Efforts to facilitate medical evacuations from Ukraine are delivered through a partnership between a number of government ministries, regional health trusts, the Norwegian Directorate of Health and the rest of the public health service, as well as the Norwegian Armed Forces and the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB).
“Norway is providing high quality, sought after health assistance to Ukraine, and we are working closely with Ukraine, the EU, the World Health Organization and other European countries. I am proud of the work being done by Norwegian stakeholders to support the Ukraine health service. We will continue to offer our support to Ukraine,” says Ingvild Kjerkol, Minister of Health and Care Services.
Close to 1300 evacuated
Since August 2022, Norway has operated regular weekly flights that have evacuated Ukrainian healthcare patients to European hospitals. Following the launch of the medevac scheme under the auspices of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), Norway has evacuated in the region of 1,300 patients to hospitals across Europe. Norway is among those countries to have transported the most patients for treatment at European hospitals.
Norway’s contribution to these efforts has been described by the European Commission as a cornerstone of the venture. During the summer, the Norwegian government resolved to extend its transportation programme for patients until February 2024, following a request from the EU.
“We will assess the possibility of further extending this scheme should it be necessary to do so,” says Kjerkol.
Meeting urgent needs in Ukraine
The Norwegian health sector is also making vital donations and contributing expertise that is helping to meet urgent needs faced by Ukraine.
To date, some 63 tonnes of medicines in addition to significant volumes of medical equipment, vaccines, ambulances and ambulance buses have been donated.
Source – Norwegian Government