First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a visit to the Kingdom of Sweden.
The President's wife visited Aleris Rehab Station, a high-level rehabilitation center in the country's healthcare system. Rehabilitation here is based on comprehensive medical, psychosocial, health and technical measures. The goal is to enable participants to resume or maintain an active role in society.
36 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already undergone treatment at the center. The First Lady thanked the Swedish doctors for helping Ukrainians.
"Rehabilitating the wounded so that they can feel confident and fully engaged in society is exactly what we want for Ukrainians in our country," she said.
Olena Zelenska also met with Swedish Minister for Health Acko Ankarberg Johansson.
"I am glad to note that the Ministers of Health of Ukraine and Sweden are in close personal contact. There is a growing need for prosthetics, as well as rehabilitation services with a focus on restoring physical functionality, and, as far as possible, mental and psychological rehabilitation of Ukrainians. And we cannot do this without the support of our partners," the First Lady said.
She emphasized that in order to establish fruitful cooperation and coordination of efforts between health ministries of different countries, Ukraine is initiating the creation of an international medical partnership program under the patronage of the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen to be held on September 6 in Kyiv.
"For Ukraine, this will mean an exchange of experience in the treatment, rehabilitation, and prosthetics of our wounded. Our institutions will receive targeted international reinforcement, and foreign specialists will have the opportunity to learn from the experience of their Ukrainian colleagues in emergency situations. It is not only us who need this: the modern world is a single organism, so we can only treat, save, and support it together," Olena Zelenska is convinced.
She suggested considering the possibility of establishing direct cooperation between Aleris Rehab Station and the Ukrainian State Medical and Social Center for War Veterans (Kyiv region).
In addition, the First Lady met with King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia. She thanked them for their principled and consistent support for Ukraine. The Royal Family is closely monitoring the situation in our country. In particular, after the liberation of Zmiivka village (former Swedish settlement of Gammalsvenskby in Beryslav district of Kherson region) from Russian occupation, Their Majesties the King and Queen of Sweden made a donation from their personal savings to quickly restore the damaged infrastructure of the village.
"I am sure that it is no coincidence that Ukraine and Sweden have the same colors of their national flags. Our peoples share not only common pages of glorious history, but also common principles, the main of which is that human life is priceless and its quality is a priority," Olena Zelenska said.
During a meeting with the spouse of the Prime Minister of Sweden, Birgitta Ed, Olena Zelenska thanked for the consistent support of our country, in particular for providing shelter from the war to more than 50,000 Ukrainians and for the treatment of 85 civilians and soldiers with mine-blast injuries and cancer.
Birgitta Ed is a businesswoman, social activist, and pastor of a local Lutheran community.
"Unfortunately, the war continues, our people suffer every day and need help every day. Last year, I created a charitable foundation aimed at helping Ukrainians and restoring Ukraine's human capital. We are working in three main areas: education, medicine and humanitarian aid," said Olena Zelenska. "My foundation has an ambitious goal: every person in Ukraine should feel physically and mentally healthy, protected, able to realize their right to education and build a future in their native country.
