The Organisation of Muscular Dystrophy in the Slovak Republic is a member of the Slovak Disability Council, from which it is receiving funding support to purchase specialised medical equipment as part of the response to the war in Ukraine. The support is being provided within the framework of EDF’s Ukraine Programme, funded by CBM International.
The Organisation of Muscular Dystrophy in the Slovak Republic (OMDVSR), counting 420 members across Slovakia, provides social counselling, employment assistance and direct aid to persons with neuromuscular diseases as well as persons with disabilities at large. During EDF field visit to Slovakia in August 2022, Director Andrea Madunovà proudly commented that the organization has been particularly responsive to rapid societal changes: it was very successful during the COVID-19 crisis in ensuring COVID vaccinations for people with muscular dystrophy and personal assistant support funds for their family members during lockdown.
Indeed, OMDVSR has also moved very quickly in aid of the people crossing the border from Ukraine: soon after the start of the war in Ukraine, the organization partnered with the Slovak Red Cross to help people crossing the border. They lent wheelchairs to those persons with disabilities who had been forced to leave their own wheelchairs behind in Ukraine, as well as to elderly people and those who simply needed to keep moving but were physically exhausted and needed the rest. “People feel more confident when they arrive and there is an empty wheelchair they can use”, said Andrea.
While continuing to provide help to countless people on the border, the organization has opened the second phase of its humanitarian operations. They now provide direct assistance and social counselling on healthcare, housing, grants systems to refugees with disabilities and their families from Ukraine that have settled in Slovakia. Initially, when barrier-free accommodation was not a priority in Slovakia, they worked to find accessible living spaces for wheelchair users fleeing Ukraine.
The funding from the Slovak Disability Council, EDF and CBM has contributed to the development of this phase by financing the purchase of specialized equipment, including two folding hoists, two power wheelchairs, three folding ramps for wheelchairs and two non-contact eye navigation trackers for people with physical disabilities. According to Andrea, the CBM-funded project was important because it allowed them the rare opportunity to buy high quality equipment which can be loaned to people who require it, as well as personal fitting services of wheelchairs for their community.
Looking at the future, Andrea and the rest of the team at OMDVSR believe that it will become increasingly important to direct more efforts to the refugees with disabilities in Slovakia and their full inclusion in the community. In this sense, it will be vital to keep pushing Slovak policy makers for policies that are inclusive to persons with disabilities.
Slovakia, August 2022
Picture credits: Jozef Blazek, OMDVSR