Affected members of our community urged to stay in touch
(Wed 2nd March) In partnership with the people of Ireland and resounding the voices of millions around the world, the UCD School of Medicine faculty, staff, alumni and student community abhors and condemns the invasion of Ukraine and this callous, barbaric and entirely unwarranted military invasion of a sovereign nation.
The School watches in horror at the humanitarian catastrophe that is now unfolding at a rapid pace, with the destruction of infrastructure (including an attack on a hospital in Kharkiv today), disruption of essential services and risk of food shortage, forcing thousands to flee from their home and seek safety across neighbouring borders.
As of today, UNHCR estimates that the conflict has already seen 870k+ people flee Ukraine to neighbouring countries, while over 100k people have been internally displaced but real figures are thought to be considerably higher. UNHCR further estimates that the conflict could result in up to five million refugees.
It is widely accepted that the quickly evolving, large-scale humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, as this conflict expands, is beyond the scope of aid operations currently there, so the School stands in support of Irish based humanitarian agencies, that have already deployed Emergency Response Units to Poland, Hungary, Romania and the Republic of Moldova to assess how they can most effectively support the humanitarian response.
Following assessment of critical needs, these response aid agencies will begin distributing essential non-food items including blankets and hygiene packs, cash and voucher assistance, providing lifelines for Ukrainians caught up in this horrific crisis.
UCD School of Medicine also recognises this is a time of significant distress and deep concern for those in the School community that have family, friends and colleagues still in Ukraine or who have fled or are fleeing from Ukraine. In tandem, we recognise the distress of those in our School Community that have Russian, family, friends and colleagues, as they witness the impact of this intense conflict in Ukraine and the resulting condemnation across the world.
We urge any affected member of our community to stay in touch and you can view the range of supports in UCD School of Medicine and across the university HERE
Please consider supporting the GOAL - Ukraine Emergency response and donate via https://www.goalglobal.org/donate/