The ‘Plan of Measures and Support: Andalusia with Ukraine’ deployed by the Government of Andalusia since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. A plan which, in a cross-cutting manner, is enabling the aid and solidarity of the Andalusian people to be optimised and guaranteeing that all Ukrainian families, children and adults arriving in Andalusia enjoy all the rights that European citizenship offers them in Spain.
Thanks to this plan, coordinated by the Regional Ministry of the Presidency, for the current academic year 2022-23, 3,176 children from Ukraine will be enrolled in the Andalusian education system, compared to 2,890 last year. In this regard, the current regulations have also allowed the official ratio to be raised by 10% for extraordinary schooling in those localities or educational areas where Ukrainian pupils have been enrolled. In addition to ensuring the education and training of these minors, the Department of Educational Development and Vocational Training guarantees free access to the school canteen service when the displaced family is declared vulnerable by the community social services.
Currently, a total of 107,952 people from Ukraine have received assistance in the Andalusian public health system, of which 70,838 appointments have been requested in primary care and 4,208 in emergencies, with 32,906 people having received hospital care, 26,186 adults and 6,774 children. Thus, the number of Ukrainian people registered in the SAS User Database applying for international protection as of 28 March is 14,237.
In addition, the status of their vaccination schedule is being checked for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases so that, if they do not have any of them, they can be offered the possibility of vaccination. At the same time, a specific care programme has been set up at the Dr Oloriz Hospital in Granada, due to its proximity to the Armilla military air base, for people arriving with wounds, illnesses or severe complications, including adults and paediatric patients, as well as burn victims. This hospital has 200 hospital beds, which can be increased to 230, 15 ICU beds, eight operating theatres and 20 URPA (Post Anaesthesia Recovery Unit) posts.
Through the Ministry of Health, medicines and medical supplies are being sent to Ukraine, and the Andalusian Health Service has organised the collection of medicines quickly and efficiently through the Hospital Pharmacy Services in Seville, donating a total of 87,445 unit doses.
To intensify humanitarian work, saving as many lives as possible and minimising the severity of war wounds, the Andalusian Health Service collaborates intensively with the Marine Infantry Brigade ‘Tercio de Armada’ and has already given basic health training to one hundred soldiers of the Ukrainian army in San Fernando, with new training modules planned for May and July of this year 2023.
The Regional Ministry of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families and Equality is attending to all Ukrainian people in need of community social services in Andalusia. In this regard, up to March, 3,259 people of Ukrainian nationality were attended to, 177 more than in the previous month. On the other hand, 18 agreements have been signed with local entities, which have enabled 20,654 people affected by the conflict in Ukraine to receive care, and exceptional subsidies have been processed for local entities for an amount of 1,090,536.51 euros.
Last March, the Spanish Red Cross presented a new proposal to grant direct aid to 2,282 people for an amount of 1,850,200 euros, which is currently being processed. Therefore, between February and March, 3,545 people have been granted financial aid for a total amount of 4,154,600 euros.
For its part, the Attached Police Unit is collaborating intensively with the actions carried out by the Junta de Andalucía, carrying out controls of the Ukrainian minors who are arriving to guarantee their safety and avoid the actions of mafias. It has also made available to Andalusia with Ukraine initiative the telephone numbers of the Provincial Headquarters to advise and inform citizens.
The Andalusian Women’s Institute, for its part, has activated the Programme for the Detection and Rescue of Women and Girls who are victims of traffic for sexual exploitation, aimed specifically at the Ukrainian population that is being received in Andalusia.
Aware of the importance of adequate and up-to-date training of Andalusian security and emergency services personnel in this area, the Andalusian Institute of Emergencies and Public Security (IESPA) is developing an intense training effort, organising activities such as the conference on care for people in need of international protection.
It has also organised workshops on the reception of war refugees, focusing on operational support for the reception process of war refugees, such as transfers, temporary accommodation, basic needs and food and emotional support.
In terms of mobility, the nine Andalusian Metropolitan Transport consortia (Almería, Málaga, Jaén, Granada, Córdoba, Huelva, Seville, Campo de Gibraltar and Bahía de Cádiz) provided free public transport for refugees in Andalusia from the war in Ukraine who needed to travel.
To this end, all the consortia provided these people with a free transport card with an initial balance of 50 euros. This measure has benefited 6,466 people.
