In the last weekend of July, the first annual international medical congress on military medicine and mental health took place in Kyiv. This important event was attended by the head of the NGO "Initiative E+" Valentyna Varava.
Since these areas – military, tactical medicine and mental health of Ukrainian military and civilian citizens – are one of the main activities of the "Initiative E+", the Congress became an interesting and important event for us.
The event was held at the highest level: with the participation of the President of Ukraine, the First Lady, other heads of state, as well as the best specialists, volunteers and partners who are constantly working to improve the medical conditions of the Armed Forces.
Medical care, mental health, and reintegration of prisoners of war were the top agenda items for Congress.
The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umyerov noted the following:
"We ensured the availability of 500,000 first-aid kits in warehouses. Another 300,000 first-aid kits and 500,000 tourniquets are expected to be delivered under the signed agreements. This is an important step towards increasing the readiness of our military for any challenges."
Also, according to him, the Ministry of Defense simplified the write-off of medical property in units and implemented a medical information system in hospitals, solved the problem with doctors in non-medical positions thanks to combined courses and the Decree of the President of Ukraine, and created a psychological support department and identified units for reintegration measures.
Among the plans for the future, Rustem Umyerov noted the development of training standards for tactical medicine, the opening of a special laboratory for testing the quality of tourniquets, and the implementation of a modular model of providing pre-hospital care. Reconstruction of modern rehabilitation hospitals will also be completed as part of the "Renovator" (NATO) project.
However, we are not waiting for all these plans to be implemented, but are working now – together with other volunteers, helping our army where the state does not have time.
We have already handed over 30,000 professional tactical first aid kits to the front lines. We are already experts in the right tourniquets. We supply the military and hospitals with many medical drugs and equipment. We conduct training in tactical medicine.
And we support all initiatives in this direction and are ready to actively join them.
