“Needle, catheter, dressings”, there are still dozens of trunks to fill for Ukraine with all the emergency medical equipment, list Alexandre Laridan, responsible for the collection of sanitary products organized by the Tulipe association, which federates drug manufacturers. Logistics takes place in a hangar at Roissy airport. “You see this kit, explains the volunteer, there is a small red stripe which means emergency. And that’s where we’re going to put all the war medicine. Lots of injectables, lots of medical devices, lots of dressings and also scissors, sutures, gloves, masks.”
“These products were donated by around twenty pharmaceutical laboratories present in France. Sanofi, Biogaran, Fresenius, UPSA… We have 55 members.”
Alexandre Laridanat franceinfo
In recent months, these pharmaceutical groups have mainly donated, via the Tulipe association, products for Afghanistan. Since last week, the priority has been Ukraine. “We sent about eight tonnes last week, explains Alexandre Laridan. Most of our donations went with the crisis center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which made a donation to the Ukrainian State and in particular to the Ukrainian Red Cross. And then we have various ‘French disaster groups’ coming in and leaving with some of our kits last week as well.”
The association is now considering completing these mailings. Nearly ten tons will be sent again this week, announces Alexandre Laridan: “We are still in the first phase of war medicine. This is currently what the Ukrainian Red Cross is doing there. But obviously, with the amassing of millions of refugees today at the borders, we will also return more in needs which are, let’s say, more general which are not war medicine, but which are everyday needs, such as antibiotics, such as products for diabetes, arterial hypertension. there are already patients in Ukraine who have these diseases and who will have to be treated in the refugee camps as well.
More than one and a half million Ukrainians have fled their country in the past two weeks.
Donations of medical equipment for Ukraine: report by Solenne Le Hen
to listen