IOM Moldova, with the support of the European Union, donated 300 mobile fridges for transportation of thermolabile medicines, including vaccines and biological products, to the Moldovan Prehospital Emergency Service. The donation falls under the EU project “Supporting Protection, Transit, Voluntary and Informed Return and Reintegration of Eastern Partnership Citizens and Third Country Nationals Affected by the Conflict in Ukraine”, funded by the DG NEAR.
Up to 796,000 people, including Ukrainian refugees, third-country nationals, and Moldovans, will benefit from the support offered by the EU.
During the handover ceremony, Ion Prisăcaru, state secretary of the Ministry of Health, thanked Moldova’s partners for their initiative. “Thanks to this donation, each mobile medical team will be able to carry thermolabile medicines”, stressed the official.
“This donation reflects our solidarity towards the Republic of Moldova and our continuous partnership with the Ministry of Health that provides health care services for all Moldovans and Refugees that live in this country. And it is this cooperation that gave rise to a regional program in the field of facilitated migration management implemented in partnership with IOM”, declared Adam Grodzicki, Deputy Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation to Moldova.
Lars Johan Lonnback, IOM Moldova Chief of Mission, stated that IOM plays a key role in responding to humanitarian and public health emergencies, this being an essential part of IOM’s humanitarian mandate. “What we are doing with this donation is to extend our support to the ambulance services in the Republic of Moldova. As we all have experienced climate change is real and is here. In this regard, refrigeration is absolutely necessary for so many interventions that are needed in emergency response. I would like to thank the Director of the National Center of Emergency Prehospital Service, the Ministry of Health, and the European Union for the great collaboration that has made this donation possible”.
Through this project, a total of 2,360 Ukrainians and 1,938 third-country nationals were provided pre-departure health assistance before travelling to EU member states and associated countries and countries of origin. Among them, 300 received pre-departure stabilization emergency medical treatment and 222 received nonstop medical support during the humanitarian movement assistance.
The donation will enhance the capacity of the Prehospital Emergency Service which actively provides prehospital emergency treatment to Ukrainian refugees and third-country nationals. Also, it served up to 5,000 Ukrainians with emergency health care during the last six months.