The ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine continues to claim victims and cause untold damage. Vital goods like water are in increasingly short supply.
Humanitarian Convoys from Switzerland in Ukraine
-
13 September 2016 – Switzerland has sent a further aid consignment to eastern Ukraine, comprising 3,500 tonnes of quartz sand for filtering water. © FDFA
-
13 September 2016 – Switzerland has sent a further aid consignment to eastern Ukraine, comprising 3,500 tonnes of quartz sand for filtering water. © FDFA
-
© EDA
-
© EDA
-
26 October 2015 - One convoy of 20 trucks carrying 293 tonnes of goods reached Donetsk. Among the transported goods were aluminium sulphate and chlorine, destined for the Donbas waterworks, and cancer medicines. © FDAE
-
26 October 2015 - One convoy of 20 trucks carrying 293 tonnes of goods reached Donetsk. Among the transported goods were aluminium sulphate and chlorine, destined for the Donbas waterworks, and cancer medicines. © FDAE
-
26 October 2015 - One convoy of 20 trucks carrying 293 tonnes of goods reached Donetsk. Among the transported goods were aluminium sulphate and chlorine, destined for the Donbas waterworks, and cancer medicines. © FDAE
-
26 October 2015 - One convoy of 20 trucks carrying 293 tonnes of goods reached Donetsk. Among the transported goods were aluminium sulphate and chlorine, destined for the Donbas waterworks, and cancer medicines. © FDFA
-
26 October 2015 - One convoy of 20 trucks carrying 293 tonnes of goods reached Donetsk. Among the transported goods were aluminium sulphate and chlorine, destined for the Donbas waterworks, and cancer medicines. © FDAE
-
24 June 2015 – More Swiss aid convoys reach people in need on both sides of the contact line. A convoy carrying 300 tonnes of chemical water treatment products, medical equipment and medicines reached the Donbass region. © FDFA
-
24 June 2015 – More Swiss aid convoys reach people in need on both sides of the contact line. A convoy carrying 300 tonnes of chemical water treatment products, medical equipment and medicines reached the Donbass region. © FDFA
-
15 May 2015 – Swiss convoy to aid civilian population in eastern Ukraine reaches Donetsk. Switzerland sent a convoy carrying 300 tonnes of chemical water treatment products. © FDFA
-
15 May 2015 – Swiss convoy to aid civilian population in eastern Ukraine reaches Donetsk. Switzerland sent a convoy carrying 300 tonnes of chemical water treatment products. © FDFA
-
15 May 2015 – Swiss convoy to aid civilian population in eastern Ukraine reaches Donetsk. Switzerland sent a convoy carrying 300 tonnes of chemical water treatment products. © FDFA
-
15 May 2015 – Swiss convoy to aid civilian population in eastern Ukraine reaches Donetsk. Switzerland sent a convoy carrying 300 tonnes of chemical water treatment products. © FDFA
-
15 May 2015 – Swiss convoy to aid civilian population in eastern Ukraine reaches Donetsk. Switzerland sent a convoy carrying 300 tonnes of chemical water treatment products. © FDFA
-
06.06.2017 – Members of Swiss Humanitarian Aid supervise the loading of lorries for a new humanitarian aid convoy in south-eastern Ukraine. © FDFA
-
06.06.2017 – The consignment comprises medical equipment and water purification chemicals. © FDFA
-
06.06.2017 – Aid is being delivered on both sides of the contact line separating the areas controlled by the Ukrainian government from those that are not under government control. © FDFA
Voda Dombass, a water company operating in the Donetsk region, was no longer able to distribute drinking water to communities living on either side of the line of contact. The conflict had prevented shipments of water purification chemicals reaching the factory. The number of Hepatitis A infections in the region rose considerably due to the consumption of unsafe water.
Following a request for aid, since May 2015 Switzerland has dispatched seven humanitarian convoys carrying the necessary water treatment products. Lorries and trains carrying several tonnes of chemicals successfully crossed the line of contact unhindered. The shipments also contained medical supplies and medication destined for hospitals across the region.
Switzerland became the first and only third state to deliver aid on this scale to communities living on either side of the line of contact. In May 2016, Switzerland was the first country to transport supplies by rail. In fact, no organisation had been able accomplish this until then.
Over three million people benefited from Swiss aid and there was a considerable fall in the number of illnesses caused by the consumption of unsafe water. Another benefit was that these operations bolstered the position of Voda Dombass as a public service provider.