ROW is happy to announce that our Ukraine partnerships have just received a major boost! Our Warsaw-based partner, Emergen Foundation, has been using cash grants from ROW to purchase desperately needed antiseizure medications (ASMs) for distribution in Ukraine.
Their recent social media post shows cases of ASMs with a caption that says it all: “For the people of Ukraine suffering from epilepsy, they are absolutely priceless!”
A few months ago, ROW was introduced to the Ukraine Neurology Initiative (UNI) through a generous donor to our Ukraine activities. UNI is a grassroots effort comprised of North American neurology professionals. They formed in response to urgent messages from Ukrainian neurologists pleading for ASMs for children and young people whose supply had been suddenly cut off due to the war. UNI has valuable connections inside Ukraine, including with the Ukrainian League Against Epilepsy (ULAE). ULAE is critical to ROW’s medication distribution efforts.
UNI has introduced us to our newest partner: Brother’s Brother Foundation (BBF). This U.S.-based non-profit organization sources and distributes ASMs to patients and hospitals throughout Ukraine. BBF re-opened the door for ROW to ship medication to Ukraine, a door that had been closed with our previous partner due to rapidly changing regulations. Given BBF’s ability to accept medication grants, OWP Pharmaceuticals graciously donated 60 cases of two different ASMs to ROW. These vital medications are facing severe shortages in Ukraine and OWP’s donation allowed us to send an emergency shipment to Ukraine via BBF in August.
New Partnership in Ethiopia
Thousands of miles away from Ukraine, ROW has established a new partnership with CareEpilepsy Ethiopia. This NGO (non-governmental organization) provides a medical clinic and auxiliary services such as vocational training, patient education, and awareness-raising in and around Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. Our first installment of ASMs (114 pounds worth!) went out in August. This shipment marks a huge milestone, as it took about a year to receive approval from the Ethiopian government. With this now in place, ROW can provide a sustainable supply of medication to Ethiopia into the foreseeable future.
The expansion of our partnerships is testimony to how organizations can come together during times of crisis!
