BackEUSBSR, together with the Swedish Institute provide support to Ukraine: Project Civil Protection Faculty trained over 13,000 in life-saving measures
Vovchok Folk High School in northern Ukraine has become a centre for training in tactical medicine, trauma care, mine safety, and democracy. The training of civilians is a cooperative effort between the Vovchok Folk High School and coordinators of Policy Areas Secure and Education through the project Civil Protection Faculty, funded by the Swedish Institute (SI).
The project assists the Ukrainian non-formal education initiative “Vovchok” school in establishing a Civil Protection Faculty using Baltic Sea region experience in non-formal education and civil protection. The project has contributed to strengthening Ukraine’s capacity in civil protection education, particularly in tactical medicine.
“The first course was held in May 2022. Since then, 65 instructors and 15 trainers in tactical medicine have been trained. In turn, they have trained over 13,000 civilians, including 1,500 humanitarian deminers, 3,500 firefighters, and 8,000 other civilians. Additionally, more than 40,000 military personnel have been trained in tactical medicine through a separate initiative,” says Serhii Chumachenko, the founder and principal of Vovchok Folk High School and project leader for the Civil Protection Faculty in Ukraine.
Olena Shved, a doctor and surgeon, serves as the medical director of the Civil Protection Faculty project:
“In a tactical medicine course, the most important skills include learning how to stop bleeding, pack a wound, and act step-by-step in emergency situations. Participants also learn how to clear airways and call emergency services properly. Everyone at an accident scene should know what to do, step by step,” explains Olena Shved.
Olena Shved explains that this course is crucial for Ukraine:
“The government doesn’t have enough resources to work with the civilian population, so every citizen in Ukraine needs to acquire knowledge on how to help themselves. Trainers educate people locally so they can assist each other until an ambulance arrives. Some villages are far from hospitals, and in those cases, our survival depends on this knowledge”
Read the full article on the website of the Swedish Institute.
The Civil Protection Faculty project is funded under the SI Baltic Sea Neighbourhood Programme and links to the Policy Areas Secure and Education of the EUSBSR.
The SI Baltic Sea Neighbourhood Programme funds projects in which Swedish organisations cooperate with partners in EU countries around the Baltic Sea and countries of the EU’s Eastern Partnership. The next call will open November 2025 (tbc). Read more: https://si.se/en/bsnp
A call is open in the SI Ukraine Cooperation Programme closing 7 May 2025. Through the programme, SI funds projects aimed at supporting Ukraine’s reconstruction, reform efforts, and EU integration. The programme is aimed at actors in Sweden and their partners in Ukraine. Actors from additional programme countries may be included as partners if it clearly contributes to the feasibility of the project and benefit for the target groups in Ukraine. More information.
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