Ukraine

For most transgender women in Ukraine, there is no way to cross the border to Poland or other countries: Their formal documents identify them as men, so the government prohibits them from leaving the country. But, with Americares help, this group does receive specialized health care – from an ambulance that brings LGBTQ+ care to Lviv.

The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine has propelled the region deeper into crisis—forcing thousands to flee the flooding and leaving many communities without access to clean water, electricity and medicine. Americares has been receiving requests for assistance from partner organizations in the affected area since the dam was destroyed on June 6.

When the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv came under attack in 2022, health professionals knew they had to save lives – and medicine. They found a most unlikely and ideal space.

During wartime, living with tuberculosis becomes even more complex: Patients need a steady supply of medicine and a safe place to shelter during air raids, separate from uninfected people. Now, in Odesa, Ukraine, TB patients have both.

Oksana and her daughters have found support services at Acceptance Foundation, an Americares partner in Poznan, Poland, that focuses on providing medical treatment and support to members of the LGBTQIA+ community and other people who are made vulnerable because they are excluded, discriminated against and severely affected by life and war.

Stamford, Conn. – Feb. 15, 2023 – Americares has provided more than $70 million in aid over the past year to meet the health needs of displaced families and survivors of the war in Ukraine. Americares response focuses on the delivery of medicine and medical supplies, providing generators and heating equipment, supporting safety and protection and expanding mental health support. The full response activities are detailed in Americares Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis One-Year Report published today.

Violence against women is a global threat to public health and women’s health, especially during conflict and hostilities. Feminoteka, an Americares partner in Poland, raises awareness about violence against women, including sexual assault, and provides counseling and resources to survivors.

When 20-year-old Yaryna fled Ukraine in February 2022, driving her sister and family friends to Poland over three days in frigid temperatures, she had one goal: To bring everyone safely across the border. She did not know that her intense focus on that goal would be the first step to a debilitating burnout that threatened her own health and safety

Around the world, mothers and their teenage daughters often enjoy spending an afternoon together. Now, living under threat of shelling and bombardment, at least one mother and her daughter chose to spend a day learning lifesaving skills at a tactical course in trauma care.