IMA seeks PM’s intervention over stranded medicos in Ukraine

Students left stranded with dwindling supplies, says Association

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his urgent intervention to help stranded Indian students pursuing their medical studies in Ukraine.

“Most of them cannot afford the escalated costs of air travel. Even those who can afford [the cost] cannot travel due to the adverse conditions there. The day-to-day rations are dwindling, creating severe hardships for their survival. Their parents here are anxious and worried about the safety and well-being of their children,’’ the IMA said in a letter to the PM. The Association added that it is well aware of the various efforts taken by the government to get back Indian citizens and said a dedicated helpdesk for medical students should also be created.

Meanwhile the World Medical Association (WMA) and the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME), in a release issued on Friday, have expressed deep concern about the conflict in Ukraine initiated by the Russian Federation and strongly stressed that the international principle of medical neutrality and human rights must be respected.

Prof. Frank Ulrich Montgomery, chair of the Council of the World Medical Association, said: “The Association deplores the unprecedented aggression in Ukraine by the Russian leadership. It calls on Russian leaders to respect the work of doctors and nurses in the country and the neutrality of health care institutions. Our thoughts are with Ukrainian colleagues and we appeal for a speedy end to hostilities.” Reacting to reports of the shelling of a hospital in the Donetsk region, the Association in the release said medical facilities must not be military targets; doctors and healthcare workers must not be prevented from performing their professional duties, and all efforts must be made to ensure that patients and casualties have full access to healthcare.

“Preventing doctors from providing medical care to patients, or sanctioning them for doing so, contravenes international law as enshrined in conventions the Russian Federation has committed to observe,’’ said the release.