In 2025, 5 water treatment stations were installed in hospitals in Kharkiv city and region. This project, implemented by WHO in partnership with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and with financial support from the European Union (EU), ensures that hospitals in this war-affected area can operate independently, providing safe and clean water for patients and staff.
This is especially critical for Kharkiv city and surrounding areas, which experience daily attacks on infrastructure, frequently disrupting electricity and water supply systems.
“We feel inspired to continue our work thanks to WHO and its partners. We truly appreciate this support. Power and water outages still occur frequently, especially during heavy shelling. If we face a power outage, we can use generators. However, without water, the hospital cannot operate at full capacity,” said Dmytro Otchenashko, Public Procurement Specialist working on infrastructure projects at Chuhuiv Central Hospital named after M.I. Kononenko.
Ensuring safe water for medical facilities
A stable supply of purified water significantly improves the quality of medical services in frontline areas, particularly in Kharkiv city and the wider region, where groundwater contamination due to hostilities is frequent. Hospitals cannot rely on unfiltered groundwater when the central water supply fails due to the attacks on infrastructure, making additional water treatment systems essential.
“WHO thanks the European Union for supporting the initiative to install water treatment stations, which enable communities to rely on their health facilities. For example, Chuhuiv Hospital, 1 of the 5 hospitals equipped with a water treatment station, has a maternity ward where mothers and newborns have access to clean water – essential for their health – despite the ongoing threats of hostilities and service disruptions. Last year, 179 children were delivered at this hospital, and it continues to operate despite the ongoing hostilities in the Kharkiv region,” stated Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative and Head of the WHO Country Office in Ukraine.
Installed by WHO with EU support, each water treatment station undergoes several stages of purification, starting with mechanical filtration and disinfection. When needed, additional processes such as iron removal, water softening or reverse osmosis are applied to achieve the highest level of water purity, particularly crucial for surgeries, maternity wards and other critical care units.
WHO ensures that each system is equipped with the most energy-efficient solution, tailored to the specific needs of each hospital, recognizing that every facility faces unique challenges.
Strengthening health system resilience
This initiative is part of WHO’s broader emergency response and recovery project, which aims to enable health facilities to operate without interruption. As part of these efforts, WHO and its partners have equipped hospitals with essential infrastructure, including water treatment systems, heating units and generators, ensuring continued access to life-saving medical services.