Medical evacuation trains
On April 1, 2022, MSF completed its first medical train referral, taking nine patients who had been wounded in or near the besieged city of Mariupol from hospitals in Zaporizhzhia to hospitals in Lviv. They were transported on a two-carriage train equipped as a basic hospital ward, accompanied by a team of nine MSF medical staff.
We are now using a larger and more highly medicalized train. So far, we have completed 30 referral trips, mostly taking patients from hospitals close to front lines of the war in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. We have also evacuated seriously wounded patients from Kharkiv and babies and children from an orphanage in Zaporizhzhia. A total of 801 hospital patients have been medically evacuated to date, along with their family members, in addition to 78 orphans. Further medical referrals are planned as urgent requests from hospitals in the east continue.
Kyiv
In Kyiv we are running a telephone hotline for survivors of sexual violence and domestic violence, offering confidential consultations and delivery of medications to prevent HIV, sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy in Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts.
In Hostomel, on the outskirts of Kyiv, an MSF team continues to support basic health care alongside Ukrainian doctors, following intense fighting in the area in March and April. We are increasing our support for mental health care to address the psychological consequences of the war.
We support shelters for survivors of sexual violence around Kyiv with training for staff and mental health consultations for residents. We are working with a women’s clinic in Borodyanka and Pylypovychi, offering mental health support and conducting community engagement. We are also meeting with other local groups to collaborate and provide training for treatment of sexual and gender-based violence.
In Fastiv, Makariv and Borodianka, MSF is focusing on elderly and internally displaced people who suffer from chronic diseases, through mobile clinics and home-based care.
We also provide training to local health facilities and donate medical supplies to health facilities in the Kyiv oblast.
Sumy
We are running mobile clinics in villages in the Sumy region, offering general outpatient care, including family planning and treatment for chronic diseases or sexual and gender-based violence, as well as mental health services.
Chernihiv
We are shifting from running mobile clinics in several villages in Chernihiv oblast to a more specific focus on mental health needs, women's health, and caring for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. We are working to reach patients through our hotline and are continuing to donate medical supplies to health facilities.
Kropyvnytskyi
Our teams are donating medical supplies, carrying out trainings for health workers and first responders, distributing relief items to displaced people and providing mental health consultations. We are supporting a maternity hospital to make health services more accessible for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence by providing transportation and paying for medications.
Kryvyi Rih and Apostolove
An MSF team is helping a hospital in Apostolove develop its emergency room and increase its capacity for responding to mass casualties. In the broader Kryvyi Rih area, MSF has started running mobile clinics providing basic health care, including sexual and reproductive health care.
Mykolaiv and Odesa
To help Ukrainian health facilities cope with a potential influx of injured people, MSF teams have trained hundreds of medical doctors and nurses to triage patients according to the severity of their injuries.
In Mykolaiv MSF is also funding the work of local volunteers who bring medical and logistical equipment in and out of the besieged city.
In Bashtanka, north of Mykolaiv, we made a large donation of medications and emergency supplies to the local hospital after an airstrike caused many casualties on June 6.
Kharkiv
In Kharkiv we have phased out our mobile clinics in metro stations now that many people are no longer sheltering there. We have moved our activities above ground, focusing on people who have no homes to return to or still need medical support. We are currently supporting displaced people staying at the University Hostel and Polyclinic N. 23. Daily shelling makes it challenging to work in the city, but our mobile clinic was able to visit 10 locations in and around the city in mid-June.
Outside the city, we have started regular visits to two shelters in Donets and two shelters in Slobozhanske, providing medical consultations and mental health support. We are also continuing to visit remote villages in Kharkiv oblast, focusing initially on areas toward Derhachi, Chuhuiv and Ruska Lozova, to run mobile clinics, make connections and provide donations to health facilities.
We operate a phone hotline for Kharkiv city and oblast to respond to ongoing needs for medications and online medical and psychological consultations. We will collaborate with a volunteer network to distribute medications from our warehouse to people’s homes.