Children Wounded in Recent Attacks on Sumy, IRC Responds

September 2, 2024 - Over the past days, heavy bombing in Sumy has left at least six children seriously wounded.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is responding to the escalation by donating medical supplies to the Regional Children's Clinical Hospital in Sumy, meeting the needs of approximately 4,000 paediatric patients. The hospital treats around 5,500 children per month, and can host up to 375 patients at a given time.

The donation includes laboratory supplies, wound dressing materials, and small medical equipment. In addition, we are providing the hospital with support kits for children, including toys and colouring books, to bring some comfort to the youngest patients during the time of unimaginable distress.

The deteriorating security situation in Sumy Oblast, a region that shares the longest land border with the Russian Federation, continues to drive thousands of people out of their homes and exacerbate humanitarian needs. As the people of Sumy face shortages of medicine and medical transport, the approaching winter also leaves over 42,000 households in need of solid fuel to heat their homes.

Andrii Moskalenko, Pharmaceutical Manager at the IRC, said:

"It is difficult to imagine the horror of children being woken up by explosions, with the roof shattered above their heads. There are no words strong enough to condemn bombarding and wounding children. They are bearing the heaviest burden of this war.

"Our paediatric patients need medical care and critical supplies to recover from the attacks. Most importantly, though, children need an end to the hostilities targeting innocent people so they can safely sleep at night."