Israel’s Dr. Dorit Nitzan is leading a humanitarian aid mission to Poland through the NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief organization. She and her team of physicians, nurses, social workers and a logistics expert from hospitals around Israel are expected to be in the area for at least the next two months.
Nitzan served as the World Health Organization’s regional emergencies director in Europe until last month. She recently retired from Geneva and returned to Israel.
“The situation is grave,” Nitzan said in a release. “Many of the refugees are elderly, women and children. They are exhausted, sick, injured and traumatized. Ukraine’s neighbors have opened their hearts and homes to these refugees, and we are joining in this enormous and critical undertaking to help those in need.”
NATAN is an Israel-founded all-volunteer multi-faith humanitarian organization. Its members have responded to global crises for the last 18 years, including in Haiti and Syria, the organization said.
The NATAN mission also will partner with WHO, the U.S.-based aid group Operation Blessing and the Mexico-based aid group CADENA, in coordination with Polish authorities, to deliver food, hygiene products, medical and other relief supplies to some of the estimated 500,000 Ukrainian refugees fleeing the violence.
They will also provide primary medical and psycho-social care.
