Thirteen ambassadors accredited to Ukraine attended a charitable soiree and auction organized by the Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Foundation (CCRDF) to raise funds for the pediatric oncology ward at the National Cancer Institute in Kyiv. For the third time in a row US Ambassador to Ukraine William B. Taylor was elected to preside over this charity event. The other participating ambassadors, representing all five continents, rubbed shoulders with more than 100 members of Kyiv’s diplomatic, business, and cultural communities. The Kyiv artist Yevhenia Hapchynska submitted some of her works to the auction.
The Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund, which organized the soiree, has been providing aid to child victims of the Chornobyl disaster for almost 20 years.
CCRDF founding member Nadia Matkiwska said: “Our foundation was the first in Ukraine to develop the country’s first neonatology, pediatric cancer, and pediatric cardiosurgery programs. In the past, we received donations from foreign companies. Today, however, we see that rich people in Ukraine are aware of the importance of humanitarian missions in business, so these individuals are also contributing to this good cause. Besides them, we are counting on cooperation with the government. We will be contacting the Cabinet of Ministers to introduce amendments to legislation in order to facilitate the export of medicines to Ukraine.”
The organizers noted that the pediatric oncology ward at Kyiv’s National Cancer Institute cannot afford to purchase Soering’s Ultrasonic-Dissector Sonoca 300, a device that ensures minimal blood loss during operations on children. Physicians say that it will make such surgeries much safer and lower the blood transfusion rate. It is hoped that this ultrasonic dissector will put some 90 percent of their young patients back on their feet.
“Each year nearly 1,000 children in Ukraine are diagnosed with cancer,” said Hryhorii Klymniuk, Ukraine’s chief pediatric oncologist. “They are probably the most difficult cases in the country. We have been receiving government support only in the last three or four years. Because of the inertial mechanism of running these programs, it often happens that these children are not given expensive medications. In such cases, parents shoulder the heavy burden of treatment costs. Lack of funds is behind the 40 percent juvenile cancer survival rate, compared to nearly 80 percent in Europe. In developed countries, governments finance above all oncology, including pediatric oncology, but in Ukraine it is prenatal pathology, infectious diseases, and traumas. We desperately need this Ultrasonic-Dissector Sonoca 300 because we are constantly experiencing problems with blood transfusions,” said Dr. Klymniuk. “We mostly operate on infants and children under 18 years of age. These are complicated operations involving heavy loss of blood. Since these children’s immune systems are already destroyed by chemotherapy, blood transfusions are quite a dangerous procedure for them. The Ultrasonic-Dissector Sonoca 300 would solve this problem.”
Dr. Klymniuk said that this machine costs 50,000 euros at the most, and that a single one would be enough for the entire hospital.
Among the participants of the charitable soiree were the Ukrainian Development Foundation, Ukraine International Airlines, Dolmart Ukraine, Leo Burnett, Salans, TMU, American Medical Centers, Winner Automobile, Coca-Cola, and other businesses.
The CCRDF is planning a number of other projects that also require financial support. “The world is a global village in which people are becoming increasingly dependent on each other, so people’s health issues cannot be confined to national borders. We need international cooperation to meet global challenges. This is not a temporary commitment. This means serving the joint interests of mankind,” said Turkey’s Ambassador to Ukraine Erdogan Iscan.
FROM OUR FACTFILE
In 2009 the Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Foundation will mark its 20th anniversary in Ukraine. Over the years the CCRDF has organized 31 airlifts and 15 sea shipments of medical aid slated for 24 hospitals in Ukraine, worth over 55 million USD. The CCRDF’s main objective is to improve the quality of medical assistance for children and expectant mothers by introducing treatment programs in neonatology, perinatology, pediatric cardiosurgery, and oncology. The foundation has been successfully working in the field of pediatric cancer with Philip Morris Ukraine. Over 400,000 dollars has been spent on these programs to date.
The CCRDF recently raised more than two million dollars for its programs. Part of this money will be channeled into the foundation’s program called “The National Oncological and Hematological Program.” Its ultimate objective is to form a network of pediatric and oncology centers in Ukraine by 2014. This program is aimed at providing comprehensive health screening as well as clinical and postoperative care for cancer patients.
