The Grand Commander of the Order of Malta, H.E. Fra’ Emmanuel Rousseau, paid a working visit to Poland and Ukraine from 8 to 11 November. He was accompanied by Cédric Chalret du Rieu (President of Ordre de Malte France), Martin Swierad, Maciej Koszutski and Andrzej Mauberg (Hospitaller, Vice-President and Board Member respectively of the Polish Association) and Andriy Khanas, Counsellor of the Order of Malta’s Embassy in Ukraine.

The delegation visited various projects of the Order, including those for refugees and displaced people from the war in Ukraine. The Grand Commander brought his solidarity to the patients and staff of the children’s hospital in Lviv, where the Order of Malta, through its French humanitarian aid agency, provides medical equipment for cardiac procedures and surgery for children who cannot be treated in war-torn Kiev.

The delegation also visited the Halychyna Rehabilitation Centre, a prosthetic centre providing assistance to people with disabilities injured during hostilities. Together with its international partners, the Order of Malta’s Relief Service works actively to organise rehabilitation programmes and educational initiatives for victims of the war. Thanks to the Order of Malta’s support, the centre has received a laboratory, facilities, materials and will soon start work with prostheses for the first patients. The hospital’s prosthetists have been receiving training in Germany, which enables them to provide highly qualified assistance to patients.

Both initiatives are part of the broader humanitarian aid effort launched by the Order of Malta since the war began in February 2022, which thus far has helped 4 million people. The Order of Malta works in Ukraine also include psychosocial support programmes for 45,000 children and minors.

The delegation also met with H.E. Ihor Voznyak, Metropolitan Archbishop of Lviv (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church) before returning to Poland where the visit continued in Katowice, at Ośrodek Pomoc, a refuge for women and children victims of sexual, physical and psychological violence, run by the Sisters of Mary Immaculate. Finally, the delegation visited the Order’s Centre for Disabled Children in Krakow, which each year treats over 800 children with various types of disabilities, including central nervous system disorders.