WHO warns of escalating health crisis in Ukraine

The World Health Organization (WHO) said an initial shipment of medical aid for Ukraine will arrive in Poland on Thursday as the agency cautioned of an intensified health crisis in the country amid the Russia’s invasion. 

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement in a media briefing on Wednesday, saying the delivery would include several tons of trauma care and emergency surgery supplies to meet the needs of around 150,000 people. 

Tedros noted that the WHO supplied hospitals in Ukraine with resources prior to the conflict, but said its resources in Kiv have been rendered inaccessible.

“There is an urgent need to establish a corridor to ensure humanitarian workers and supplies have safe and continuous access to reach people in need,” Tedros said, though it was not clear how exactly supplies would be distributed to Ukrainians. 

Tedro also said the WHO was “deeply concerned” about attacks on health facilities and health workers.

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

He also warned of low COVID-19 testing rates during the conflict coupled with low vaccination rates that he said could contribute to a spike in COVID-19 infections, which he noted would be especially concerning given oxygen shortages amid the invasion.

Ukrainian officials have said that over 2,000 civilians have already been killed in the conflict and hundreds of structures, including ​​transport facilities, hospitals, kindergartens and homes, have also been destroyed.

“We call on all the parties and particularly the government of Russia to reconsider his position in the light of the suffering that’s being generated in Ukraine,” Mike Ryan, the director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said on Wednesday.

The violence in Ukraine is expected to intensify in the coming days,.