As soon as the curfew ends in Kramatorsk, Senior Midwife Anastasiya from the Regional Perinatal Center is already preparing for another outing. She is greeted by the driver of the SRH mobile health unit, Andriy, and at dawn, they set off on their journey.

The SRH mobile health unit at Donetsk region. Photo by «Eastern Format» edition.

On this day, the SRH mobile health unit will include two doctors from Pokrovsk Intensive Care Hospital – an obstetrician-gynecologist and the head of the perinatal center, Ivan Ivanovych Tsyganok, and a cardiologist, Serhiy Yuriyovych Antsyferov. The route is planned as follows: first, pick up the doctors from Pokrovsk, and then head to the village of Zolotyi Kolodiaz. Along the way, the SRH mobile health unit picks up the second midwife, Irina, who will assist the doctors and help with patient examinations. There may be quite a few patients.

Upon reaching their destination, the doctors settle into their offices, and almost immediately start inviting the first visitors who have already formed a queue in the corridor.

Ivan Tsyganok conducts gynecological examinations and sees a significant need in his work: «Women come to us who have not seen a gynecologist for 10-20 years or even more. Lack of logistics, almost no transportation, safety concerns – all of these factors further worsen people's responsibility for their health. Thanks to our work, people receive consultations, recommendations. If any pathology is detected, we refer them for further examinations.»

Workers of the SRH mobile health unit on the way to Donetsk region. Photo by «Eastern Format» edition.

«Our main goal is to provide consultations. If necessary, we conduct ultrasound examinations. We also have doctors with a therapeutic profile accompanying us. Today, for example, our cardiologist, Serhiy Yuriyovych, who is also from Pokrovsk, is with us. These consultations are sufficient to examine a person and detect diseases,» says Ivan Ivanovych.

When the SRH mobile health unit were first  forming, a decision was made to bring together specialists from Kramatorsk and Pokrovsk. This decision was primarily due to the shortage of specialists in the region. In addition, the Pokrovsk Perinatal Center is the only one that continues to operate in Donetsk, as the centers in Mariupol and Kramatorsk were destroyed by shelling, according to Ivan Ivanovych.

Typically, a working day for the mobile gynecological brigade in Donetsk lasts for ten hours. And the next morning, the vehicle will be ready to head to new cities and villages for doctors to meet with patients.

The SRH mobile health unit and Inclusive Barrier-Free Gynaecological Surgery Rooms operate as part of UNFPA's humanitarian response efforts with financial support from the European Union (EU), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, France, and the Republic of Korea.

The material was prepared by the publication «Eastern Format» and UNFPA Ukraine.