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From the first days of russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, under the patronage of the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, has been organizing evacuation flights for Ukrainians affected by the war. Such medical convoys are part of the Ministry of Health’s close cooperation with international partners, including the European Commission, WHO, the government of Poland and other countries.

In addition, the Ministry of Health, in partnership with the Western Ukrainian Specialized Children’s Medical Center (Lviv), Tabletochki Charitable Foundation, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, is evacuating Ukrainian children with cancer and hematological diseases for treatment in the United States, Canada, and European countries as part of the SAFER Ukraine program.

It should be noted that, thanks to this collaboration, approximately 4,000 Ukrainians have been sent abroad for treatment and/or rehabilitation, including 650 children who have suffered injuries or have been diagnosed with oncological diseases.

Thus, according to the approved criteria, children and adults with complex mine-blast wounds and burn injuries, oncological pathology, as well as diseases requiring complex specialized treatment, if its availability is currently significantly limited, can be evacuated for treatment in foreign clinics.

The compliance with the criteria for sending individuals abroad for treatment during the state of war is confirmed by the form of primary record-keeping document No. 027/o, “Extract from the medical card of an outpatient (inpatient) patient”. This form is completed by a healthcare provider who coordinates the referral for treatment abroad.

Patient preparation lasts from 3-4 days to 2 weeks. In case of need for outside help and support due to a serious condition or the need for further postoperative care, the patient may be accompanied by relatives or friends. For more information on the conditions under which relatives can accompany a patient, please follow the link.

Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that Ukrainian citizens have multiple routes for medical evacuation for treatment abroad, including:

• Regional Department of Health.
• Submitting a personal application through the Ministry of Health website.
• Medical Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – for injured military personnel. More information is available at https://navigator.pryncyp.com/stage-4.

It should be noted that medical evacuation and transportation of citizens is free of charge, as all costs for expensive treatment are borne by the governments of the partner countries that receive patients.

A detailed evacuation algorithm is available here.