AOECS Emergency Fund
AOECS sets up a Central Emergency Fund for donations to Ukrainian Coeliacs
The war on Ukraine has created a situation where 13 millon people are affected. Currently almost 7,5 million people have fled the country. If the war escalates many more will seek refuge. This will create an untolerable humanitarian crises and there is an urgent need for providing refugees with both shelter and food.
Other organisations are actively working with this, but the capacity to cater for people with coeliac disease are very limited or sometimes not existing. For this reason we have decided to install an emergency fund to centralise the managment of donations to support Ukranian coeliacs.
This fund will enable us to
- arrange and deliver gluten-free food to coeliacs remaining in Ukraine,
- arrange and deliver gluten-free food to coeliac refugees in countries welcoming them,
- provide Ukrainian coeliac refugees with advice on the specifics of the gluten-free diet in hosting countries, moral support and gathering events to alleviate some of the stress.
How can you help
There are currently two ways for companies and private individuals to donate funds for people in Ukraine:
Through national support channels
You can donate to the National Coeliac Society in your country, stating in the explanation row “Donation for Ukrainian Coeliacs”. The National Coeliac Society will transfer these funds to AOECS to centralize its management.
Here you can find the National Coeliac Society in your country.
Directly to the central emergency fund
Companies and private individuals may send their donations directly to AOECS using the following bank details:
Beneficiary’s account name: AOECS
Bank name: KBC Banque, Brussels,
IBAN: BE66 7360 3218 2543
SWIFTBIC: KREDBEBB
Explanation: “Donation for Ukrainian Coeliacs”
Why money and not food
In the short term, enough gluten-free food is already being donated from food producers from the region (mainly from Poland, Latvia, Hungary, and Romania). Right now the priority areas are to get funds for stockage costs for storing non-perishable gluten-free products, transportation and logistic costs for sending gluten-free food products to Ukraine, and additional human resources costs.
In the longer term, there might be a need for food donations as well once the logistics are ready and the food can be efficiently distributed. If you are a food producer interested in donating gluten-free food, please contact your national coeliac society for coordination of the efforts.