KYIV, Ukraine — UNICEF humanitarian supplies have reached Lviv, Ukraine, to support health workers and the health needs of children and families.
The shipment is part of a six-truck convoy of supplies estimated at 62 tons that will help Ukrainian people impacted by invading Russian troops.
The people of Ukraine are in need of medical supplies, including medicine, first aid kits, midwifery kits and surgical equipment, and early childhood and recreational kits, UNICEF says.
"Since the conflict escalated, families have been sheltering underground, cut off from basic services," the agency said. "Hospitals and maternity wards have moved their patient to basements."
It's reported that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian people do not have safe drinking water, UNICEF says, and they're running low on medical supplies.
In addition to medical supplies, another batch of supplies, including 17,000 blankets and warm clothing for children, are also on the way to the people of Ukraine from Poland.
Beyond the huge donation, UNICEF is helping children and families fleeing from the country by setting up "Blue Dot" safe spaces along transit routes for children and mothers to access services.
"UNICEF is working around the clock, preparing to scale up operations as soon as access and security restrictions are eased and humanitarian assistance can be deployed to the hardest-hit areas," Murat Sahin, a UNICEF representative in Ukraine, said.
UNICEF is also calling for a suspension of hostilities in Ukraine to allow for humanitarian help.
"Such a pause would also allow families in the worst affected areas to venture out to get food and water, seek medical care, or leave their homes to find safety," UNICEF says.