ICN and Romanian Order of Nurses support Ukrainian refugees

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) and the Order of Nurses, Midwives and Medical Assistants in Romania (the Order) held a virtual meeting this week to confirm their collaboration to help Ukrainian refugees.

As part of its #NursesforPeace campaign, ICN has made a donation to the Romanian Order which will be used to support ambulance teams, half of which are nurses, who are working with the Ukrainian refugees arriving in Romania after being forced to leave their country because of the conflict. ICN donations are being used to provide medication, equipment and supplies for the ambulance service.

ICN CEO Howard Catton said, “We are proud to support the work of the Order and are truly grateful to them. Around half of the ambulance teams aiding the Ukrainian refugees are nurses and they are responding to a wide range of health needs in difficult circumstances. We commend their courage and will stay in close contact with the Order’s President, Mircea Timofte, to see how else we can help them.”

Dr. Alis Grasu, the manager of SABIF, the Romanian National Public Ambulance Service was also present at the virtual meeting and expressed gratitude for ICN’s support which had contributed to providing essential supplies for their work with Ukrainian refugees. Dr Grasu emphasised that nurses were playing an essential role in the ambulance service’s response to the needs of the refugees.

ICN is working with a number of national nursing associations bordering Ukraine as well as the Ukraine Nurses Association and discussing ways to provide aid directly to nurses affected by the conflict.

Last week, Mr Catton held a bilateral meeting with Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Health, Oleksii Iaremenko, joined by the World Health Organization’s Chief Nursing Officer, Elizabeth Iro, where the focus was providing mental health support to Ukrainian nurses and health workers caught up in the conflict. Read more here.

The #NursesforPeace campaign was established in the immediate aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine to call for peace, condemn attacks on healthcare, and support nurses on the frontlines. Donations to the ICN Humanitarian Fund can be made here.

Download the communique here