After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the "Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft" (BEH) (https://entwicklung-hilft.de/) collected donations from the German population in order to quickly and specifically improve the plight of the people in Ukraine.

The "Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft" brings together 11 experienced development cooperation organisations from different backgrounds, which work together to provide effective emergency aid. Through close cooperation with local partners and strong collaborations, the organisations combine their strengths to enable rapid and sustainable support.

The Würzburg-based non-governmental organisation DAHW (Deutsche Lepra- und Tuberkulosehilfe e.V.; founded in 1957 as a leprosy relief organisation; www.dahw.de) is a full member of "Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft". DAHW is an independent aid organisation supported by donors and volunteers and full-time staff worldwide, working with international and national actors in medical and social development cooperation and research. DAHW finances its work through donations and public funds. With the funds entrusted to it, DAHW works worldwide for and with people suffering from diseases of poverty in accordance with the principles of economy and proportionality. DAHW combats leprosy, tuberculosis and other marginalising and stigmatising diseases and their consequences, and runs medical and social aid programmes that enable those affected to live in dignity and participate equally in the community.

The mayor of Würzburg, a large German city on the Main River with approximately 135,000 inhabitants and the second largest city in Franconia after Nuremberg and the sixth largest city in Bavaria, is a member of the DAHW Supervisory Board. In 2023, the city of Würzburg signed a town twinning agreement with the Ukrainian city of Lviv (https://www.wuerzburg.de/rathaus/internationale-angelegenheiten/wuerzburg-international/partnerstdte/lviv) and, in this context, asked DAHW for support in implementing social and medical aid programmes in Lviv. This enabled DAHW to access funds from the "Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft" (Alliance for Development Aid) for Ukraine and develop emergency aid measures that are embedded in an institutionally sustainable environment and also focus on people's mental health and inclusion.

A steering committee was set up for the projects financed by DAHW-BEH, in which the mayors of both cities and the boards of the Unbroken and DAHW foundations participate. This committee discusses and decides on individual projects and initiates their long-term support. This also ensures that the emergency aid measures, financed by donations from the German population, can also lead to longer-term cooperation projects between Lviv and Würzburg in the medical field. The involvement of the renowned University of Würzburg with its medical departments is also of particular importance here.

Since the end of 2023, five major projects with a total volume of approximately €7.5 million have already been implemented in cooperation with, among others, the non-profit Lviv Foundation for Rehabilitation and Resocialisation of Ukrainians in Ukraine UNBROKEN (https://unbroken.org.ua/) as the project implementation organisation:

• Expansion of the equipment at St. Nikolas Children's Hospital with rehabilitation devices
• Construction of a new mental health centre at St. Luke's Hospital
• Expansion and modernisation of the central rehabilitation hospital in Lviv
• Promotion of trauma therapy
• Care for children and young people at the Don Bosco Vocational Training Centre in Lviv.

Another project approved by the steering committee in July 2025 aims to improve the emergency rooms at Lviv hospitals by providing additional equipment and creating a training unit for emergency care at the Unbroken Medical School. To this end, the purchase of training and simulation materials, the promotion of curriculum development and the joint development of training programmes with the University of Würzburg are planned. This project will also be coordinated by the Unbroken Foundation in Lviv.

All projects are financed entirely by donations and include a maximum of 8% administrative costs on the part of DAHW. Integration into the lively Würzburg-Lviv town twinning scheme also ensures long-term support, cooperation and exchange between the people of the two cities.

PEM Consult assisted in project development and conceptualisation and supports project implementation at operational level in close cooperation with the UNBROKEN Foundation. The main responsibility is to ensure that project management and procurement processes are in line with DAHW requirements in terms of quality, effectiveness and customer satisfaction.

PEM Consult provides:

• Project concept development, calculation and proposal
• Quality assurance / compliance
• Supporting, review and validation of procurement (goods and construction works)
• Regular monthly reporting; monitoring and review of project results to ensure timely project implementation.
• Project-related supervisory visits to Lviv as a means of quality assurance and to gain feedback from the direct beneficiaries.
• Identification of project risk factors and solutions to their mitigation, and ways to prevent and eliminate non-compliant results/unsatisfactory performances.
• Project financial controlling (budget vs. actual financial expenditures) in alignment with planned actions/timeline/impacts.