It has been almost 6 months since the conflict in Ukraine changed the lives of millions of people. More than half a million Ukrainians have entered Bulgaria since February 24 and as of today more than 85 000 thousand remained in the country. According to statistics Bulgaria, despite not being a front-line country, is one of the most preferred European destination for people fleeing the war in Ukraine.  

A great number of these are vulnerable individuals - single pregnant women, elderly people and people with disabilities or serious, chronic and sometimes life-threatening illnesses. From the very beginning IOM Bulgaria’s response to the Ukrainian crisis has been focused on identifying and targeting vulnerable individuals and providing psychological, social, medical and financial assistance.  

In realisation of the project “Emergency Response to people, fleeing the conflict in Ukraine” funded by The Migrant and Refugee Fund (MRF) of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), IOM Bulgaria actively provides immediate support to citizens of Ukraine in accessing healthcare services. 

The psychological stress that the war causes, accompanied by the serious underlying conditions of many vulnerable people puts them at serious health risk and prompt actions are of paramount importance for securing their well-being.  

As more than 20 000 citizens of Ukraine are currently accommodated in hotels on the Black Sea coast IOM Bulgaria has operational response units in the seaside regions of Burgas and Varna. Some of the key activities of our teams there are providing healthcare support to the Ukrainian refugees. That includes accompanying them to hospitals and medical centres, purchasing medicines, covirng the costs for medical interventions, assisting them with various documentation, signing them up for medical examinations as well as helping them register with a GP. 
 

Though the scale of the Ukrainian refugee crisis is unparalleled, and the challenges are many, the IOM Bulgaria team works with determination and enthusiasm fuelled by the sincere gratitude of the beneficiaries.  

These activities are implemented withing the framework of the project “Emergency Response to people, fleeing the conflict in Ukraine”, funded by The Migrant and Refugee Fund (MRF) of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB).