The Govener General of Canada, Mme Michealle Jean has paid tribute to the hundreds of Soviet Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers who were active in the wake of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster 23 years ago. Visiting the Chernobyl museum in Kiev Mme Jean singled out the work of the Red Cross for special mention in a moving address. She was accompanied on the tour of the museum by the Federaiton's Europe Zone had Anitta Underlin, and Ukraine Red Cross President Dr Ivan Usichenko.
Her visit comes as the Federation's Chernobyl Humanitarian Assistance and Rehabilitaiton Programme (CHARP) is running into serious funding difficulties which may prevent this longest-running of programmes from continuing it's life-saving work.
While the world has turned its attention elsewhere, the Chernobyl disaster of 26 April 1986 is more than just a painful memory. The consequences of the world’s largest nuclear accident continue to affect millions of lives in Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian Federation. People in the affected areas continue to face disproportionate suffering in terms of health, social conditions, and economic opportunity.
The full effects of the nuclear fallout on human health are ambiguous and the number of casualties remains controversial. While numerous diseases have been identified as possible consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, appearing at increased levels in the affected region, thyroid cancer is the only scientifically recognized pathology linked to radiation. Normally a very rare disease, especially in children, thyroid cancer rates have reached epidemic proportions in the contaminated areas. Thyroid cancer is usually curable, but in the children living around Chernobyl, the disease can be extremely aggressive.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, together with the National Red Cross Societies of Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian Federation, has been implementing the Chernobyl Humanitarian Assistance and Recovery Programme (CHARP) since 1990. Over the past 19 years, the programme has provided assistance to more than three million people, with six Mobile Diagnostic Laboratories (MDLs) facilitating access to high-quality health care for patients carrying cancer and other thyroid gland diseases in remote rural areas.
Aside from cancer screening, the MDLs provide psychosocial support, distribute multivitamins to children and disseminate information about risks related to radiation. The programme is currently struggling with a poor donor response, as other urgent disasters have taken the limelight.
Volodymyr Sokolenko, Chairperson of the Regional Red Cross Committee of Rivne, is proud of his branch. “More than 20% of the Rivne population are members of the Red Cross. However, the region continues to suffer from the impact of the Chernobyl disaster. The availability of health care services in the rural areas is scarce and the Red Cross mobile clinic provides an essential service detecting thyroid cancer among those who live in the affected areas.”
The MDLs continue to have a 40-50% detection rate of thyroid pathologies. More than 200 cases of cancer are diagnosed each year, but we may not have seen the worst yet. Radiation levels found in berries, mushrooms and fish have remained stable over the years, causing illness when consumed by humans. The impact of small doses of radiation is under-researched, although millions of people remain vulnerable due to poverty and lack of information. Furthermore, there is a growing inter-generational gap in risk awareness, with more and more young people who cannot or do not want to remember.
Doctor Bogdan Maksyutynskiy, leader of the Rivne Red Cross MDL, has worked with the programme for 15 years. “Every day, we bear witness to the human face of suffering in the shadows of Chernobyl. People here have weak health. Last year alone, my team screened 15,000 patients, discovered 5680 thyroid pathologies and undertook biopsy on 152 patients. 41 cases of cancer were confirmed.”
Today, the Rivne Regional MDL received patients at the Yarinivka Village. The team screens nearly one hundred patients each day for thyroid cancer and provides psychosocial support as well as general health counselling.
Olena Boreidzy, 50, has lived here all her life. She is married with one adult son and remembers the Chernobyl accident well. “Many people in our community got ill and died. My family has also suffered from health problems, but we don’t know whether the symptoms are linked to radiation.”
Mikhailo Lotushko, 77, considers himself lucky for having lived a healthy life. When asked about his memories of the catastrophe, he laughs quietly and says “Of course I have vivid memories, how could I forget? We still live with the consequences and that is why I came for screening today. At this age, I try not to think about myself and the future, but I have concerns for my children and their children. There are many respiratory illnesses, asthma and joint problems, especially with children.”
Hanna, 30, was seven years old at the time of the disaster and belongs to the priority group of CHARP. “I have no memory of the accident, but I came today with my son who is now the same age as I was back then. I hope we will both be confirmed as healthy after the screening.” Like many others, Hanna has gone on with her life and tries not to think about radiation risks, but at the same time she is grateful for the service provided by the Red Cross MDLs.
While this time no one was diagnosed with a thyroid cancer, the burden of the past will continue to haunt the people of Yarinivka, and the entire affected region.
Moreover, there are important lessons to be learned from the Chernobyl disaster. While sustainable alternatives for fossil fuels are needed in the face of an ongoing energy crisis and accelerating climate change, the proliferation of nuclear power around the world necessitates an open and informed dialogue on risk management. It is important that the full scale of humanitarian impact of the Chernobyl accident is understood through continued collection and analysis of medical data. National preparedness plans should take into account the humanitarian aspects of post-accident response and integrate current knowledge about recovery needs into related disaster management budgets.
The IFRC will continue to maintain preparedness for technological disasters and advocate for improved risk reduction measures. We are calling for continued funding for the CHARP to ensure that the mobile clinics will be able to carry out their life-saving work in the coming years and continue operating until 2016, in conformity with the UN strategy for recovery in Chernobyl.