WHO provides critical health care to Ukraine, neighboring countries amid war with Russia

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is hindering humanitarian access and disrupting medical supply chains that are critical to health care in the besieged country, according to WHO.

“As the situation evolves, that access is decreasing,” Jarno Habicht, MD, PhD, a WHO representative in Ukraine, said during a press conference.

The current situation is preventing WHO from providing necessary health care to Ukrainians, he said.

Some supplies were prepositioned into Ukraine prior to the conflict, including emergency supplies to 23 hospitals. However, these resources are not currently accessible, he added.

As the war continues in the country, supply shortages need to be addressed, Habicht said. There is a critical shortage of oxygen, as three oxygen plants in Ukraine have now closed, according to WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc. Moreover, shortages of other critical supplies such as insulin, hypertensive medicines and reproductive and sexual health care can result in “really grave” situations, a senior emergency officer at WHO said. The oxygen shortage will have an impact on Ukraine’s ability to treat patients with COVID-19 and other conditions. WHO is assessing how to safely transport oxygen and other supplies from neighboring countries into Ukraine, officials said.

Meanwhile, WHO officials are currently verifying reports that Russia has attacked hospitals and other health infrastructures in Ukraine, which would be a violation of international humanitarian law, according to Tedros.

“The sanctity and neutrality of health care, including of health care workers, patients, supplies, transport and facilities and the right to safe access to care, must be respected and protected,” Tedros said.

WHO said the first shipment of supplies will arrive in Poland on March 3, including supplies for trauma care and emergency surgery to meet the needs of 1,000 patients, as well as other health care supplies for 150,000 people, according to Tedros.

WHO estimates that about $45 million is needed to assist Ukraine and about $12.5 million to support neighboring countries caring for refugees.

The consequences of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 among displaced people are exploitive, according to Michael Ryan, MPH, the executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program. WHO has recently prioritized Ukraine to receive critical COVID-19 treatments such as antivirals.

Refugees fleeing the conflict in Ukraine “will need access to primary health care,” and attention needs to be paid to other infectious diseases such as polio and measles as well as water sanitation and hygiene, said Heather Papowitz, MD, MPH, an emergency management specialist at WHO.

Officials are also concerned about the growing need for mental health care in addition to immediate lifesaving care.

“There are civilians being broken and the health system is going to have to put them back together again,” Ryan said.

“We need further logistic support in order to be able to continue to supply the health needs of the Ukrainian system,” he added. “But increasingly, unfortunately, these health needs are moving more and more towards battle wounds and people being caught up in a horrific conflict and all of the horrific surgical consequences of that for patients all over Ukraine.”