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URGENT APPEAL FOR UKRAINIAN CANCER PATIENTS

On Friday, 4th March 2022, the Council of the EU unanimously introduced temporary protection for persons fleeing the war in the Ukraine. Temporary Protection [according to Council Directive 2001/55/EC] is an emergency mechanism which can be applied in cases of mass influx of persons and which aims to provide an immediate and collective (i.e. without the need for the examination of individual applications) protection to displaced persons who are not in a position to return to their country of origin. The objective is to alleviate pressure on national asylum systems and to allow displaced persons to enjoy harmonised rights across the EU.

Eligible persons will be granted a protected status similar to that of refugees, in any EU country, for a renewable period of one year. These rights include residence, access to the labour market and housing, medical assistance, and access to education for children. 

The neighbouring countries of Poland, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia, Hungary and Lithuania (as well as many other European countries) have already prepared national legislation and are accepting and treating Ukrainian cancer patients.

⚠️ However, Central- and Eastern European countries historically have relatively low healthcare budgets, which was further impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing unprecedented backlogs in diagnosis, treatment and care and many patients have suffered detrimental delays in accessing surgeries, diagnostic appointments and therapies. The health systems of Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland will simply not be able to pay for the huge influx of oncology patients or prioritise over the already huge waiting lists for CTs, MRIs, PET scans and other diagnostics and procedures. 

Youth Cancer Europe is therefore launching an EMERGENCY CANCER FUND appeal for UKRAINE to be able to pay for some of these life-saving medical expenses, as the Ukrainian cancer patients fleeing the war zones will simply not be able to pay for these out-of-pocket costs.

Please donate to Youth Cancer Europe’s EMERGENCY CANCER FUND for UKRAINE