The Italian Ambassador to Ukraine, Carlo Formosa, visited the “Okhmatdyt” Pediatric Hospital in Kyiv, which was severely damaged by Russian bombings on the Ukrainian capital. The Head of Mission was accompanied by personnel from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in Kyiv and humanitarian workers from the Italian organization Soleterre.
During his visit, Ambassador Formosa personally observed the severe damage sustained by the facility, where the attack resulted in two fatalities and thirty-two injuries. He met with the General Director Volodymyr Zhovnir, Medical Director Serghiy Chernyshuk, and the hospital staff. The Head of Mission conveyed Italy’s solidarity with the victims and the terrible devastation suffered and expressed Italy’s readiness to contribute to emergency management and the reconstruction of the clinic, starting with the projects the hospital is already benefiting from within the framework of Italian Cooperation support.
The hospital, which treats over 20,000 children annually and provides consultations to more than 65,000 patients, represents one of the focal points of Italian Cooperation’s commitment in Ukraine. At the “Okhmatdyt” Hospital, the Italian civil society organization (CSO) Soleterre, in collaboration with the local partner Zaporuka Foundation, was working on the construction of a new physical rehabilitation ward with twenty beds, through a project funded with 100,000 euros by Italian Cooperation. As part of the same initiative, in recent months, rehabilitation equipment and consumables worth over 90,000 euros were also purchased, including exercise machines, standing frames, ceiling lifts, and water baths for orthotic production; unfortunately, many of these pieces of equipment were lost or damaged during the attack. Soleterre, with support from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, has also supported and funded the presence of qualified medical staff both for physical rehabilitation (injured or disabled) and for psychological support.
In 2023, thanks to funds from Italian Cooperation, through a program implemented by the Italian CSO Terre des Hommes, the same hospital received donations of hard-to-find medicines in Ukraine to facilitate the care of young patients at the facility.
Both initiatives are part of calls for CSOs funded by Italian Cooperation totaling 60.5 million euros. AICS has been operating in the health sector in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion: between 2022 and 2024, it has initiated 24 projects dedicated to health, protection, and well-being of the population, for a total of over 20 million euros.
