Actions taken:
The Republic of Poland and its National Red Cross Society (PRC) maintaining a long-standing partnership relations in emergency and disaster risk management, pledge to foster dialogue about further strengthening national, regional and international normative frameworks for the facilitation and regulation of international disaster response, to cooperate in developing and implementing relevant laws and policies
Action plan:
– providing humanitarian assistance to victims of disasters and catastrophes in the country
– public education on disasters preparedness (training, meetings, distribution of information materials)
– participation of the Polish Red Cross Rescue Teams in joint exercises and actions initiated by entities acting in the area of rescue and civil protection
– organization of improvement exercises at the national level for the PRC rescue system and field presentation of its potential
– update of first aid training programs
– recertification of first aid instructors
Indicators for measuring progress:
-number of people covered by humanitarian aid
– number of joint exercises and actions on rescue and civil protection
– conducting improvement exercises at the national level for the PRC rescue system
– creation of a new and strengthening of existing PRC intervention warehouses
– number of first aid trainings
– number of extended permissions for first aid instructors
Resource implications:
– development of PRC’s capacity to respond effectively to disasters and catastrophes
– an increase of public awareness of disaster preparedness
– an increase of first aid instructors competences
– an increase of awareness and the practical skills regarding first aid in society
Implementation:
Polish Red Cross
In 2020-2022, the Polish Red Cross activity focused on prophylaxis and health care related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The PRC set up the Humanitarian Aid Centre, which is mainly engaged in: 1) running a central crisis intervention warehouse which purchases and distributes personal protective equipment; 2) providing psychological support; 3) prophylaxis and education. The Centre has completed the following ventures:
- the public campaign Be safe! based on a dedicated website featuring clear instructions on how to prepare for natural disasters such as floods, torrents, storms and squalls, heat waves and frost. A separate chapter was devoted to the COVID-19 pandemic. More information is available at https://www.badzbezpieczny.pck.pl/. The campaign is estimated to have reached some 2,050,000 people.
- Supporting the erection of temporary shelters and quarantine sites, as well as transport of food in container trailers by 15 PRC Rescue Teams.
- Psychological helpline with qualified psychologists and psychotherapists on duty. From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, they provided psychological assistance to people who had experienced the pandemic’s adverse effects. The helpline included psychoeducation, psychological first aid, and information on places where specialist assistance is available. An estimated 84,000 people were informed about such support and more than 1,200 were directly consulted. Psychological assistance was also provided to children in quarantine or isolation.
- Distribution of personal protective equipment in the form of face masks, disinfectants, face shields, and protective foils. The equipment was distributed among more than 1,250,000 people, including the PRC staff, volunteers, and carers directly involved in helping its beneficiaries.
Since September 2021, the PRC has been addressing the migration crisis resulting from the situation along the Polish-Belarusian border and, since February 2022, from the situation in Ukraine. The Polish Red Cross focuses on the following four areas:
- Psychological and medical assistance provided by PRC Rescue Teams at reception points, immigrant reception facilities, and border crossing points. About 10,000 people have been assisted, and 24,000 people have received vouchers to buy medical products. Occasionally, the PRC also supports medical transport of injured people.
- In-kind and financial assistance through the distribution of food and hygiene packs, medical equipment, pre-paid cards, and vouchers to be used for buying most needed products. The cash support programme has been expanded to include a “Shelter” component, i.e. assistance with renting flats or for host families. Nearly 9,000 tons of goods have been distributed including more than 555,000 hygienic sets and 1,280,930 food packs. Also, 21,308 families have received financial relief and 85,000 families have been given vouchers to buy the necessary products. Information on the possible forms of assistance can be obtained from a hotline launched in collaboration with the American Red Cross. The helpline is available in four languages: Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, and English, and has handled more than 32,000 inquiries in reported period.
- Searching for and reuniting families under the “Restoring Family Links” programme run by the National Information and Tracing Office in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross. The National Information and Tracing Office has collected over 3,800 tracing requests, more than 150 are pending, and 23 have fortunately led to a family reunion.
- Integrative events such as joint celebrations, summer holidays for children, vocational activation, Polish language learning for adults. Seniors also join in. During the summer, more than 3,000 children from Ukraine and Poland went on sleepaway camps, 120,000 received school starter kits, and over 150,000 adults took part in language courses, professional trainings and integrative activities. 150 Roma families also received assistance. The PRC set up seven integration centres across the country.
The aforementioned areas of activity are carried out thanks to the engagement of volunteers and PRC staff, the total number of whom is 8,200, including 505 from Ukraine. Additionally, 10 Humanitarian Aid Groups have been set up of a total of some 200 volunteers who received training to respond to natural disasters, catastrophes, and other humanitarian crises. Investment of the PRC’s resources allowed it to aid more than 1,200,000 migrants.
Ministry of National Defence
The Armed Forces General Command, the Military University of Land Forces, and the Polish Air Force University held numerous trainings in the scope of battlefield resuer: on combat lifesaving, practical response of military and non-military services and institutions to natural disasters and anthropogenic threats, practical measures in case of natural disaster or catastrophe, and cooperation with non-governmental organisations regarding effective handling of crisis situations. Several editions of scientific conferences “Rescue Systems and Civil and Military Security” were held. The Military University of Land Forces also took an active part in operation “Active Spring”, to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 virus pandemic and strengthen the resilience of local communities. The Polish Naval Academy carried out specialist trainings in crisis management, first medical aid, and lifesaving techniques. The Polish Air Force University has organised honorary blood collections to support the National Blood Centre, which has been operated by Honorary Blood Donors’ Club since 2017, disseminated knowledge of humanitarian aid to victims of natural disasters and catastrophes, organised defence trainings and conferences on security and crisis management.
Ministry of the Interior and Administration
From the first half of March 2020, the State Fire Service (PSP) set up field admissions wards in hospitals. Each day of that period, an average of 380 field admissions wards were run, with an average of 280 firemen on a 24/7 duty. At the most intensive moment, more than 460 of such wards were in operation. From 9 March to 23 October 2020, the PSP supported other services at border crossings. At the most intensive moment, the PSP was present at 62 such places. The PSP supported educational institutions across the country in obtaining personal protection equipment such as protective masks and disinfectants. The PSP supported Polish healthcare system, including the State Medical Rescue, transported people to vaccination points or medical staff to perform vaccinations, delivered in-kind donations to hospitals and medical rescue establishments, supplied the public with personal protective equipment, delivered food and necessary articles for the people in quarantine, the sick, and the elderly, disinfected public spaces, transported people to their quarantine locations, transported medical staff to e.g. collect samples and the samples to their destinations. The PSP was also engaged in international humanitarian operations abroad to transport aid offered by Poland in an emergency situation. From 24 February 2022, i.e. the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the Police and the PSP were involved in providing logistical support at border crossings, transport of refugees on the territory of Poland, logistical support to other domestic entities, including transport of in-kind aid, support and coordination of the work of volunteers, supporting maintenance of reception points and places of stay, preparation of places of stay and accommodation, coordination and financing of transport of refugees, logistical support of reception points for refugees, maintaining readiness to organise logistical support for the establishment of medical points (in accordance with the plans of the Ministry of Health).
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Expert and organisational support during the 3rd INSARAG Global Meeting (UN International Search and Rescue Advisory Group) held in Poland in the form of a video conference. The event was attended by participants from several dozens of countries around the world involved in international search and rescue operations under the auspices of the UN, as well as the representatives of international organisations cooperating with INSARAG. The conference was also the highlight of the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of INSARAG, and providing an opportunity to exchange experiences and dialogue to enhance and develop the global rescue system. Poland donated PLN 91,000 to the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) to enhance its crisis management capacity and the presence of Polish experts in UNDAC missions.
Ministry of Health
Since 24 February 2022, first-aid medical posts for Ukrainian refugees have been operating at every reception point set up in every province, providing basic care in cases of illness or specialised care in situations such as accidents. Every such post was assigned to a specific hospital in the given province and a specific emergency station, which collected people in need of hospitalisation. Currently, some of the posts have been cancelled or operate on a 12-hour basis. Since 25 February 2022, the “Safe Transport” programme has been in operation to ensure that persons injured and harmed as the result of the armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine are provided with medical care during their transport within Poland. A train with full emergency and medical equipment can transport the injured from the Ukrainian border. It can also be used to evacuate oncological children and hospice residents as well as pregnant women from the border area. 2023 saw the continued provision of medical care to persons injured and harmed as the result of the armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine. The Polish Medical Air Rescue carried out exercises to prepare Ukrainian medical staff to secure and evacuate wounded soldiers and civilians from the war zone by air, and conducted a series of training sessions on personnel operations, standards, and allotment as well as the care of patients in critical condition. Trainings for Ukrainian citizens were also held on modern methods of medical care for patients with burns, at the World Hearing Centre’s Advanced Surgical Techniques Centre, and to improve the competence of medical personnel in caring for patients with cardiovascular diseases. A series of trainings conducted between December 2022 and April 2023 by the Polish Medical Air Rescue was aimed at the medical staff of emergency helicopters from Ukraine. During the four months between August and November 2022, specialists from the Polish Medical Air Rescue and Medical University of Warsaw conducted a series of intensive training courses in battlefield medicine and life-saving procedures for adults and children in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine (550 doctors and feldshers were trained). Additionally, a training course for medical staff of Hospital Emergency Departments in Ukraine was held in Kyiv in September 2023, and another one in November 2023 for the academic staff of the Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University on methods of teaching students in the area of advanced life- and health-saving procedures. A National Contact Point for Medical Emergency Teams has also been set up, tasked with cooperating with the World Health Organization and Polish medical teams in this area. The Polish Centre for International Aid’s rescue team is the only Polish team certified on the initiative of the World Health Organization. The Ministry of Health has appointed a plenipotentiary for transport and continued treatment outside Poland of Ukrainian patients staying in Poland as the result of the war in Ukraine.
Every citizen of Ukraine who entered Poland after 24 February 2022 as the result of the military conflict in Ukraine is entitled to receive medical care provided on the territory of the Republic of Poland, including health care services on the terms and to the extent to which these services are provided to persons covered by compulsory or voluntary health insurance, exclusive of spa treatment and spa rehabilitation. The total cost of treatment of Ukrainian citizens to date has been PLN 1.8 bn. Moreover, all children from Ukraine under 18 years of age residing on the territory of the Republic of Poland for more than three months are obliged to receive vaccines in line with the Preventive Vaccination Programme. Vaccinations against childhood diseases such as measles, rubella, and polio are free. Children can be vaccinated by a general practitioner. Since 26 March 2022, it is also possible to be vaccinated against diphtheria, pertussis, measles, cerebral palsy and hepatitis A, regardless of the age of patients being vaccinated.
