The government of Estonia and Ukrainian charity fund BGV launched a joint program for free prosthetics and rehabilitation of Ukrainians who lost their limbs due to hostilities in Ukraine. The prosthetics of Ukrainians, primarily military, are carried out in Tallinn at one of Estonia’s most modern hospitals — Ida-Tallinn Keskhaigla (East Tallinn Central Hospital). The medical institution is one of the largest in the country, including seven clinics staffed by more than 2,500 employees.
As part of the program, patients are produced and fitted with state-of-the-art bionic electronic prostheses that are individually adjusted to a specific user’s needs, ensuring complete symmetry and naturalness of gait (for prosthetics of the lower limbs). Such prostheses are equipped with shock absorbers and several moving elements for increased physical activity. They also have a special mobile app that makes it possible to switch from walking to various sports modes, thus ensuring high comfort of use and level of motor activity. The cost of one such prosthesis reaches €70,000-80,000.
“For us it is very important to help and support Ukraine. In cooperation with Ukrainians we have started our project by providing rehabilitation services and prosthetics for Ukrainians who have lost their limbs through traumatic injuries. And we are already working on next projects to broaden the scope of cooperation“ said the Deputy Secretary General on Health at the Ministry of Social Affairs, dr Heidi Alasepp.
As part of the program, two Ukrainians who returned from Estonia to Ukraine in March and are continuing their rehabilitation at national medical facilities have already received prostheses from the BGV Charity Fund and the Estonian government. The first participants in the program were Taras Vynarchyk, an aerial scout of the 15th separate artillery reconnaissance brigade, who lost his leg in August 2022 while performing the task of adjusting artillery fire with the help of an unmanned aerial vehicle, and Oleksandr Horokhivskyi from Chernihiv region, who lost a limb during the siege of the northern city of Chernihiv, having received a gunshot wound with complications.
Prosthetics within the program are completely free for Ukrainians: production, fitting, rehabilitation at the East Tallinn Central Hospital, and logistical costs are covered by the project initiators. By the end of the year, the cooperation partners plan to organize prosthetics for 20 Ukrainian military and civilians who lost limbs due to russia’s full-fledged invasion.
Ongoing project is initiated by the Ministry of Social Affairs of Estonia in cooperation with Estonian Defence Forces and East Tallinn Central Hospital.