Urgent appeal to Canadians for critical medical support to Ukraine

TORONTO, Nov. 5 /CNW/ - The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) and the Canada Ukraine Foundation (CUF) today launched an appeal to the Government of Canada, all provinces and territories and Canadians to help the people of Ukraine deal with a serious outbreak of pandemic flu ravaging the country.

In response to an urgent plea from the Government of Ukraine, this Canadian appeal calls for donations of specialized medical supplies to support sick and critically ill Ukrainians across their country. Supplies needed include: antibiotics, sanitizers, masks, syringes, ventilators and basic medical products to assist sick and critically ill Ukrainians. Over 250,000 flu cases have been reported, with over 1,100 children admitted to hospital in the last several days.

"The rapid escalation of the disease has the making of what could be a public health catastrophe," stated Bob Onyschuk Q.C. Chairman of the Canada Ukraine Foundation. "The government of Ukraine has closed all schools and implemented a quarantine in nine oblasts and has issued a call for urgently needed medical supplies."

The appeal is being coordinated with the Embassy of Ukraine in Canada who will ensure rapid distribution of the supplies and support within Ukraine.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones. We cannot stand by and watch this pandemic ravage Ukraine. As Canadians we have an obligation to reach out and help," stated Ukrainian Canadian Congress President Paul Grod. "We ask that the Government of Canada and the provinces and territories designate a portion of foreign assistance funding toward immediate humanitarian medical aide to help Ukraine fight this pandemic. As well, we urge Canadians to generously donate money that can be used to buy medical supplies as soon as possible."

For complete list of the medical supplies needed and more information about the situation in Ukraine, please visit www.ucc.ca.

For further information: Media Contacts: Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Darla Penner, Tel: [phone], Email: [email protected], www.ucc.ca