Equipment will help provide oxygen therapy to people with respiratory disorders typical of coronavirus infection

Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk Oblast, August 28, 2020 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine has transferred 50 specialized oxygen concentrators worth U.S. $25,000 to 23 medical facilities in Luhansk Oblast.

The oxygen concentrators (with output rates of 5 litres per minute) are special devices that separate oxygen from air and supply high concentrations of oxygen (more than 90 percent) – vital in oxygen therapy for people with the kind of respiratory disorders that are especially typical for coronavirus infection.

The coordinator of the Local Governance and Decentralisation Reform Component of the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, Olena Ruditch, noted that with the rapid spread of COVID-19, the need for essential medical devices and equipment is also growing.

“People with lung disease and patients with COVID-19 can suffer from mild to very severe symptoms,” Ms. Ruditch said. “Oxygen concentrators are extremely useful, because they deliver pure oxygen and help stabilize the patient's health. We’re striving for as many medical institutions in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts as possible to be provided with this high-quality and vital equipment.”

Serhii Haidai, Head of the Luhansk Oblast State Administration and Head of the Oblast Military-Civil Administration, said that through joint efforts with the world community Ukraine would be able to overcome the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and save human health and lives: "We’re grateful for the help we regularly receive from international and Ukrainian organizations. This is very important at a difficult time for Luhansk Oblast and the whole country."

The oxygen concentrators were supplied to six oblast hospitals, as well as medical institutions in Lysychansk, Rubizhne, Sievierodonetsk, Bilovodsk, Bilokurakyne, Kreminna, Markivka, Milove, Novoaidar, Shchastia, Novopskov, Popasna, Svatove, Stanytsia Luhanska, Starobilsk and Troitske.

The equipment was purchased under the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, with the financial support of the European Union, to meet the key needs of Luhansk Oblast health facilities combatting the COVID-19 outbreak.

Another fifty oxygen concentrators were recently transferred to hospitals in Donetsk Oblast.

Media enquiries

Maksym Kytsiuk, Communications Associate, the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, maksym.kytsiuk@undp.org, +380 63 576 1839

Background

The United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP) is being implemented by four United Nations agencies: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Thirteen international partners support the Programme: the European Union (EU), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, and the governments of Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland & the UK.