1 in 3 households home to at least 1 person with a chronic condition is unable to secure medication and care
- verified 162 attacks on health care (as of 21 April);
- delivered 218 metric tonnes of emergency and medical supplies and equipment to Ukraine, 65% of which (142 metric tonnes) has reached intended destinations, mostly in the east, south and north of the country where the need is greatest;
- delivered enough trauma and emergency supplies to conduct up to 15 900 surgeries;
- delivered enough medicines and health-care equipment to serve 650 000 people;
- delivered 15 diesel generators to meet the energy needs of hospitals and health facilities;
- delivered 130 000 COVID-19 rapid antigen tests (WHO had prepositioned many more prior to the outbreak of war);
- delivered 1000 vials of tocilizumab to treat severe and life-threatening cases of COVID-19;
- ordered 20 ambulances to hand over to the Ministry of Health, due to be delivered in the next week;
- convened 97 international and local partners with health-related activities in 24 oblasts through the Ukraine Health Cluster;
- delivered trauma and emergency medical supplies to the following oblasts: Kyiv, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Odessa and Zaporizhzhia;
- supported or coordinated more than 50 Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) in Ukraine and refugee-hosting countries to provide direct surgical support and mobile primary health care;
- run bi-weekly training sessions attended by thousands of Ukrainian health-care providers on mass casualty management, covering topics such as hospital blood transfusions in conflict settings, traumatic limb injuries, emergency nursing care and essential burn care;
- provided support to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health’s Public Health Centre to estimate the antiretroviral needs in Ukraine for the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has funded and is working with partners on the ground to deliver enough antiretroviral drugs to treat people living with HIV in Ukraine for up to 12 months;
- established 3 health hubs in western Ukraine to support medical evacuations, and ensured safe medical evacuation of patients, including those suffering from cancer, for treatment outside Ukraine; and
- put in place contingency plans for medical oxygen given the current disruptions to supply.
As of 21 April, WHO had received US$ 26.3 million of its appeal for US$ 45 million (58%) to cover its emergency response from March through May. A further US$ 18 million has been pledged. These funds will enable WHO to reach 6 million people with health-care assistance.
According to the United Nations, more than 12 million people have been forcibly displaced by the Russian invasion: 7.1 million people are displaced within Ukraine and more than 5 million refugees are outside Ukraine. Another 2.9 million are considering leaving their homes due to the war.
“Addressing the health impacts of the war in Ukraine and surrounding countries remains my highest priority,” said Dr Kluge. “During, my recent visit to Ukraine on World Health Day, I was deeply impressed by the resilience of the health workers I met, who are going over and above the call of duty to treat patients and serve their communities, despite the difficult circumstances. I complimented as well the Ministry of Health for their efforts.”
Dr Kluge added, “WHO/Europe is committed to supporting Ukraine now and in the future. As we respond to the immediate humanitarian needs, we must also plan for reconstruction and rehabilitation in parallel. The challenges are formidable, but WHO will work with national authorities and partners every step of the way, striving to achieve health and well-being for all.”
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The content of this article was amended on 4 May 2022 because an earlier version used an incorrect formula to calculate the reach of WHO’s Trauma and Emergency Surgery Kits (TESK) and Interagency Emergency Health Kits (IEHK). The correct calculations and figures follow.
As of 4 May 2022, WHO has delivered 2385 individual TESK modules, which equates to approximately 159 complete TESK.
Each complete TESK is intended for 50 patients requiring surgical care in emergency situations, assuming 2 surgical procedures for every admission. The TESK delivered so far could provide 7950 to 15 900 possible surgical interventions, depending on surgical complexity.
As of 4 May 2022, WHO has delivered 785 individual IEHK modules, which equates to approximately 65 complete IEHK.
Each complete IEHK is intended to serve 10 000 people’s basic health-care needs for 3 months, with basic medicines, equipment and medical consumables. The total population that could be served over 3 months with the IEHK delivered so far is 650 000.