WUNRN
http://newirin.irinnews.org/extras/2015/5/19/aid-eastern-ukraine-longread
Direct Link to Full 18-Page 2015 Publication, which
includes maps and graphs.
THE STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL ACROSS UKRAINE’S FRONTLINE - WOMEN
Ukraine's frontline cuts across the country
like a jagged scar. Despite a February ceasefire, the fighting hasn't stopped.
In March and April, Kristina Jovanovski had rare access to
rebel-held areas to investigate the humanitarian disaster that has
unfolded on Europe's doorstep. Here is our exclusive report on why aid isn't
getting through.
Soup kitchens, like this one run by the local Red Cross in
Luhansk, are the only source of regular food for some.
More than half those displaced are in the war-torn regions of Donetsk and Luhansk
In rebel-held areas, 92 percent of households reported to ACAPS, an independent organisation that assesses
humanitarian needs, that they were in need of medicine, while 34 percent said
they had no access or unreliable access to water.
With no free health care or drugs, patients are also
suffering. Since many of those left in rebel-held areas are elderly, the need
for medicines for chronic diseases is especially acute. Aid organisations
focused on emergencies are ill-equipped to deliver the long-term solutions
required.
"No one knows how they’ll manage to provide insulin to
the patients here in two months' time," says MSF's Jaeger.
In yet another obstacle, Ukrainian law limits the type of
drugs that can be imported and does not allow aid agencies to donate to
hospitals – only to individuals. That is especially problematic for patients
who cannot administer their own medicine, such as those with mental
disabilities living in institutions where their doctors need to prescribe the
drugs.
Hospitals in the rebel-held east struggle to treat acute
injuries.
MSF did manage to get enough drugs to run some mobile
clinics, including at the hospital in the town of Novosvitlivka.
The road to the town is dotted with small villages
foreshadowing a former frontline. The houses are destroyed, belongings
abandoned. The occasional pedestrian is often the only sign that the
communities are not completely deserted. Residents have become stuck in a time
capsule of war, living amongst the rubble.
Valya Stepkina is one of about 300 patients to attend the
MSF clinic the day I visit. Most people are seeking treatment for chronic
diseases like diabetes or for pills to help regulate heart problems.
Stepkina, 65, is picking up medication for her blood
pressure, but what she is really hoping for are the pills she needs to treat
her cancer.
She waits anxiously until the doctor finally comes out only
to tell her they don't have them. It has been the same story since September
and Stepkina is worried about her growing tumour. She has tried going to
Luhansk city but can’t find the pills there either. Having not received her
pension in more than nine months, she says she wouldn’t be able to afford the
medicine even if it was available.
Back at her home, a baby carriage for her twin grandsons
lies empty in the living room. They are at the hospital with a high fever that
will not go away. So is Stepkina's son, who has a leg injury and can't get the
right treatment.
"Sometimes I (might) cry. But it is life. I can't
do anything. We need to survive but nobody cares about us," she says,
counting herself as one of the lucky ones. At least her house is still
standing.