During a working visit of the President of Ukraine and the First Lady of Ukraine to the Netherlands, Olena Zelenska visited the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology in Utrecht, the largest pediatric oncology center in Europe.
"We appreciate that the Center immediately responded to the request of our Ukrainian colleagues from the Western Ukrainian Specialized Children's Medical Center to evacuate children with cancer back in March 2022, organizing planes, accommodation, and family support. We are grateful that the Center accepts the most critical patients for treatment. And they do it within a week after our request. So far, 95 children from Ukraine have undergone treatment here," the First Lady said.
She emphasized that the Center actively attracts doctors from our country for internships so that Ukrainian doctors can work side by side with their colleagues from the Netherlands and share their experience.
During the visit, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed by Director of the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology Dr. Gita Gallé and Acting Chief Physician of the Western Ukrainian Specialized Children's Medical Center Roman Kizyma with the support of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
According to the President's wife, this cooperation will be the first practical example of interaction within the international medical partnership that Ukraine is launching.
"In order to cope now and lay the foundation for the period after the victory, Ukraine proposes to establish an international medical partnership program. This is a program that we are initiating in the framework of the third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen and implementing in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. Each interested country can establish direct interaction with a specific hospital in Ukraine by choosing a suitable institution on its part. The governments will support and guide this cooperation," she said.
The first meeting of heads of health ministries under the patronage of the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen will take place in September.
In addition, Olena Zelenska met with the management of Royal Philips, which specializes in the production of medical equipment (patient monitors, ultrasound, X-ray machines, CT, MRI, etc.), healthcare solutions, and personal care equipment.
The First Lady familiarized the interlocutors with the activities of the Olena Zelenska Foundation in providing humanitarian, medical and educational assistance to Ukrainians. One of the Foundation's projects is to rebuild the hospital in Izyum, Kharkiv region, destroyed by the occupiers.
"For more than a year and a half of full-scale war, Russia has destroyed more than 1,500 Ukrainian hospitals. Access to medical services is critical, especially in the de-occupied regions. Izyum Central Hospital was shelled, as were dozens of other critical infrastructure facilities. Four operating rooms, an intensive care unit and an elevator were completely destroyed. A tomography machine was crushed by a slab," she said.
For its part, Royal Philips made a statement that it would join the Foundation's projects.
"For the Izyum hospital, this will mean the of full-fledged work, and for 150 thousand local residents - decent health care. The international medical partnership saves lives," Olena Zelenska emphasized.
