Christian medics and dentists are playing a crucial role in the Ukraine conflict – despite the constant threat of missile attacks.
The International Christian Medical and Dental Association (ICMDA) links around 60,000 Christian doctors and dentists in over 100 countries worldwide.
When the conflict began in Ukraine, the ICMDA appealed to its members to provide resources for Christian doctors and dentists throughout Ukraine, working closely with the Christian Medical Association of Ukraine (CMA).
The CMA works under the Ukraine Ministry of Health and has set up a distribution warehouse centre in Lviv, in western Ukraine. It distributes medical supplies where they are in short supply. The CMA cares for the wounded, displaced and homeless, provides frontline health facilities, and supplies drugs and equipment to hospitals and health centres.
Over the last year the ICMDA has raised over £750,000 from Christian doctors, charities and corporate donors and has moved more than 100 lorry loads of medical supplies to Ukraine. These have been delivered by the CMA to over 300 hospitals, clinics, churches and para-medical units in Ukraine.
Rudolf Myhovych, President of CMA Ukraine, told en: ‘Before the start of the war, we had many planned conferences, medical camps, and mobile clinics. All were cancelled. And many doctors fled the country. But none of the CMA team left.
‘We opened one of the largest medical aid warehouses in Ukraine, because we understood that the number of wounded would be much higher than our hospitals could cope with. We started with 70 volunteers, but over time we started hiring people too. Now we have 20 employees who are involved in five specific projects. After the first weeks of the war, we started educational projects. This was needed because providing doctors with antibiotics does more harm than good if they use them incorrectly. One of those projects sent 13 specialists to Harvard University Hospital to train in lung transplantation. This team now conducts these complex operations on an ongoing basis.
‘Of course we help the military. If we don’t, we will have a constant stream of wounded civilians. Our goal is to stop the war and do everything to achieve it. Moreover, these are not just some soldiers, these are our brothers, friends, parents, comrades, these are our loved ones who have decided to defend the country. About 30% of our recipients are military. We help prisons – which now hold Russian military personnel too – with their medical needs. We respect everyone, even if they are enemies. Unfortunately, Russia does not have the same attitude to our prisoners.
‘Churches in Ukraine mobilised to help everyone in their region. When military zones began to evacuate the population, they were the last to leave, together with the military, and the first to re-enter to liberate recaptured regions. Those churches that were in the west began to receive immigrants and help them. The CMA helped churches by supplying them with medicine; they then move it to places where the authorities cannot reach. For example, in the occupied territories, pastors transported medicine in the territory controlled by the Russians, which exposed them to great danger. But they did it because they cared about their people.
Myhovych said there was nothing they could do ultimately to prevent the risk of missiles hitting their warehouse.
‘Of course we have a security policy. Of course, when there is an air alarm, workers can go to the bomb shelter. But it is impossible to protect oneself from missiles,’ he said.
And he encouraged UK medics and en readers to visit their website: ‘Every project has a need, whether it’s mannequins for training or ultrasound for mobile clinics. But ultimately we need financial support. In order to be transparent and accountable, we ask donors to give via ICMDA. We trust them completely and are grateful for their help. But education is also important. If you could enable one of our doctors to visit to your hospital for a short period, that would also be very important. Do contact us if you could do that. [www.cma-ukraine.com]
‘We get more help now than we did in the beginning. But now there is a greater need. The war has been going on for over a year now. And we have many wounded.
‘Please do not stop praying and doing something to stop this senseless war. This is not politics or internal conflict. This is a war that started because of the plans of the devil, and God is not in it. Although we see His wonderful hand and support all the time. The church grew, the church became a spiritual and physical shelter. We need more people like Jesus, who was not afraid of evil but defeated it.’
