The ongoing war has left a heavy toll on Ukrainian refugees who have escaped their country amidst the invasion of the Russian army.
Medicare Centre in Rzeszów, Poland
To combat the crisis, a team of Ukrainian and Polish medical staff has joined hands and is working tirelessly to give free medical treatment to the refugees. A World Health Organization team, along with Ukrainian and Polish medical staff, have set up a medical center in Rzeszów to ensure that no refugees go without treatment.Â
Mufida Nazri, the medical center’s executive manager, explained in an interview the importance of this initiative. She said the refugees needed a place where they could communicate about their medical conditions in their language. The clinic has 18 doctors from Ukraine who are presently learning the Polish language from the Polish doctors so that they can treat patients from both countries in the future.Â
Psychological Health Support in Lublin, Poland
A team of American and Polish psychologists has also set up free medical camps in Lublin, Poland, to establish a care system for the Ukrainian refugees. The aim of the Health Support Team is to teach volunteers basic skills to respond to the mental health needs of individuals forced out of their country.Â
The psychological training schedule was introduced by Tona McGuire, a former clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington, and Kira Mauseth, a psychology instructor at Seattle University. The priority of this mission is to look after the well-being of children who have fled Ukraine and to induct them into Polish schools.
“We’re going to not just have Ukrainian refugee children being absorbed into these schools in eastern Poland, but we’ve had shelling as close as 10 miles to the Polish border at this point. So you can imagine there is a lot of anxiety and a lot of stress right now in those schools among all the students.”
Tona McGuire
The war has led thousands of families to come to different cities of Poland with an unforeseeable future. During these times, the World Health Organization and medical practitioners like Tona McGuire and Mufida Nazri are providing a glimmer of hope by ensuring the health and well-being of the Ukrainian refugees.
