One month of the war in Ukraine – addressing the health needs of 2 million refugees arriving into Poland

23 March 2022
Since the Ukraine war started on 24 February 2022, over 3 million people have fled the country to neighbouring states, with the majority, mostly women and children, crossing into Poland to seek protection.

Many of them are in need of immediate medical assistance, having been deprived of food and water and exposed to freezing temperatures during their arduous journeys. Others, with underlying health conditions, need special treatments and medication. Mental health and psychosocial services need to be scaled up to help those that have witnessed the horrors of war – as well as the frontline workers who are supporting them.

WHO in Poland is supporting the Polish health system and health workers to meet the immediate health needs of refugees from Ukraine, as well as to ensure continuity of care for those with existing health conditions.

We visited some of the refugee reception points along the Polish border with Ukraine to hear first-hand about the impacts on health resulting from such a large-scale population displacement.

 

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Yana and 3-month old daughter Olha.  We met Yana in a reception centre in Dorohusk. She fled Ukraine with her daughter, 2 sisters, 1 younger brother and mother. Her husband stayed in Ukraine to fight.

“The journey to Poland was bitterly cold, so we are so grateful for the shelter, the warm food and medical attention that has been provided to us. My daughter is due her second dose of diphtheria vaccine, so I hope I can get it for her in Poland.”

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Valentina.  We met Valentina, 67, at a refugee transit centre in Horodło, eastern Poland. She had polio as a young child, which left her partially disabled. 

“I fled my home because I was terrified. I was forced to travel alone as my nephew has organ failure and wasn’t strong enough for the journey. People helped carry me to Poland and my trip took 3 days. Here in Poland I now feel safe, I have seen a doctor and I have been given medicine for the pain. In this place I have everything I need: food and someone to help take me to the toilet.”

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Tetiana.  A month ago, Tetiana was an accountant in Ukraine, but now sits in a refugee reception centre, rocking her 3-year-old son, Nikita, who has cerebral palsy. 

“We need to get specialized care for Nikita. He can stand but can’t walk. I hear that Germany has excellent specialized help, so I want to go there. I am hoping to go today. In Ukraine I was living in a basement because of the fighting. It was so cold and scary! We didn’t have a stroller when we fled our home so I had to carry Nikita but fortunately people helped us along the way.” 

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Filip, Polish Red Cross.  Filip (left) leads the Polish Red Cross team at the Medyka reception centre for refugees. He told us how children are distressed by the most common things.
 
“Every day we see children coming in who are more and more distressed. They are crying and shaking and it’s the small things that cause this: a balloon bursting in the room, or a siren on the radio that brings back terrible memories. Today, a woman who was covered in blankets was carried in on a stretcher. Children started shaking and crying because they thought she was dead.”

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Ardita Tahirukaj, WHO Health Operations Lead for the Ukraine emergency response in Poland. “The overwhelming majority of refugees are women and children. But, we are also now seeing the arrival of more vulnerable people, including older people and those less able to be independent, as well as those from ethnic groups, such as Roma. The refugees we are seeing require specific health care interventions, covering anything from sexual and reproductive health, to maternal and child health, treatments for chronic health conditions, as well as psychological support.”

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