Global effort to evacuate Ukrainian children with cancer and blood disorders who have been affected by war

On Feb 24, 2022, Russian military forces began a coordinated invasion of Ukraine. Russian assaults resulted in widespread damage to densely populated residential areas and critical civilian infrastructure, including power stations, transportation hubs, schools, and health care facilities. As a result, more than 10 million refugees have fled Ukraine, approximately 50% fleeing to Poland. Attacks on Ukraine's health system and pharmaceutical supply chains created challenges for the provision of critical services for people with injuries and chronic illnesses. Among the most vulnerable patients are children with cancer and blood disorders, who require timely access to diagnostic, therapeutic, and supportive care for survival. The war has resulted in acute interruption of medical care, threatening the lives of thousands of Ukrainian children. Cancer care for displaced children in LebanonLebanon is a small country on the Mediterranean Sea that has been plagued for decades by civil war and internal strife, which result from regional wars and power struggles. Most of the Lebanese population has access to national governmental health-care plans, but these are inadequate to cover the costs of cancer care; therefore, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are needed to alleviate financial barriers to care. In 2002, the Children's Cancer Institute was established at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC; Beirut, Lebanon), as a collaboration between AUBMC, St Jude Children's Research Hospital (SJCRH; Memphis, TN, USA), the Children's Cancer Center of Lebanon Foundation (CCCL; Beirut, Lebanon), and the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC; Memphis, TN, USA). Full-Text PDF Cancer care for displaced children from VenezuelaVenezuela, the country with the largest oil reserves, has ridden the wave of oil prices—at times becoming one of the richest countries in Latin America. During the 1960s, as the economy was booming, it attracted migrants from all over the world; around 15% of the population was foreign-born, mainly Europeans. During the 1970s and 1980s, migrants from Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Chile, and Ecuador arrived in Venezuela, fleeing from political and social unrests in their home countries. The collapse of oil prices in the 1980s, together with successive political crises and increasing corruption, led to a progressive end of wealth, a contracted economy, and inflation. Full-Text PDF