The largest Hungarian aid program to date has been launched in Ukraine; Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade help refugees in seven regions of the war-ridden country.
Talking about the program that will last until the end of May, László Lehel, president-director of Hungarian Interchurch Aid said at the press conference held in Budapest on Thursday that basic food items, hygiene packages and warm blankets would be provided for the families that fled fighting. He added that they intend to take care of about 1,350 families, more than 7,000 refugees.
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Deputy State Secretary in charge of International Cooperation at the Ministry, Ádám Zoltán Kovács emphasised that humanitarian activity and participation is a key area of the Ministry’s activities.
He reminded that an Act on international development cooperation and international humanitarian assistance was passed last December after several rounds of negotiations with the civil society.
Mr Kovács emphasised that the government is committed to help Ukraine, and a resource of about HUF 100 million has been allocated to this purpose. The Ministry would provide the necessary background to ensure that aid organisations can work as efficiently as possible in the region, he said.
Mr Lehel said that this large-scale assistance program has been launched upon request by ACT Alliance, a Geneva-based international organisation that finances the program. He added that donations can be made by phone, calling 1353 and also through their website.
He reminded that the first aid shipments have already been delivered to Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhia and Kiev, while further supplies to be delivered to Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Transcarpathia will arrive during the next weeks.
The Hungarian aid organisation closely cooperates with local partners; goods are purchased and logistics are arranged locally in order to minimize costs. Programs are coordinated by aid workers in the field, delegated by the aid organization to Kiev and Zaporizhia.
He also reminded that Hungarian Interchurch Aid - with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade - was the first to offer humanitarian assistance for the St. Michael's Cathedral in Kiev, Maidan Square in February 2014, which has been transformed into a temporary hospital at the beginning of the hostilities.
Physicians, nurses and volunteers who treated casualties of the conflict in Kiev took part in five-day rehabilitation programs in Hungary as the guests of HIA, with a support of HUF 18 million from the Ministry. The aid scheme continued in the middle of March, when hygiene products, non-perishable food items and donations for child care were handed over at two locations, in Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv, recalled László Lehel.
Having recently arrived from Eastern Ukraine, Head of International Programs for Hungarian Interchurch Aid, Gábor Bálint called attention to the fact that while basic food and hygiene items are provided, there is little help for those people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
HIA intends to develop a specific, locally operated assistance program for traumatized people with the involvement of local psychologists, he announced.
Images recently taken by news photographer Szilárd Koszticsák (MTVA/MTI) in Eastern Ukraine where he had accompanied aid workers were presented at the press conference. Some of the photos can be seen at www.segelyszervezet.hu, where information about the activities carried out by the charitable organization in Ukraine is also available.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)
