Bulgaria PM Borisov Praises Ukraine Flu Mercy Medics

Bulgarian Prime Minister Borisov (L) and Anton Kisse (R), Chair of the Association of Bulgarians of Ukraine, arrive at a reception for the Bulgarian medical emergency team that returned from Odessa on Monday. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria PM Boyko Borisov officially received on Thursday the team from the Military Medical Academy (VMA) that had earlier returned from Ukraine.

He expressed his great admiration for the work they had done in their mission to assist fellow Bulgarians living in Ukraine’s Odessa region in the fight against the flu epidemic, the government press center has announced.

At Minister Bozhidar Dimitrov's initiative, five medics from VMA, led by Colonel Asen Petkov, visited four cities and the same number of villages in the Odessa region, where almost 300 000 Bulgarians live.

Modern medical equipment, medicines and books to the value of BGN 300 000, paid for by the Bulgarian government, had been flown to the aid of the expatriate community in the Odessa region.

Equipment for examining critically ill patients - pulse oximeters, infusion pumps, and aspirators - was donated to five hospitals in the Ukrainian cities of Izmail, Bolhrad, Tarutyne and Artsyz.

During their work there the medics did not find any cases of the dangerous flu A(H1N1).

Anna Kuznetsova, the head of the cabinet of Minister Dimitrov, and the Chair of the Association of Bulgarians of Ukraine, Anton Kisse, were both present at the reception.

The mission participants told PM Borisov that the VMA team had been extremely warmly welcomed by the Bessarabian Bulgarians in the Odessa region. The minister without portfolio, Bozhidar Dimitrov, who is responsible for the welfare of Bulgarians abroad, emphasized the importance of rendering “special attention” to them.

At the meeting, the organization of Bulgarians of Ukraine expressed their gratitude for the measures the government consistently takes in support of Bulgarian communities abroad.

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