Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, more than 1 million Ukrainian and third-country nationals in need of international protection have crossed the borders into Slovakia, 78% of them women and children.

In March 2022, the EIB, through the EIB Institute, donated €205 000 to Médecins du Monde Luxembourg (MDM) as part of a record donation of €2.5 million to seven non-governmental organisations helping people affected by the war in Ukraine.

This donation was used mostly in Slovakia to provide medical support — both access to healthcare and medication — to more than 300 Ukrainian refugees, mostly women, children and elderly people who would otherwise not have been treated within the existing healthcare system.

Equita, a Slovakian non-governmental organisation working with MDM, provided refugees with access to local paediatricians and general practitioners in their native language, specialist medical examinations and tests, and vaccination and preventive check-ups.

The programme implemented in the region of Banska Bystrica and Merea also provided assistance and mental health support for refugees traumatised by the war.

The project was completed by March 2023.