UK Government donates £2 million worth of medical equipment to Ukraine

GOV.UKApr 5 2024

More than £2 million worth of lifesaving medical equipment, including ventilators, pumps and monitors, has been donated to Ukraine by the UK Government.

To support hospitals in Ukraine the donation package will support up to 60 intensive care beds. It includes a variety of ventilators, oxygen concentrators, suction pumps, patent monitors, volumetric pumps, and heated humidifiers.

These items are urgently needed by healthcare facilities in Ukraine for the immediate use in treating people.

The UK's support for our friends in Ukraine is unwavering and we want to help in every way we can. This donation will support their hospitals and builds on previous deliveries of medicines and equipment to save lives.

We will continue to work closely with the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and other partners to ensure humanitarian aid reaches the people who need it most, as quickly as possible."

Victoria Atkins, Health and Social Care Secretary

The donation followed a request for help from the Ukrainian Minister of Health. The Health and Social Care Secretary also recently met with Ukraine's First Lady, to whom she reiterated the UK Government's ongoing support.

Ukraine's First Lady thanked the UK for its assistance in the medical sector and for the donation of medical supplies and they also discussed further medical co-operation in the future.

In September last year, the UK signed a statement on international health partnerships. This recognised the importance of international co-operation and recommended building and encouraging global partnerships between government and expert bodies.

29 partnerships have been established between 21 Ukrainian and 26 foreign healthcare institutions from 15 countries. These enable partners to share experience, training, operational knowledge and research.

During her visit, the Department of Health and Social Care minister Lord Markham joined the First Lady at a roundtable discussion on mental health.

Loading of the equipment took place on Tuesday 5 March, and the equipment has now been received by Ukraine. This in addition to previous donations of over 11 million items of medical equipment and medicines.

The Covid Strategic ICU Reserve, which are Covid stockpiles, has also previously supported aid packages to Nepal, Peru, Gaza, and British Overseas Territories, and issued over 80,000 pieces of equipment into the NHS since 2020.

This donation is part of the UK's commitment to provide medical supplies and basic necessities on the ground, saving lives and protecting vulnerable people following Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine.  The United Nations estimates that almost 18 million people in Ukraine need humanitarian support.

This donation is in addition to the £357 million of humanitarian aid the UK has committed since the start of the full-scale invasion. UK support contributes to an international response that reached 11 million people in Ukraine in 2023 and 15.8 million in 2022.