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The deterioration of the situation of refugees as a consequence of the Russian aggression against Ukraine (debate)
As a pediatrician by education, I am particularly close to the situation of children, which I follow every day. I know that much has been done in the initial phase of the war to relocate children suffering from oncological diseases to Poland (and other countries neighbouring Ukraine). However, we must be aware that the number of available places in hospitals is limited and constantly decreasing. Given that every day of discontinued oncological therapy increases drastically the risk of treatment failure and ultimately death, I call on the Member States and the European Commission to launch emergency procedures and offer special protection to patients with oncological diseases. I also call for all refugees to have access to free healthcare and free medicines. At the same time, I am sensitising to the situation of patients in Ukraine, whose transport to EU countries is not possible due to their state of health. I know that hospitals there are struggling with a lack of medicines, including oncology. Union assistance mechanisms should therefore be put in place to address these shortcomings. On both of these issues, we need to act immediately.