Supply shortages of food, water, and medicine.
Cologne/Lviv. Malteser International expects a very high need for help for those fleeing the situation in Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of people are already on the run, within the country and to neighboring states. We expect the number of people fleeing to increase further in the coming days. “The supply situation in Ukraine itself is becoming increasingly difficult. What is especially needed are everyday medicines, as well as cots, blankets, food, and cash to provide for the many people affected," says Oliver Hochedez, head of Malteser International's emergency relief department.
"At the moment, there is no way to get through, the streets in the big cities are full of people who want to get themselves and their families to safety. In some places there is only rationed food and a maximum of 20 liters of gasoline per car. The queues at the stores are huge. People wait outside pharmacies all day," Hochedez says.
"We are in close exchange with Malteser in Ukraine, but also with Order of Malta entities in neighboring countries. We can build on a large network that exists in many countries bordering Ukraine. Together we will provide as much support as possible to the people on the ground and do everything to alleviate the suffering of the population," says Clemens Graf von Mirbach-Harff, Secretary General of Malteser International.
The Order of Malta has been active in Ukraine since the 1990s. In close cooperation between Malteser International, Malteser Ukraine, and Malteser Germany, the relief organization provides mental health and psychological support for displaced people, and supports the poor, disadvantaged population with warm meals in their soup kitchens. On Thursday, February 24th, an aid transport containing mobile soup kitchens and medical material has departed Malteser Germany and is on its way to the affected areas.
Attention editors:
Oliver Hochedez, head of the emergency relief department of Malteser International in Cologne, is available for interviews and sound bites.
Operator: +49 (0)221 98227 181, katharina.kiecol(at)malteser-international.org
