Two lives impacted by war in eastern Ukraine

Temi:

Ukraine Emergency

Alina and Lydia live in Ukraine. They have endured years of war.

Since 2023, we have been providing free medical care to people like Alina and Lydia in Donetsk and Kharkiv – among the worst-impacted regions in the country – through a network of primary healthcare clinics supported by Community Health Workers.

OUR PROGRAMME IN UKRAINE

“Every time I hear an aeroplane, I feel afraid.”

Lydia is 75 years-old and lives in Ukraine. She is supported by one of our Community Health Workers, Olena, who visits her at home to provide help with medications and a listening ear.

“Every time I hear an aeroplane, I feel afraid. So many pass by every day – fighter jets, helicopters… it’s a sound I’ve come to know all too well. I have lived alone for more than two years now. My children left, and they were right to do so: it is too dangerous here. The village was attacked shortly after the war began. Missiles exploded near my house, and the blast wave shattered every window.

“I’ve lived without glass ever since. Entire winters like this, and it’s freezing inside. I simply don’t have the money to fix them.”

Our programme in Ukraine has been active for more than two years and expands access to care – often to elderly and other vulnerable people – and refers the most serious cases to our network of clinics in the Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts.

“It’s a great relief to know that someone remembers you.”

“I can describe it in a single word: tragic.”

“I always say, ‘Please don’t close the door.’ I leave it open so that the EMERGENCY staff who come to check on me can enter.
They know where all my things are, as I can’t walk properly. I needed medication for my leg and a mobility aid for walking, as well as crutches and incontinence pads. They brought me everything.”

Alina is 80 years old, and we visit her at home every day to provide the assistance she needs.

“This is reality. Who wants all this? It’s madness. How many children have died? How many adults? How many civilians? How many people have been forced to flee? There should have been a ceasefire a long time ago. It hurts, it makes you angry, it is heart-wrenching. I can describe it in a single word: tragic.”

In Ukraine, we are improving access to care for people isolated by war and the deterioration of local services, which have impacted the most vulnerable groups the hardest.