Fifty-six tons of aid, five truckloads worth 32 million forints, set off from Budapest bound for Ukraine, coordinated by the Charity Council, an association of Hungarian charity organisations.
Miklós Soltész, the Ministry of Human Capacities’ Minister of State for Churches, National Minorities and Civil Relations, stressed at the pressed conference held at the convoy’s launch: “Humanitarian aid has already been sent to Carpathian Ruthenia and Transcarpathia on several occasions this year”.
“We are sending hospital beds, medical equipment and vaccines to Transcarpathia, while Carpathian Ruthenia is receiving non-perishable foods, school equipment, clothes and kitchen equipment”, the politician said.
The shipment was assembled by Caritas Hungarica, the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, the Reformed Charity Service and Hungarian Baptist Aid, as members of the Charity Council.
“The aid shipment was also contributed to by the Johannite Aid Service, Saint Luke’s Greek-Catholic Aid and the Unified Hungarian Israelite Community’s aid organisation”, Mr. Soltész told reporters.
Minister of State for Health Zoltán Ónodi-Szűcs from the Ministry of Hunan Capacities highlighted the fact that the immunisation coverage of the Ukrainian population has fallen significantly during the past five years, and as a result illnesses that had previously been eradicated, such as polio, whooping cough and tuberculosis, have reappeared.
“The goal is to provide assistance to help combat these diseases, and the hope is that immunisation coverage will soon reach the minimum level of ninety percent that is required for the population to once again become immune”, the Minister of State said.
Ukraine’s Ambassador to Budapest Mr. Lyubov Nepop thanked the Hungarian Government, the charity organisations and the people of Hungary for the shipment of humanitarian aid.