitarian medical supplies to over 40 medical facilities in Sumy, Chernivtsi, Luhansk, Dnipro, and Kharkiv oblasts since the beginning of the conflict.
• Kharkiv Renovation Fund – $150,000 – Funding went to support the operational costs of this Ukrainian nonprofit providing humanitarian medical supplies to medical facilities throughout Ukraine.
• Yevgen Pyvovarov’s Charity Fund – $90,000 – Funding went to support the operational costs of this Kharkiv-based Ukrainian nonprofit that begain in 2020 as an initiative of providing humanitarian medical supplies to medical facilities throughout Ukraine

Developing and strengthening of rehabilitation services

• Dobrobut Hospital – $2 million- Funding supported the biggest network of private medical facilities in Ukraine, which has been providing free medical services during the war.
• Society of Critical Care Medicine – $1.5 million – Largest critical care nonprofit organization globally – a global community of clinicians who provide care to critically ill or injured patients in over 100 countries. Members in Ukraine and the surrounding countries have identified critical medical aid needed for people affected by the ongoing war. The funding was used to procure medication and supplies needed most urgently by intensivists in these countries, using well-established supply chains.
• First Lviv Medical Union (Unbroken) – $1 million – Medical center in Lviv, Ukraine, providing comprehensive rehabilitation services.
• United24 – $250,000 – Increased access to primary health care, emergency medical services, and specialized care.
• Crown Agents – $500,000 – British organization that has been working with the Ukrainian government on public procurement reform for over 25 years. Grant funding was for purchasing generators on behalf of the Ministry of Health.
• UA Brokers without Borders – $300,000– International nonprofit run by Ukrainians living abroad that focuses on urgent, grassroots humanitarian projects for Ukraine. Grant funding was for the purchase of 15 generators for hospitals in need of backup power.
• Razom for Ukraine – $250,000 for generators, $180,000 for specialized services (medical missions) – A Ukrainian-American nonprofit established in 2014 to support the people of Ukraine
• Ukrainian Diabetes Federation – $150,000 – Organization for advocacy and awareness of diabetes in Ukraine. This in-country organization distributes medical equipment and monitors where people who need insulin are located and where they are fleeing. The funding was used for operational costs – distributing material aid and gathering and sharing vital information.
• Dobrze Urodzeni (Well Born) – $140,000– Polish organization of midwives, doulas, psychologists, and lactation consultants that focuses on independent midwifery practice and out-of-hospital perinatal care. Grant funds were given to develop and assemble birth kits and distribute them in Ukraine.
• Motanka – Mobile Medical Services – $120,000 – Franco-Ukrainian nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting war victims in Ukraine. These funds committed by Direct Relief will allow Motanka to procure medical and personal care products, surgical equipment, and medicines for doctors and surgeons on the frontline of the war.
• Project Joint Guardian – $90,000 – A Californian nonprofit sending firefighting equipment and international teams of firefighters to Ukraine to train and work alongside Ukrainian firefighters.
• Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital – $80,000 – A Ukrainian non-governmental organization of civilian healthcare professionals treating and evacuating injured Ukrainians on the frontlines of the war. This funding will facilitate the procurement of an armored all-terrain vehicle to provide a mobile, heated and sheltered stabilization point for performing surgeries in the field.

Improving access to mental health and psychosocial support services

• Razom for Ukraine – $550,000 – A Ukrainian-American nonprofit established in 2014 that, with this funding, is providing mental health services to war-impacted individuals in Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.
• HromadaHub – $320,000 – A Ukrainian nonprofit providing humanitarian medical supplies to medical facilities throughout Ukraine and, with this funding, is providing emergency psychology treatment.
• Health Tech Without Borders – $100,000 – A global non-profit, Health Tech Without Borders (HTWB) serves as an innovative hub that connects qualified and vetted volunteer clinicians to survivors of humanitarian disasters, war, or assault. Since the beginning of the war on Ukraine in 2022, HTWB has provided critical tools, resources, and technology to overwhelmed and under-resourced healthcare workers. The funding was used to enhance the team’s capacity to engage, recruit, and train new volunteers.

Improving access to health care for refugees

• Doz Fundacja Dbam O Zdrowie (Pelion) – $15 million (Poland)– A Polish healthcare company that, with this funding from Direct Relief, is providing digital cash payment cards to Ukrainian refugees to help cover their healthcare cost
• League for Mental Health Slovakia – $3,700,000 – Supported mental health services and employed Ukrainian mental health specialists working with the Ukrainian refugee community in Slovakia. Part of the funding was also used to provide local transportation for Ukrainian citizens residing at a temporary housing in Slovakia.
• Fire Medical – $600,000 (Slovakia)– Operational funding provided to an ambulatory services nonprofit that acts as an out-patient clinic and operates hospital transportation services free of charge for refugees.
• International Confederation of Midwives – $583,000 – Funding provided for midwifery services for refugees over a period of 12 months, supporting the Midwife Associations in the following seven countries: Estonia, Finland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, and Romania.
• HealthInova North Macedonia – $200,000 – Provided pharmacy and medical services vouchers to cover the most immediate needs for Ukrainian patients in Macedonia.
• URTICA Foundation Poland – $120,000 – Supported children in oncological and hematological wards around Poland. Since the war broke out in Ukraine, and millions of Ukrainians were forcefully displaced, the Foundation started providing psychosocial support services for pediatric oncology patients from Ukraine as well. The funding was used to expand the provision of services throughout Poland.
• Polish Diabetes Association – $100,000 (Poland) – Patient association in Poland committed to diabetes education and advocacy. The funding was used to provide pharmacy and food vouchers to cover the most immediate needs to Ukrainian diabetes patients in Poland.

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PART TEN

MEDICAL MATERIAL AID

“Through your generous donations we have been able to support the needs of Ukrainians during this challenging time for our country. You truly make a difference for us.”

– VIKTOR LIASHKO, Minister of Health, Ukraine

SUPPORTED GROUPS DISTRIBUTING AID TO 400+ HOSPITALS & CLINICS

Ministries of Health

Ministry of Health, Poland

Ministry of Health, Republic of Moldova

Ministry of Health, Ukraine

Organizations

Amosova Hospital

Charitable Fund Humanitarian Hub “Zhytomyr”

Charity Fund Modern Village and Town

Charity Fund “TAPS”

Chernivtsi City Charitable Fund “Myloserdia”

Chernivtsi Regional Charity Foundation “Viktoriia”

City Center for Humanitarian Aid, Information and Economic Support

HromadaHub

Fondation Humanitaire Internationale AICM Ukraine

Kharkiv City Council

Kharkiv Renovation Fund

Kyiv City Center of Nephrology & Dialysis

Mission Kharkiv

MN Dobrobut

National Cancer Institute in Kyiv

Polski Czerwony Krzyż Polish Red Cross

Razom for Ukraine

Reach Out Worldwide

Ukraine Association for Pediatric Endocrinologists

Ukraine Diabetes Federation

Ukrainian Association of Nephrologists

U.S. & Mexico Firefighters United

Yevgen Pyvovarov’s Charity Fund

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The post Ukraine One-Year Report appeared first on Direct Relief.

They left with nothing, heading towards Poland after a relative invited them. After four days at the border, in the middle of winter, they finally entered Poland.

But shortly after settling in, Zoia’s daughter caught a virus, which led to a high-grade fever, gastrointestinal complications, and a severe earache. The rest of the family also got sick. Because she had to take care of the kids, Zoia could not work.

Yulia, 34, had a similar experience escaping from her home in Kherson when the war began. She traveled by train, car, and bus to the border towards the Polish border, hoping to join her sister. Her husband joined her for half the journey, but she made the rest of the journey alone since he was forced to stay in-country due to emergency regulations.

After arriving in Poland, Yulia received news that family members had been killed.

“I needed to get psychological support,” Yulia said to Direct Relief. “I had never sought mental health care before, but it was a very tough period in my life,” she said.

Her sister was working in the same office as a translator for the Health4Ukraine program, a nonprofit initiative set up by a Polish healthcare company, Pelion, which offers free telehealth visits, pharmaceuticals, and certain medical supplies to Ukrainian refugees.

Yulia decided to register. “It was very effective,” she said about the five sessions she had with a mental health care provider on the platform.

“There is really a need for this kind of help,” she said.

For Zoia, the program enabled her to obtain therapeutics for her daughter and other family members.

“We really needed help and, before, I couldn’t access any drugs. Since I signed up, we’ve had to use it consistently… I can just go to the pharmacy and use the code they gave me,” she said, noting that her daughter had to go to the hospital four times in a single month.

An Industry Responds

The Health4Ukraine Program was spun up in the days and weeks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Executives at Pelion, Poland’s largest healthcare company, began looking at their existing programs and systems to see which ones might be suitable for this newly-needed charitable use. Two programs emerged as candidates — a telehealth platform called Dimedic, which was built out during the Covid-19 pandemic, and a fintech system called epruf, which allows users to determine the co-pay and final cost of pharmaceuticals.

Pelion decided to adapt both programs to help address the healthcare needs of millions of people who were entering Poland. In total, over 7.5 million border crossings have taken place from Ukraine to Poland, out of a total number of 12.5 million crossings out of Ukraine into European countries since the war started, according to UNHCR data. The data does not include Ukrainians who went to Russia, willingly or under force.

Today, about 1 million Ukrainian refugees from Russia’s invasion are currently living in Poland, according to data provided by Meta’s Data for Good program, which was analyzed by Direct Relief. About 19% of all displaced Ukrainians are in Poland, making it the most popular choice for those who fled the war, which began on February 24.

Poland has a population of about 38 million people and spends the least amount of government funding per citizen on pharmaceuticals compared to all other European Union members, providing an average of 36% of the cost of drugs, compared to the EU average of 57%, according to OECD data from 2021.

The high number of new arrivals and Poland’s decision to both host them and provide them with a PESEL number (akin to a U.S. Social Security number) presented the nation with a challenge regarding how to provide services and medicine for a group of people representing about 20% of their existing population.

Health4Ukraine, which is supported by a $15 million grant from Direct Relief, $1 million from Pelion, as well as donations from the Polish Red Cross, the ING Dzieciom Foundation, the Deloitte Polska Foundation and private donors, was established to address the health care access gap in Poland among Ukrainian refugees.

The program started accepting registrations on April 22, just weeks after the decision to move ahead, according to Robert Socha, vice president of finance and operations at Pelion, who oversees the charitable program. 

“IT HELPS. IT REALLY HELPS”

To date, Health4Ukraine has signed up about 276,000 people, according to data provided by Pelion. The program has been used by participants in just about all but three of Poland’s 380 local districts and more than half of all the nation’s pharmacies.

Demographically, 55.3% of registrants are women over 18 years old, 37.7% are people under 18 years old, and about 7% are men over 18 years old. Despite being an online-focused system – the program’s barcodes are only given out online due to challenges and costs associated with mailing items to many people who might not have a permanent address­ – the greatest proportion of the population that has signed up are people over 65 years old.

Data from Pelion shows that $7.1 million has been spent by Health4Ukraine participants through the end of October. Of this amount, 36% was spent on non-pharmaceutical products in pharmacies, such as vitamins, medical devices, skin treatments, and supplies such as bandages. 35% was spent on over-the-counter drugs, and 29% on prescription drugs.

Among children, antibiotics were the most common purchase. For adult men and women, it was cardiovascular therapies. Socha said that the first group of registrants purchased more medical supplies and devices than the general Polish population since they, “left in such a rush that they didn’t bring these supplies with them,” he said.

However, as the year went on, data showed that the needs of program participants reflected those of the general population, suggesting that later refugees had time to pack more essentials. Most participants, Socha pointed out, are women and children since military-age men were, and are, obligated to stay in Ukraine.

Because the Health4Ukraine team did not know what participants would need to buy and did not want to keep funds locked in unused cards, they decided to make the barcodes valid for 120 days. Since the program began, about 15% of issued barcodes have gone unused by the registrant.

Each card is loaded with 500 Polish zloty (about $110 USD), of which 350 zloty is earmarked for prescription drugs and 150 zloty is earmarked for over-the-counter drugs and other medical products. A standard-sized package of Tylenol runs about 20-30 zloty in Poland. The program covers 100% of prescription co-payments and 85% of non-prescription drug costs at all Polish pharmacies.

As the barcode is linked to an individual’s identification number, the system allows for transparency and reduces fraud. Socha also noted that doctors play a role in reducing unintended usage of the program, as they are responsible for prescribing medicines.

Socha’s colleague, Project Manager Michalina Łubisz, said that one of the aspects she hopes to change, based on past findings, is that they allow participants to apply for a third 120-day period to use the barcode, given the ongoing need she and her team have seen, based on usage.

Heading into winter, Łubisz and Socha said that the weather to date has been relatively mild and that flu cases have not started to pick up more than usual, both of which have helped mitigate any greater public health crisis in the country. Socha said that he expects weather – Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure has increasingly been directly attacked by Russia – and military action to be the key drivers of any renewed emigration from Ukraine.

For those Ukrainians already in Poland, the wait continues – along with pain, in many cases, even as they work to continue their lives.

“The situation and new life here can be tragic, but I have to find myself in order to be able to go into the future,” Yulia said. “It [access to mental health care] helps. It really helps.”

In addition to $15 million in direct support for Ukrainian refugees through the Health4Ukraine program, Direct Relief has provided more than 2.1 million pounds of medical aid to Ukraine and other countries receiving refugees since Feb. 24.

The post In Poland, Tech Aids Ukrainian Refugees With Healthcare, Meds appeared first on Direct Relief.

“This was nothing about business. We didn’t think to help or not; it was so natural. It was a natural consequence of so many people needing help. After February 24, a huge flow of people came to Poland and from the first hour, we, like very many Polish people, started to help,” he said during an interview at Pelion’s headquarters in Łódź, where hallway lights were turned off due to energy-saving government mandates.

“We are a pharmaceutical company, but in fact, we are a distribution company, and we started thinking about how we could help. There were many asks from many people, but what we realized from the very beginning is that it should be professional help,” he said.

In the early days of the war, Poles were trying to help by buying products at pharmacies and shipping them to the Poland-Ukraine border, resulting in a logistics nightmare as supplies began building up in a disorganized fashion, Molenda recalled. Additionally, people tended to purchase the same few products.

“We got information from Ukrainians saying, ‘Don’t send any more paracetamol! We have enough paracetamol!” Molenda said.  

“We can send products in bulk, and keep track of what we’re sending, so after consultations with the Polish and Ukrainian governments, that’s what we did,” he said.

PGF, a Pelion subsidiary in the wholesale pharmaceutical business, took the lead in fundraising and sourcing pharmaceuticals from Polish pharmacies — the overwhelming majority of which are owned by Pelion — to ship across Poland and into Ukraine. They also sent donations of hygiene supplies, medical supplies, food, and cash.

In addition to shipments of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, Pelion began assessing their existing services for suitability to convert them to charitable programs for refugees. They found candidates within their telehealth service, called Dimedic, which was built out during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and offered low to no-cost medical consultations. Another candidate was a cashless pharmaceutical fintech platform called epruf. The platform was initially set up for Polish citizens, enabling patients to see their copayment and then pay it.

With an initial $10 million grant from Direct Relief, which was supplemented with an additional $1 million from Pelion and $5 million from Direct Relief, Pelion could quickly adapt epruf for Ukrainian refugees, allowing them to receive medicines and medical supplies.

Direct Relief has deployed more than 1,030 tons of medical aid and $20 million in financial assistance to Ukraine since the war broke out.

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According to an analysis by Direct Relief, based on Pelion data, the program was supporting health commodities access for about 17% of all Ukrainian refugees in Poland, which has accepted the highest number of refugees as a result of the Russian invasion.

This service has been crucial for many refugees, especially those with chronic conditions since many people did not take medicine for the long term, said Molenda, according to both experiential assessments and data from the program, which shows the types of medications that have been prescribed for patients.

The telehealth service has also been deployed to aid refugees by providing healthcare provider assessments at no cost to the patient, including mental healthcare services.

Both systems, which comprise the Health4Ukraine initiative, were operational for refugees within weeks of deciding to move forward with the programs.

The business of doing good

Beyond helping refugees who have escaped since February 24, Pelion has also supported their Ukrainian employees hired before the invasion. Some specific measures included giving them guaranteed job security and paid time off if they wanted to visit their families in Ukraine. Employees were also assisted in the process of bringing family members into Poland. PGF offered their 300 Ukrainian employees bonuses to help with family members who are still in Ukraine as well as access to mental healthcare.

Beyond helping their employees, Pelion hosted 50 refugees, mostly mothers with their children, to live on the headquarters’ grounds in a converted warehouse and office. They provided them with food, clothing, medical care, and physiological assistance. For all refugees, in addition to the Health4Ukraine initiative, Pelion set up a Ukrainian language website that shows local job openings.

Pelion also began a push to hire post-invasion refugees. At a warehouse next to their main office, which has about 24,000 products and can provide same-day fulfillment for up to 60,000 orders, 30% of staff members are now Ukrainian.

Piotr Cieślak, CEO of PGF, said that onboarding refugees proceeded without any interruption to business operations, which he credited to Ukrainian employees who had been working for PGF and Pelion.  

“There was no impact on business operations. They have been helpful [as employees],” he said. “We felt a huge solidarity,” Cieślak said.  

Asked about the onboarding process and her early days working for Pelion, factory worker Nadiia Kravchyk, who joined before the war, said, “It was easy… everyone was very supportive, and other Ukrainians helped me with the language barrier.” Kravchyk said. Signs in Ukrainian are posted throughout the factory, sometimes with handwritten edits and additions.

Molenda and  Cieślak said employees have also acted in other ways to help refugees, both with supplies and to feel more at ease, such as by playing Ukrainian music in warehouses and offices. Some employees from Olsztyn,  Cieślak said, went with home-baked cakes to local refugee centers during the early days of the war and ate with refugees. Many employees have hosted refugees in their homes.  

“They’ve started to inspire one another,” Cieślak said.

“People love to do it,” Molenda said, noting it has buoyed morale among both Polish and Ukrainian employees.

A 2019 report from McKinsey, which referenced over 2,000 studies, showed that ESG propositions usually led to positive equity returns and only led to negative equity returns in 8% of cases. Several other leading consulting firms have also extolled the “benefits of a focused ESG strategy.”

Molenda said Pelion plans to continue responding to the crisis, focusing on refugees in Poland. Pelion’s current charitable shipments into Ukraine are now going via the Polish government. Molenda said Pelion would continue assessing and responding to any requests from the Ukrainian government for aid.

As inflation continues to rise in Poland — it hit 17% year over year in September — and the specter of a difficult winter becomes a reality, some might want to pull back from supporting the refugees. Despite such developments, Molenda said he disagreed with any sentiment of reducing support. “These people are still here, and they still need help,” he said.

The post ‘Professional Help’ Gets Meds, Care to Ukrainian Refugees in Poland appeared first on Direct Relief.