Victor Pinchuk Foundation awards $500,000 grant to CCRDF (09/03/06)

Victor Pinchuk Foundation awards $500,000 grant to CCRDF

KYIV - In a major initiative to improve the quality of health care in Ukraine, prominent businessman Victor Pinchuk has presented the U.S.-based Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund with a combined $500,000 grant to provide new technology for several Ukrainian hospitals.

The grant was awarded in three separate installments and designated for several CCRDF partner hospitals that have demonstrated their commitment and strong potential for improving infant survival rates and raising the standard of care for children's hospitals and maternity centers around the country.

Titled "Kolysky Nadii," (Cradles of Hope), the Pinchuk initiative seeks to modernize at least one targeted hospital in each of Ukraine's 25 oblasts and in the Crimean Autonomous Republic within the next 24 months.

"We are grateful to Mr. Pinchuk for the special interest he has shown in our hospital programs," said CCRDF founder Dr. Zenon Matkiwsky. "We know that he arrived at this decision after careful deliberation and his staff personally visited every one of the hospitals we proposed for this partnership. We believe that this campaign can usher in a whole new era of philanthropy in Ukraine, where private foundations could play an increasingly important role in financing health care across the country."

This was the first grant issued by the newly established Victor Pinchuk Foundation, a private philanthropic institution that Mr. Pinchuk hopes will create new models for strengthening communities in Ukraine. In the past, Mr. Pinchuk and his wife, Elena Franchuk - the daughter of former President Leonid Kuchma - have funded cultural programs and an orphanage for children with AIDS, but the Kolysky Nadii program marks the first systematic approach that Mr. Pinchuk has taken to combat Ukraine's continuing health crisis.

The Pinchuk Foundation began its initiative with a seed grant of $100,000 that was designated for the Chernihiv Regional Maternity Hospital in north-central Ukraine. Mr. Pinchuk had heard of CCRDF's successes at this hospital from former U.S. Ambassador John E. Herbst, who had hosted two fund-raisers for the fund at his residence in Kyiv in 2004 and 2005. CCRDF had used the proceeds from these charity events to purchase state-of-the-art neonatal equipment that sharply reduced infant mortality at the Chernihiv center.

According to Dr. Oleksander Hoshko, the director of the neonatal unit, not a single infant with a birth weight of one kilogram or higher has died at the hospital since 2004 when the fund introduced Bear Cub 750 ventilators, pulse oximeters and other priority instruments.

CCRDF and the Pinchuk Foundation agreed to build on these successes by purchasing additional equipment from a variety of European and North American sources.

Between May 15 and June 1, the fund purchased and installed a Dameca anesthesia machine from Denmark, Baby Dopplex fetal heart monitors from Great Britain, infusion pumps and a neonatal incubator.

CCRDF Executive Director Alexander Kuzma praised the fund's Kyiv staff, especially Evhenia Medvedenko and Olha Datsenko, and their corporate partner Volodymyr Mitin, the country manager for the New Zealand-based firm NZ Techno, for their outstanding efforts in procuring and installing this equipment within two weeks of receiving the Pinchuk grant.

"Our staff is motivated by a keen sense of urgency regarding our mission," said Mr. Kuzma. "They understand that the presence or absence of this equipment is literally a matter of life or death. We are glad that Mr. Pinchuk and his staff share this sense of urgency and professionalism. This can lead to very dramatic and positive results in the coming months."

Mr. Pinchuk joined his staff in a visit to the Chernihiv center on June 1, the National Day of Child Protection in Ukraine. During a meeting with local and national press he expressed his satisfaction with the caliber of equipment purchased by CCRDF and the zeal and dedication of the Chernihiv doctors he met, including hospital director Dr. Olena Lytvynenko.

During his tour of the maternity center, he saw the Dameca anesthesia machine in operation as surgeons performed a Caesarian section on a young patient, and he was pleased that among the first beneficiaries of his grant were a pair of premature twins who were delivered with the aid of the Baby Dopplex fetal heart monitors.

Mr. Pinchuk publicly pledged his commitment to provide millions of dollars to expand the Cradles of Hope initiative to other regions of Ukraine. In July, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation issued two supplemental grants of $200,000 each to enable CCRDF to purchase new equipment for several hospitals that serve the region affected by the Chornobyl nuclear disaster.

Among these were the Ovruch District Maternity Hospital in Zhytomyr Oblast, the Volodymyrets District Maternity Hospital in northern Rivne Oblast, the Volyn Regional Children's Medical Center in Lutsk and the Amosov Cardiac Surgery Institute in Kyiv.

He also set aside a portion of these funds for creating a modern infant rehabilitation center at the Dnipropetrovsk City Children's Hospital No. 3 and the Poltava City Children's Hospital.

CCRDF has already begun expediting the procurement of medical equipment for these centers, and most of these improvements are expected to be completed by the end by early fall. In April the fund also delivered its 32nd major medical airlift, which provided a large volume of hospital supplies and medication for several of these medical centers.

"Mr. Pinchuk is very pleased with the first phase of this program," said his chief-of-staff, Thomas Eymond-Laritaz. "We are looking forward to executing this program in such a way that it can have a maximum positive impact on the lives of Ukrainian mothers and children."

Mr. Pinchuk, widely recognized as one of Ukraine's wealthiest and most prominent businessmen, helped to launch several successful companies, such as Interpipe. He recently hosted the Yalta European Symposium (YES) to promote Ukraine's integration into the European Union.

In a letter to CCRDF founders Dr. Zenon and Nadia Matkiwsky, Mr. Pinchuk stated, "During my visit to the Chernihiv Maternity Hospital, I was deeply impressed by the effectiveness and professionalism of your organization."

Since 1990, the Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund has delivered over 1,400 tons of medical and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and it has developed long-term partnerships with 24 hospitals in 14 provinces. The fund was recently honored with a U.S. Congressional Certificate of Recognition for its outstanding efforts to save the lives of Ukrainian children affected by the Chornobyl nuclear disaster. More information is available at www.childrenofchornobyl.org.

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