Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center
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The Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center is the largest humanitarian mission in Ukraine, which operates in
Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...
. The center was established on August 6, 2014, in order to provide assistance to the civilian population of
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...
and
Luhansk Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administra ...
regions, affected by the
war in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...
. It united the resources of the
Rinat Akhmetov Rinat Leonidovych Akhmetov (born 21 September 1966) is a Ukrainian billionaire and businessman. He is the founder and president of international investment group System Capital Management (SCM), and is the wealthiest man in Ukraine. Akhmetov i ...
Charitable Foundation A foundation (also referred to as a charitable foundation) is a type of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that usually provides funding and support to other charitable organizations through grants, while also potentially participating d ...
, all SCM Group's business and Shakhtar Football Club. The Humanitarian Center worked across both sides of the conflict region up until February 2017 when authorities of the
Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; , ) is Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupied territory in Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex and declared as a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia, comprising parts o ...
prohibited the Humanitarian Center from operating on the territory under their control. The center continued to operate in government-controlled areas and in the "grey zone," but was forced to suspend operations in 2017 when rebels blocked access to the center's warehouses. As of March 2018, the Humanitarian Center issued civilians more than 12 million food packages. Till February 2017 the Humanitarian Center worked on both sides of the contact line. Since March 2017 the authorities of
Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; , ) is Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupied territory in Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex and declared as a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia, comprising parts o ...
prohibited the operation of Humanitarian Center on the territory under their control. The Center continued its operation in government-controlled areas and in the "grey zone". As of March 2018, the Humanitarian Center issued more than 12 million food packages to the peaceful inhabitants of Donbas and saved more than a million human lives.


Foundation mission

In August 2014, the foundation started using the Shakhtar FC arena owned by Rinat Akhmetov.  According to news reports published by the Shakhtar football club, the arena became known as the Arena of Mercy, and the center has helped save over 1 million people to date. Organisation's 2014 annual report of the Akhmetov Foundation showed that they had organised the evacuation of about 40,000 people from the conflict zone and distributed 1.35m food packages. The report also states that the Foundation espouses traditional humanitarian principles and values: ‘Our role is to fully comply with international humanitarian assistance principles that require efficiency, transparency, independence and strict neutrality’. In 2014, the Foundation's Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center reported that it helped more than 710,000 people. Since August 2014, more than 39,000 people have been evacuated from the scene of fighting by the efforts of the center, 11.7 million of adults and children have received food packages, more than 100,000 people - target medical assistance and psychological counseling. Alexander Vishnyakov, the director of the Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center, on the press conference underlined that for 3 years of work, the Center saved more than 1 million civilians in the East of Ukraine from starvation disease and shelling and became the largest humanitarian mission in this territory.


Major humanitarian programs

There are six main directions in the center's healthcare work: targeted medical assistance, medical kits, cardiac care, medicines for children, rehabilitation of injured children, birth kits. Psychological support is one more direction that continue working trying to help all the civilians of Donetsk and Luhansk region. 250 psychologists were trained in the "War Trauma" course at the initiative of Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center. In 2014-2015 psychological support was provided to 49 000 children and 6 000 adults, the worked in specialized centers, kindergartens, schools, hospitals and public institutions.


Medical assistance

The Center provides assistance with urgent treatment and complex surgeries, rehabilitation of injured children and delivery of medications. This kind of assistance was provided to more than 30,000 people. Over time, the Foundation has focused more and more on children's health, pregnant women, retired people or orphans - they became the priority. Rinat Akhmetov Foundation offers life-saving surgeries and urgent treatments especially for children, like Healthy Hearts, to provide a quick and effective response to crucial medical needs, or like a hearing aid programme. The Center provides pharmaceuticals as insulin, anticonvulsants and asthma medications to all children under 18, living in non-government-controlled areas of Donbas, and internally displaced children who left for the peaceful territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In September 2019, 20 ambulances purchased by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation were sent to the regions on the Day of
Patient Safety Patient safety is a specialized field about enhancing healthcare quality through the systematic prevention, reduction, reporting, and analysis of medical errors and preventable harm that contribute to severe outcomes for the patient. While health ...
at the initiative of President of Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...
. In general, the project, under which 200 ambulances, procured by the decision of
Rinat Akhmetov Rinat Leonidovych Akhmetov (born 21 September 1966) is a Ukrainian billionaire and businessman. He is the founder and president of international investment group System Capital Management (SCM), and is the wealthiest man in Ukraine. Akhmetov i ...
, will be transferred to children's regional hospitals, ambulance stations and outpatient clinics of rural communities in all regions of Ukraine before the end of the year, was launched in June 2019.


Humanitarian Center performance assessment

The
Overseas Development Institute ODI Global (formerly Overseas Development Institute) is a global affairs think tank, founded in 1960. Its mission is "to inspire people to act on injustice and inequality through collaborative research and ideas that matter for people and the ...
has released a new report “Humanitarian access and local organisations in Ukraine” describing the needs and response of the main humanitarian assistance actors in Donbas, Ukraine. As the most active national foundation in preventing humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation was a major contributor to the humanitarian effort in the DPR until February 2017 when the de facto authorities closed down the foundation's network of distribution points. Local actors in Ukraine were mainly organised civilian groups, but these local actors can not match the scale and scope of international humanitarian help. The one exception to this is the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. Created by billionaire
Rinat Akhmetov Rinat Leonidovych Akhmetov (born 21 September 1966) is a Ukrainian billionaire and businessman. He is the founder and president of international investment group System Capital Management (SCM), and is the wealthiest man in Ukraine. Akhmetov i ...
, the richest man in Ukraine and one of Donbas' most prominent oligarchs, the Foundation has played a crucial role in providing aid for citizens, reacting early to the crisis and focusing on ‘hard’ activities such as the distribution of food and blankets. After the ban of the Humanitarian Center's activities by the authorities of the Donetsk People's Republic in the territory under their control in March 2017, even Rinat Akhmetov's detractors acknowledged that his assistance was immense and indispensable, and the products from his Center actually helped the poorest inhabitants of Donetsk region to survive. The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation's activity was highly appreciated not only in Ukraine, but also abroad. Alexander Hug, Deputy Head of the
OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...
Mission in Ukraine said: "I want to express respect to those organizations that help civilians on both sides of the line of conflict. For example, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, whose support will ease the lives of those in need. I am glad that they continue to provide assistance". Ivane Bochorishvili, Deputy Head of the
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disasters ...
in Ukraine, also noted the great importance of the humanitarian activities of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation in Donbas: "The charity foundation has been helping people from beginning of the conflict inDonbas for so many years. In addition, it exchanges information with other international organizations. It is in our interests, because we want people to get the help they really need. What the Foundation does for residents of Donbas is invaluable", Bochorishvili said. From January 14 to 17, 2019, in the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
in
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, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation organized a unique exhibition about civilians in Donbas. The exhibition - black-and-white collages from the photo book "Donbas and Civilians", color photographs of destroyed houses and their residents, videos with the participation of children of war - attracted the attention of European deputies and representatives of the Ukrainian diplomatic community. In his greeting, Charles Tannock, the Conservative Party member of the European Parliament, noted that his parliamentary colleagues had a unique opportunity to learn about the conflict in Ukraine and how war affects the daily lives of civilians in its epicenter. Charles Tannock also called the outstanding humanitarian activities of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation in Donbas. In March 2019, the photobook "Donbas and Civilians" of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation was presented at the
London Book Fair The London Book Fair (LBF) is a large book-publishing trade fair held annually, usually in April, in London, England. LBF is a global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and d ...
as part of the Ukrainian stand""Донбасс и Мирные" в Лондоне: о трагедии мирных жителей Донбасса рассказал европейцам Фонд Рината Ахметова"
Levyi Bereg, 14 of March, 2019
..


References


External links

* {{Official website, http://www.fdu.org.ua/en Foundations based in Ukraine Charities based in Ukraine Medical and health organizations based in Ukraine 2014 establishments in Ukraine Organizations established in 2014 SCM Holdings