91 attacks on Ukrainian health facilities verified since war began: WHO

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) – The World Health Organization on Thursday said it has verified 91 attacks on health facilities in Ukraine since the war began on Feb. 24.

Ukraine is living in “dark days,” WHO Europe chief Hans Kluge said in a briefing from Lviv, a city near the border with Poland in western Ukraine, on the 43rd day of the war.

“Routine immunization coverage for polio and measles is below the threshold for population immunity, 50% of Ukraine’s pharmacies are presumed closed, and 1,000 health facilities are in proximity to conflict areas,” said Kluge, who had to temporarily shift the press conference underground due to an air raid warning.

He said around 80,000 babies will be born over the next three months with insufficient pre- and post-natal care available due to the ongoing conflict.

The WHO has prepared for different eventualities in Ukraine, “anticipating that health challenges will worsen before they get better,” he added.

He said the global health body is considering all scenarios and making contingencies for different situations, from the continued treatment of mass casualties to chemical attacks.

- World Health Day

“Today is World Health Day, the day on which the WHO was founded 74 years ago in the aftermath of World War II, to uphold the principle that health is a human right, and all people should enjoy the highest standard of health,” said Kluge.

He expressed deep admiration for Ukraine’s medical workers for protecting people’s health in times of immense difficulties.

“Our mandate and humanitarian principles call on us to ensure health for all – including the poor and most vulnerable – wherever they may be,” said Kluge.

“We have a fully functional office in Lviv and are setting up an operational base in Dnipro in east-central Ukraine to mobilize resources more quickly and reach some of the most vulnerable people in conflict zones with urgent supplies,” he added.

According to the WHO regional chief, an estimated 260,000 people with HIV live in Ukraine.

Along with the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Ukrainian authorities and the WHO had ensured enough supply of antiretroviral drugs to cover the needs of every person with HIV in Ukraine for the next 12 months, he said.

Kluge said Ukraine was making excellent progress on specific challenges before the war started, including in its fight against tuberculosis (TB) and HIV.

“It was a beacon of best practice in Eastern Europe, with TB incidence falling by almost half in the past 15 years, thanks to investment in modern diagnostic technologies to rapidly identify TB infection and effective treatment regimens for multidrug-resistant TB,” he said.