Ivano-Frankivsk JSC joins in helping a seriously ill girl to be treated in Turin

As part of the Partnership for Victory project, a seriously ill 17-year-old patient of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital, who has been undergoing treatment for more than half a year and has a complex oncohematological diagnosis, has been sent to Italy for treatment. The pediatric clinic of the city of Turin responded to take the patient under its care and provide all kinds of medical assistance free of charge.

Help for seriously ill children is possible within the framework of the partnership of the Ivano-Frankivsk Journalists’ Solidarity Center (JSC) of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) with the Department of Information of the Ivano-Frankivsk Archdiocese of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital, and thanks to the help and support of volunteers from the Anteas Alessandria association, the communities of the UGCC of the cities of Turin and Ancona (Italy). Ukrainian children are treated for free in leading Italian clinics.

“We, as a whole team, are praying that this beautiful child will recover. We have high hopes for our Italian colleagues and are sure that they will do everything possible to help cure her. It is very good that we have such a project. We thank our partners who always respond to requests for help in order to save children’s lives,” said Alla Ivanenko, the head of the Department of Oncohematology and Chemotherapy of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital.

Employees of the Ivano-Frankivsk JSC, during a meeting with partners, discussed the results of project implementation and further cooperation.

Uliyana Stashko, an anesthesiologist at the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital, member of the Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital’s Board of Trustees, co-founder of the Dobrochyntsi Foundation, said that three seriously ill children from Ukraine are currently receiving free treatment in Italian clinics within the scope of the project. Ivano-Frankivsk doctors keep in constant contact with patients’ relatives to learn about the condition of sick children and their well-being.

“Our first seriously ill patient, a 14-year-old resident of the Ivano-Frankivsk Region, who has been in Italy for treatment since the beginning of October 2023, has already completed the course, is undergoing follow-up examinations, and we are waiting for her return to Ukraine. A 10-year-old child from the regional center with a disease of the locomotor system, who has been receiving treatment at the children’s pediatric clinic in Ancona since March 2024, is preparing for surgery. There is also another seriously ill girl, a 12-year-old girl from Vinnytsia, who has been receiving treatment in the hematological oncology department of the pediatric clinic in Turin since April 2024,” Uliyana Stashko said.

The Ivano-Frankivsk JSC of the NUJU, as noted by its coordinator Viktoriya Plakhta, implements one of the important projects, Partnership for Victory – a multifaceted project with the support of partners, which is aimed, in particular, at helping media workers, as well as children. According to the coordinator, the JSC employees provide information support for the project, hold organizational meetings with Ukrainian and foreign partners to resolve various issues, etc.

Call the Ivano-Frankivsk JSC at 066 677 0726 (Viktoriya Plakhta, the Ivano-Frankivsk JSC coordinator). The Center’s address is 25 Sichovykh Striltsiv Street.

ABOUT JSC

The Journalists’ Solidarity Centers is an initiative of the NUJU implemented with the support of the International and European Federations of Journalists and UNESCO. The initiative is designed to help media representatives working in Ukraine during the war. The Centers operate in Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipro and provide journalists with organizational, technical, legal, psychological, and other types of assistance.

ABOUT UNESCO

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication, and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding. It is the coordinator of the UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which aims to create a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers, thus strengthening peace, democracy, and sustainable development worldwide. UNESCO is working closely with its partner organizations in Ukraine to provide support to journalists on the ground.

The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this digest do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this digest and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit to the organization.

Bohdana Zasidko

Ivano-Frankivsk JSC