In February 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked Europe’s biggest refugee movement since the Second World War. Millions of Ukrainians—mostly women and children—escaped the conflict by fleeing to Poland and other European countries.
“In those first few days of the war, nobody had much information about what was happening at the Polish–Ukrainian border, so I got a car and drove from Warsaw to the crossing points to see for myself,” says Simge Memisoglu. After nearly a decade of working with International Medical Corps in Iraq and Türkiye, Simge had recently moved to Warsaw and was ready to kickstart our first-ever Poland mission.
“On the Ukrainian side of the border, families with whatever belongings they could carry were waiting in below-freezing temperatures—sometimes for as long as 36 hours—to cross over,” says Simge. “Once people crossed into Poland, community groups provided hot meals and tea. The people waited for busses to take them to temporary accommodation centers—places like sports facilities—where everyone was resting or sleeping on the floor, just waiting for information about what would happen next.”
But nobody knew what would happen next. Poland had never faced a refugee crisis of this scale before, and as the months went on without any sign of the war stopping, it became clear that the country wouldn’t just be a temporary refuge for Ukrainians; it would have to become a home.
International Medical Corps had never operated in Poland before, but thanks to our experience responding to refugee crises all around the world we knew exactly how to help. Within just a few days of Russia’s full-scale invasion and amid the rush of Ukrainians escaping across the border, our teams had completed needs assessments, identified the gaps in the existing response and conceived an ambitious plan to help the refugees.
Providing Supplies and Medical Services for People Crossing the Border
One of our first actions was sending mobile medical units to the border crossing points. The refugees were cold, tired and scared. They had traveled a long way across Ukraine, often hitching rides or taking trains from under-fire towns and cities in the east all the way to the western border.
Our mobile teams provided medical services to people as they queued, attending to any healthcare needs caused by their difficult journeys as well as treating those with chronic health conditions—such as high blood pressure or diabetes—who hadn’t been able to pack their medications when they fled.
Another key priority was getting supplies to the people who needed them. We procured and provided supplies—including COVID tests and non-food items such as clothes and hygiene kits—on the Polish side of the border. We also sent essential medical supplies to the temporary accommodation centers, including defibrillators, ventilators and portable electrocardiograph machines.
Prioritizing Mental Health
Although they were now physically safe, the mental health impacts of the conflict and the journey were significant. Some Ukrainians had directly witnessed shelling and violence, while others struggled with feelings of anxiety and guilt about the loved ones they had left behind. All were scared about the future; they didn’t know where they would go next and when—or if—they would ever return home.
“Mental health is one sector that is often overlooked in the initial response to a crisis like this,” says Simge. “Local governments will focus on providing shelter, food and medical care—which, of course, are very important. But mental health needs are also immense in these situations, and because this is one of International Medical Corps’ specialties, we made this a priority.”
Although our mobile medical teams working at the border and accommodation centers had extensive mental health training, we knew that their efforts alone wouldn’t be enough to meet the scale of the needs. So we started training Polish first responders and NGO staff in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) skills, such as psychological first aid.
With our training and supervision, these teams of doctors, nurses, interpreters, field coordinators and other workers were better able to support the mental health of the refugees entering Poland. They also were able to teach others in their networks to do the same, creating an exponentially growing group of people who could respond to the crisis.
We also trained local and international NGO workers, including psychologists, consultants and coordinators, to facilitate two courses that they could run for refugees—Self Help Plus and Problem Management Plus—evidence-based psychological interventions designed by the World Health Organization to help people living through adversity manage stress, anxiety and depression.
“Everyone thought this would be a temporary conflict, but as the crisis continued, the mental health challenges for refugees only grew,” says Simge. “That’s why training Polish health workers and NGOs in mental health skills was a key part of our strategy—now, they can continue providing this support for as long as it’s needed.”
Supporting Poland’s Healthcare System
With the large numbers of refugees settling in the country—more than 90% of them women, children and older persons—Polish healthcare services needed to step up to meet the growing demand. So our next step to help refugees was to help strengthen the capacity of health services in the country.
One of the major facilities International Medical Corps supported was the University Children’s Hospital of Krakow—the biggest children’s hospital in southern Poland. The hospital was struggling with increased demand, a lack of resources and language barriers. We swiftly provided medical equipment and items, including rehabilitation equipment for children injured in the conflict, helped the hospital hire additional medical staff and even provided translators to ensure that no Ukrainians missed out on care because of a language barrier.
Hiring translators had the additional benefit of providing livelihoods for Ukrainian refugees who needed work. For Svitlana, a 47-year-old teacher from Lviv, Ukraine, the job at the University Children’s Hospital was a lifeline. A refugee herself, she had started volunteering as a translator at the hospital in March 2022 while also searching for paid work. When International Medical Corps partnered with the hospital in July 2022, she could finally be paid a salary as a full-time translator, enabling her to provide for herself and her two sons.
“This gave me an opportunity to receive a salary for the work I like,” says Svitlana. “It made me feel more comfortable in the new and unstable conditions and start a new life in a foreign country while providing support to other refugees.”
Protecting Women and Children
Due to restrictions on adult men leaving the country, most of the people who had left Ukraine were women and children. Separated from their families and placed in an unfamiliar environment, they were at higher risk of gender-based violence (GBV), exploitation, trafficking and child abuse.
To reduce this risk, we worked with local partners to help refugee families find accommodation, get their documents in order to obtain assistance from the Polish government, and find jobs and schools. We provided cash vouchers to the most vulnerable individuals—including families without a source of income and elderly people residing in shelters or living with medical conditions—to help them provide for themselves in a dignified and independent manner.
We also established a safe space for women and girls in Warsaw, where we provided GBV prevention and response services, MHPSS, language courses, dignity kits and, when needed, referrals to other local services.
We also trained hundreds of local workers on GBV prevention and response, helping to ensure that protecting women and children remains a priority for years to come.
Partnering with Local Organizations to Help the Most Vulnerable Refugees
Though adjusting to life in Poland was challenging for all the refugees who crossed the border, some faced additional obstacles. For example, many persons with disabilities (PwDs) weren’t getting the help they needed—they had been sent to temporary accommodations that weren’t accessible to them, they weren’t receiving equitable access to housing and employment, and they didn’t know what services were available to help. To make matters more complicated, there was very little information being collected about refugees with PwDs, so their struggles often went unnoticed.
From the early days of the border crossings, International Medical Corps procured and sent assistive devices such as wheelchairs to the accommodation centers. Then, as more refugees settled in Poland, we partnered with the Avalon Foundation, a local organization that supports people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. We provided assistive devices, such as mobility aids and hearing devices, to help refugees who had been forced to leave theirs behind in Ukraine. We also provided physical rehabilitation services and advice to those who needed it.
Another particularly vulnerable group was the Roma community. A distinct ethnic group with up to 400,000 members in Ukraine before the war, an estimated 50,000 Roma people crossed into Poland to escape the conflict. Once across the border, they faced additional barriers due to discrimination and sometimes lacked official documentation, which made finding housing, jobs and schools a challenge.
After realizing that Roma people needed more help, International Medical Corps partnered with Poland’s Central Roma Council, building its capacity through training, providing resources and collaborating on initiatives such as integration activities for children and an advice hotline.
“It’s so important to work with local partners in situations like this,” says Simge. “These organizations had been working in the community for a long time—they could bring the local expertise and knowledge—but they’d never responded to a refugee crisis like this before. International Medical Corps has experience responding to refugee crises all around the world, so we were ready to help them strengthen their capacity to respond.”
Continuing to Help War-affected Ukrainians
International Medical Corps’ work in Poland is now coming to a close. In the almost three years of our operations in Poland, our training and support have enabled local organizations to continue providing much-needed services to refugees. By working closely with local partners like the Central Roma Council, the Children’s Hospital of Krakow and the Avalon Foundation, we’ve helped pave the way for a sustainable response to refugees’ needs in the future.
This shift will enable us to focus even more deeply on urgent needs within Ukraine, where we have provided medical and mental health care, protection services, training for frontline workers, and infrastructure rehabilitation and support since the invasion.
And what if needs in Poland increase? We’ll be ready to spring into action again.
International Medical Corps’ work responding to the world’s biggest emergencies is possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. To help us continue helping people affected by conflict, disaster and disease around the globe, donate to International Medical Corps today.