A woman and her son walk from Lviv Regional Children's Specialized Clinical Hospital to the buses before being evacuated to Poland on March 19 in Lviv, Ukraine. Photo: Alexey Furman/Getty Images
Four more Ukrainian children suffering from cancer safely arrived in the U.S. on Monday for treatment at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Why it matters: Earlier this month, the State Department facilitated the transfer of four other Ukrainian children undergoing cancer treatment from Poland to the Memphis, Tennessee, children's hospital.
- The latest group of children, including 11 family members, were airlifted from Poland to the U.S. aboard a medical transport aircraft and will resume cancer treatments at St. Jude.
What they're saying: St. Jude "is uniquely positioned to bring the world together to address this humanitarian tragedy,” the hospital's president and CEO James R. Downing said in a statement.
- “Our ongoing commitment is to ensure children with cancer around the globe have access to lifesaving care. We are honored to help these families resume their children’s lifesaving treatment in safety."
Background: The World Health Organization previously confirmed there have been at least 68 attacks on Ukrainian health facilities since Feb. 24.
- "We recognize, however, that the children transported represent a small proportion of the thousands of patients whose cancer treatment has been interrupted and, who, even amid a pandemic and with compromised immune systems, were forced to flee their homes," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on March 22.