The Emergency Medical Aid and Disaster Medicine Centers in Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv have received two ambulance vehicles each per community from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine, with funding from the Government of Canada, the press service of the UNDP said on Monday.

"Availing timely and efficient ambulatory medical services is critical for rescue operations during war times. UNDP and our partners are working with the Government of Ukraine to support the country's doctors, paramedics, and rescuers in any and every way we can," acting UNDP Resident Representative in UkraineManal Fouani said.

The ambulances have armored protection and special medical equipment that can help save lives in remote areas. Each ambulance can evacuate up to four patients, and is equipped with all that is needed for emergency care, including an aspirator, a pulse-oximeter, a defibrillator-monitor with a pacemaker, an electrocardiograph, a device immobilizing the cervical spine and much more, the press service said.

Other recent joint initiatives include providing an operating table for Chernihiv Central District Hospital and organizing emergency medical training for specialists and volunteers of Social Service Centers to help internally displaced families from Donetsk, Luhansk, Sumy, Kharkiv and Kyiv regions.

The ambulances were delivered within the framework of the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Program (UN RPP). Twelve international partners support the Program: The European Union (EU), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, and the governments of Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.