The project "Response to acute humanitarian issues (sexual and reproductive needs) of the most vulnerable women and adolescent girls in eastern Ukraine" was implemented in June to December 2019.
The purpose of the project is provision of gynecological and therapeutic diagnosing, preventive healthcare by three UNFPA medical mobile teams, supply of a minimal set of medicines and contraceptives, including male condoms, to people living in settlements along the contact line in Bakhmut, Yasynuvata, Volnovakha, Torez districts, Avdivka city of Donetsk region and Stanychno-Luhansky, Novoaidarsky, Popasna, Troitsky, Milove districts, Schastia city of Luhansk region).
Each mobile team includes a gynecologist, family medicine doctor, nurse, driver and social worker. The teams are equipped with portable electrocardiographs, ultrasound examination devices used also for gynecological screening. Each team was provided with rapid blood tests for glucose level, hepatitis B, C, and HIV / AIDS. The laboratories of Donetsk and Luhansk oncologic dispensaries were involved in the analysis of cytological examinations.
During the project implementation period, the mobile teams provided a preventive healthcare in 253 settlements and performed 18,201 medical examinations. Of these, 8,226 were gynecological examinations and 9,975 family doctor consultations.
Among the persons seeking help, 9,068 were women (2,957 women aged 15-49 years; 4,257 women aged 60+ years); men – 1,281; children - 280; persons with disabilities - 814.
As a result of the medical mobile teams’ work, local Primary Health Care Centers obtained preliminary conclusions regarding reproductive health issues:
- uterine/vaginal prolapse - 953;
- pelvic inflammatory diseases - 956;
- uterine fibroid - 800;
- cervical lesions - 397;
- mastopathy - 796.
Diseases not related to reproductive health:
- cardiovascular diseases - 6,007;
- diabetes mellitus - 668;
- gastrointestinal diseases - 3,175;
- thyroid disorders and other endocrine diseases - 1,293;
- respiratory diseases - 341;
- urological diseases - 2,110;
- neurological diseases - 628.
Given the need of women for gynecologic surgery with 70% of operations being mainly related to severe cases of uterine/vaginal prolapse, the United Nations Population Fund has additionally invited an experienced gynecologist. 27 gynecological surgeries were performed at Popasna district hospital. Overall, about 7% of women surveyed by the mobile teams require surgical treatment of gynecological pathology.
As part of the project, 200 thousand US dollars of humanitarian aid in the form of medical kits containing medicines, surgical tools and medical consumables for reproductive health care, normal and complicated labor management, including 1,500 Caesarean sections, was provided to the medical institutions of the above-mentioned districts, perinatal centers and maternity hospitals in Mariupol, Kramatorsk, Pokrovsk, Kostiantynivka, Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Rubizhne, Starobilsk and Bilovodsk.
In order to increase the level of prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV, 1,620,000 male condoms were provided to social services centers for families, children and youth, AIDS prevention centers and other health care facilities in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
To improve knowledge and enhance the capacity of planners and emergency care providers in the area of reproductive health, sexually transmitted infections, gender-based violence and taking into account specific needs and services for women with disabilities, 357 health care workers were trained.
The project’s authors and implementing organizations are the United Nations Population Fund in Ukraine, the Woman Health and Family Planning Charitable Foundation and the Ukrainian Medical Mission with the support of the Departments of Health of Civil-Military Administrations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The project was funded by the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
