Thanks to the intervention of the Soleterre Foundation during the first phases of the war in Ukraine, 27 Ukrainian children and their guardians who were transferred and hospitalised at the Policlinico San Matteo in Pavia will also have the opportunity to attend Italy vs. Ukraine at the Meazza stadium on Tuesday 12 September.

It will be an opportunity for relaxation and entertainment for those who, for the last year and a half, have had to fight illness far from home. A home where, even now, thousands of children in need of care have to deal with violence and conflict. The war did not spare paediatric hospitals: 18 months after the start of the war in Ukraine, the World Health Organization (WHO), through its own surveillance platform, has verified reports of 802 attacks on healthcare. This number, when compared with the other 18 countries monitored in the same period, represents 69% of all attacks on healthcare systems, making Ukraine one of the most affected countries in recent history.

Since 2003, the Soleterre Foundation has supported children diagnosed with cancer and their families in Ukraine. Since the start of the war, they have worked relentlessly to ensure continued care for the young patients from the 3 main paediatric oncology wards in the country: The National Cancer Institute, the National Paediatric Surgical Centre in Kyiv and the Western Ukrainian Specialized Children’s Medical Centre in Lviv. In February 2022, due to the increase in children needing treatment, the Soleterre Foundation extended its intervention to a fourth paediatric hospital, the St. Nicholas Hospital in Lviv, for the care of children specifically injured by conflict, with the aim of helping over 1,000 affected by the war.

Damiano Rizzi, president and psycho-oncologist of the Soleterre Foundation: “Thanks to Rai's support for ESG Sustainability, we have organised a special fundraising initiative to support Soleterre's activities in four of the main pediatric hospitals in Ukraine, three pediatric oncology departments (two in Kyiv and one in Lviv) and one rehabilitation centre for injured children in Lviv. War destroys but we must support hope and the future at all costs by protecting sick children and victims of war."  

Through the support of donors, the Soleterre Foundation has managed to bring psychological support and medical care to war-wounded children and cancer patients since the beginning of the conflict: thanks to the medical personnel from the Soleterre Foundation, over 60% of children requiring surgery following trauma caused by explosions have been operated on across the country. This led to the establishment of the Unbroken Kids Centre, dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of child victims of physical and mental trauma caused by war. In particular, the aim of psychological rehabilitation is to reduce the long-term effects of trauma such as flashbacks and the tendency to avoid situations that may represent the traumatic event. These symptoms are intensified when a child must face a serious illness such as cancer at the same time as the trauma of war: thanks to donors, Soleterre continues to guarantee psycho-oncological aid in many hospitals, but that is not enough. The psychologist must become a defined, stable figure, guaranteed in all institutions so that all children, not just some, may benefit.

To help the Soleterre Foundation guarantee surgical operations, life-saving medicine and psychological aid to Ukrainian children with cancer and those injured by war, it is possible to donate 2 Euros by sending an SMS to 45520 or by calling a landline costing 5 or 10 Euros.

Soleterre's intervention in Ukraine. The Soleterre Foundation has been involved in the Ukrainian pediatric medical and psychological sector since 2003. Thanks to its network that includes numerous local and international partners, it has contributed to the increased survival rates of children with cancer, bringing it from 55% to 64% and has assisted a total of over 28,000 children and their parents from 2003 to today. The Soleterre Foundation in Ukraine works to guarantee the supply of medical technology and medicine to departments of the Cancer Institute and the Neurosurgery Institute of Kyiv, where it also manages a centre that houses 200 sick children being treated in hospitals every year free of charge. Since 2019, it has also extended its operations to the city of Lviv, to create the first bone marrow transplant unit for the treatment of tumours in pediatric patients in the west of the country. Since the beginning of the war, it has assisted children with cancer and wounded by conflict by supporting a network of 14 hospitals throughout the country: so far it has organised 17 evacuation flights, rescuing 139 cancer patients and wounded children; it also provides medicine, medical supplies, medical training and equipment to struggling hospitals; as well as providing rehabilitation sessions for injured children and those who have undergone surgery. Through a network of 75 psychologists, linguistic mediators and social workers distributed across Ukraine, Italy and Poland, Soleterre guarantees psychological support online and in person to the population throughout Ukraine and to the people who have fled the country. So far it has reached over 7,000 people between Poland and Ukraine, in particular women and children traumatised by the war who have lost their homes and find themselves living in shelters, transit centres and reception facilities. In addition to the war, the Ukrainian population have had to cope with a harsh winter and a lack of electricity and heating. Soleterre guarantees immediate emergency response services in the districts of Kyiv, Poltava and Cherkasy, and has already distributed basic necessities, food and hygiene kits, medicines, wood and stoves to around 6,000 vulnerable people.