The Netherlands sends ventilators to Ukraine

The Netherlands is sending respiration equipment to Ukraine from a special emergency depot. This is done at the request of the European rescEU programme.

The devices were collected in the Netherlands on Thursday, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health (VWS). The European Commission arranges the transport and pays the bill for both the medical devices and the transport. They will initially go to a logistics hub in Poland, from where the resources will be forwarded to Ukraine as soon as possible. The EU also wants to set up such ‘hubs’ in Romania and Slovakia.

Civil Protection

Sending ventilators is separate from the emergency medical aid that was transported from the Netherlands to Poland on Wednesday. This concerned protective medical clothing and medicines, which were made available by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs arranged the transport. That transport also contained infusion sets, transfusion sets and infusion pumps that a party from the healthcare sector has donated.

For aid to Ukraine, Brussels has engaged the European Civil Protection Mechanism (rescEU). Through this programme, a number of countries hold specific stocks that can be called upon in the event of a crisis. The Netherlands is one of those countries and specifically takes care of the stock and storage of respirators. Ukraine has asked Europe, among other things, to send medical devices. The EU has complied.