Help Americares Provide Aid for Ukraine

Three years after the invasion, 12.7 million people need humanitarian assistance. In Ukraine, 3.6 million people are displaced internally and nearly 7 million refugees from Ukraine have been recorded across Europe.

Three years of war has caused widespread destruction, reducing some cities to rubble, damaging or destroying hundreds of thousands of homes along with critical infrastructure and leaving millions of people with limited or no access to electricity, water or heat. Many people are living either in collective centers or damaged buildings, without basic needs for daily life and vulnerable to a range of health threats.

Since the start of war, Americares has been working closely with local organizations to meet health needs. 

Our Response

People living in Ukraine face barriers to care: attacks on health facilities, a shrinking health workforce (due to safety concerns and displacement), rising healthcare costs, declining or disappearing incomes and mass displacement. Children and adults are going without vital vaccines, and people with chronic conditions – such as diabetes or dementia – have suffered dangerous interruptions in care.

Americares has provided total aid valued at more than $147 million to 83 local organizations assisting those affected by the war. The aid includes grants and shipments of medicine and medical supplies, including those delivered by volunteer Medical Outreach teams.

Americares partner network in Ukraine includes lean, community-rooted organizations that reach vulnerable populations who lack access to health facilities as well as large, highly specialized partners fully integrated into the national health system. This robust partner network allows Americares to meet needs across the health spectrum.

Your Support in Action

Alina left Ukraine, where she had just finished studying dermatology, to seek refuge in Poland. Her husband, who is also a doctor, was not allowed to leave the country. A friend of hers made a similar journey weeks prior and disappeared, and, while she is unsure of what has happened to her friend, she suspects that she has been trafficked. In order to avoid a similar fate, she called on her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Olena and Oleg, to come meet her in Poland. The family awaits the processing of the necessary paperwork so that they can travel to Israel together.

Alina and her baby son Timofy are safe and sound in Krakow, currently staying in a hotel room provided to them by the Jewish Community Center of Krakow.

JCC Krakow has pivoted to help the large influx of refugees that have crossed the Polish border from Ukraine as a result of the crisis. 

Americares awarded JCC Krakow a grant to support programs providing assistance to Ukrainian refugees, including temporary accommodation, a safe space for mothers and children, Polish lessons, a clothing distribution center, and a Ukrainian refugee hotline.

Links:

• https://www.americares.org/emergency-program/war-in-ukraine/

• AmericaresUkraine3_years.pdf (PDF)
  

The War in Ukraine

On the morning of February 24, 2022, Russian forces launched a multi-pronged invasion by land, air, and sea into Ukraine.

Three years after the invasion, 12.7 million people need humanitarian assistance. In Ukraine, 3.6 million people are displaced internally and nearly 7 million refugees from Ukraine have been recorded across Europe.

Three years of war has caused widespread destruction, reducing some cities to rubble, damaging or destroying hundreds of thousands of homes along with critical infrastructure and leaving millions of people with limited or no access to electricity, water or heat. Many people are living either in collective centers or damaged buildings, without basic needs for daily life and vulnerable to a range of health threats.

Since the start of war, Americares has been working closely with local organizations to meet health needs. Many stories have emerged. Scroll down and meet some of the extraordinary people and organizations who have shared their stories.

Americares has helped those impacted in Ukraine since the war began in 2022

To date, we have provided over $147 million in aid to 83 local partners, focusing on activities like:

Shipping 544 tons of medicine and relief supplies to 37 partners in Ukraine.

Americares emergency response team is coordinating shipments of medicine and supplies into Ukraine to support local organizations assisting those affected by war. Since the start of the invasion, Americares has shipped more than 544 tons of medicine and relief supplies – valued at more than $115 million – to health facilities and first responders in Ukraine, with more shipments planned.

There is a critical need for medicine and medical supplies, including specialty medicines and medical supplies to care for cancer patients, newborns and others with complex medical needs. Americares is prepared to meet those needs — and more.

In medicine, a quick diagnosis can save a life.

Ultrasound imaging is a critical diagnostic tool for doctors and first responders, especially in Ukraine, where deadly bombs cause injuries far too often. In one instance, through the Institute of Emergency Medicine in Poland, Americares provided handheld Butterfly iQ ultrasound probes to 15 hospitals in Ukraine.

Funding 41 mental health grants supporting frontline workers, children, and families.

Americares supports social service and mental health organizations in Ukraine and Poland so they have the infrastructure, technical and professional skills to ensure they can meet immediate and long-term needs. To support the mental health of people affected by the war, Americares has provided program support to 24 partner organizations in Poland, Romania and Ukraine. Of the 141 total grants, 41 grants totaling more than $1.4M support mental health.

These include:

• Family Circle, which aims to increase early identification and referral by directly training 600 frontline workers and conducting “training of trainers” for 150 others.
• UA Mental Help will address the burnout crisis among medical profressions. With support from Americares, UAMH recently reached more thant 20,000 people with awareness-raising mental health campaigns.
• Smart Osvita developed and implemented training for over 500 educators and school psychologists to improve their well-being and their ability to support children and adolescents during situations of conflict.
• Tabletochki, the leading pediatric oncology organization in Ukraine, is supporting more than 145 adults and 68 children with cancer and their sibliings, reaching a total of 190 families navigating cancer treatment during wartime.
• Nezabutini, which supports crisis needs for people with dementia and their relatives, including the National Dementia Helpline.

The Americares team continues to develop educational resources in Ukrainian and has delivered capacity-building training for health care and frontline workers on psychological first aid and other topics relevant to mental health. Americares also provides psychosocial support activities to partner staff, including sessions on preventing burnout, coping with stress, building resiliency and strengthening community-based support.

With Americares assistance, our partners have also trained frontline clinicians in therapy techniques that address the unique trauma of war for both children and adults.

Strengthening local organizations to ensure long-term, sustainable health care solutions.

Americares partner network in Ukraine comprises lean, community-rooted organizations that can reach vulnerable populations not being served by health facilities, as well as large, highly specialized partners fully integrated into the national health system.

To promote the sustainability of aid efforts in Ukraine, six Ukrainian partners participated in a local capacity-building project in which local partner Divchata provided mentoring in strategic planning, development initiatives and operational support. Divchata also hosted a four-day off-line workshop and retreat in November 2024 for the teams of these organizations. Participants could also
access ongoing psychosocial assistance to support professional and personal resilience and growth.

To help improve the infrastructure of Clinical Center for Pediatric Medicine, Americares partnered with Tabletochki to support the installation of a heating system, to ensure heat during outages and make the hospital eligible for National Health System of Ukraine funding. Previously, Americares helped the hospital achieve accreditation for its Bacteriology Laboratory, which allowed the hospital to secure Ukrainian government funding.

Links:

• https://www.americares.org/emergency-program/war-in-ukraine/