An integrated logistical-medical intervention in Chernivetska and Ternopilska Oblasts The present proposal is part of the lifesaving response to 2022 Ukrainian crisis. Focus will be on health -logistics activities as well as on service delivery, by ensuring presence of mobile clinics in Chernivetska and Ternopilska Oblasts. It will complement Ministry of Health (MoH) and National Health System of Ukraine (NHSU) routine and emergency support, and what proposed by other Partners under current response, as per Health Cluster’s orientations.
The project is aligned with the 2022 Ukraine Flash Appeal (UFA) strategic objectives and it will contribute to reduce mortality and morbidity and improve health outcomes of the affected population. It will “Procure, pre-position and distribute medical supplies, essential medications and equipment through established and mobile healthcare service” “Provide direct lifesaving and primary health care services (through fixed and mobile clinics), including emergency medical health care services, HIV and TB services, integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health services and Mental health and Psychosocial support”, “Improve quality and coordination of referrals through linkages between the three levels of healthcare including communities”.
With the deteriorating situation since the conflict struck on 24/02/22, the supply chains for medicines and medical supplies (especially procurement and distribution of medicines) became un-operational and dysfunctional. For this reason, many people fail to access drugs and to remain retained into treatment, especially those with chronic medical conditions (both communicable and non-communicable). As per the 2022 UFA, “there are over 10 million older persons in Ukraine, many of whom have not been able to flee the hostilities due to reduced mobility and financial means”. On top of this, as a consequence of the ongoing armed violence and rapidly deteriorating security environment in most parts of Ukraine, according to the preliminary findings of IOM on Ukraine IDP-Figures General Population Survey (17/03/2022) 9,555,121 are displaced, 6,477,723 (most of them women, children, older people, persons with disabilities, and ethnic minorities) of which are Internally Displaced People (IDPs) scattered around some specific areas of the country. This corresponds, as mentioned on the Ukraine Situation Report (USR) of 18th March 2022, to 23% of the Ukrainian population. The high demand for health care of both IDPs and host communities constitutes an additional burden on the now damaged and underserved Ukrainian health system, where assistance offer is compromised even further by the crisis and migration influx.
For this reason, the project will ensure the procurement and distribution of essential and specialized medicines (i.e. Non-Communicable Diseases – NCDs drugs) and supply them to Ukrainian hospitals with the support of VRB, CUAMM’s local implementing partner, in alignment with MoH, NHSU and health cluster. The project will make sure that medicines will be stocked according to international standards and further distributed, based on specific request. The requests will be accessed by CUAMM through the Ukraine Health Needs Planning and Response (UHNPR) mechanism. Moreover, the initiative will also plan to organize and run mobile clinics in the Chernivetska and Ternopilska Oblasts to ensure that access to Primary Health Care (PHC) services are offered in their remote communities. Finally, the ambulance referral system will be strengthened to refer critical patients from the rural areas of Chernivetska and Ternopilska Oblasts to the city of Chernivtsy.
CUAMM is aware that the numbers of IDPs may vary, and will adapt its project to the influx of those people and to the needs of the various hospitals the intervention will serve. Moreover, conscious that displacement is a traumatic experience, basic information on Mental Health Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and on dedicated services will be provided during the mobile clinics.