WHO urges funding to Ukraine’s war-battered healthcare system

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for additional funding to help Ukraine's health sector, which has suffered significantly as a result of russia's war against Ukraine,

In a press conference from Ukraine's northwestern city of Zhytomyr, WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge stated that Ukraine needs more funds to cover mental health, rehabilitation, and community access to health services, the Guardian reports.

He said that he was "amazed" by how "remarkably resilient" Ukraine's health system was despite having been the target of about 780 russian attacks in the previous year. Kluge also called Ukraine's healthcare  "a testament to its heroic workforce, sustained political commitment, and consistent budget support for health."

According to Kluge, over 10 million people in Ukraine may currently suffer from mental health issues, of whom 4 million may have serious or severe disorders. He noted Ukraine's response to this issue, "rapidly scaling up mental health and psychosocial support services and launching the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Programme."

He also stressed the importance of rehabilitation and called for urgent action by partners – "including treatment for conflict-related injuries, which are often horrific for adults and children alike."

"We are coordinating nearly 200 partners to deliver various health services right across this vast country, reaching 8.5 million people last year," Kluge said. "We aim to reach 13.6 million people with this support this year. That's why we have increased our appeal for 2023 to $240m – $160m for Ukraine and $80m for refugee-receiving countries."

Background

As of 2 January 2023, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has reported a total of 17 994 civilian casualties in Ukraine since the war began, of which 6919 were killed and 11 075 were injured. For the month of December, OHCHR recorded 801 civilian casualties in Ukraine, of which 188 were killed, and 613 were injured.

In line with the standard operating procedures of the global Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care, WHO has verified 747 reported attacks on health care between February 24 and 30 December. These have resulted in 131 reported injuries and 101 reported deaths of healthcare personnel and patients.