Ukraine: building health care capacity

02 December 2020

The Luxembourg Red Cross humanitarian aid teams are leading several projects in the field of healthcare in Ukraine. One of them focuses on renovating four health centres, in partnership with the German Red Cross.
 “We have been active in Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine, since 2014” explains Myriam Jacoby, project leader for Ukraine at the Luxembourg Red Cross.

Six years ago, her teams were deployed on an emergency basis in the country, to rebuild houses destroyed by the war in Donbass. For many families who had lost their homes, this help was essential in providing them with a roof over their heads.

Renovating healthcare centres

In 2016, the humanitarian aid team of the Luxembourg Red Cross in Ukraine, made up of engineers and support staff, decided to broaden the scope of their intervention and to support the local health system. Even though tensions have decreased in the Donetsk region, the consequences of the conflict are still being felt.The poor state of healthcare structures and the destruction of some left them unable to cope with the needs of the population at the time” continues Myriam.

To address the issue, the Luxembourg Red Cross teams, in partnership with the Ukrainian Red Cross, renovated the psychiatric hospital in Svitlodarsk, which receives nearly 25,000 patients every year, as well as the Slovyansk hospital with 75,000 patients yearly and finally, the Kramatorsk regional hospital, where 120,000 patients are treated yearly.

Timelapse Ukraine – Rehabilitation of the Psychiatric Hospital of Slovyansk