WHO records 100th attack on health care in Ukraine

As of 7 April 2022, WHO has confirmed more than 100 attacks on health care in Ukraine since the start of the war on 24 February – claiming 73 lives and injuring 51. Targeting health facilities, workers, supplies, vehicles and patients is a major violation of international law.

“We are outraged that attacks on health care are continuing. Attacks on health care are a violation of international humanitarian law,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, at a press conference. “Peace is the only way forward. I again call on the Russian Federation to stop the war.”

“It’s a truly sad irony that we are recording this milestone of over 100 attacks on health in Ukraine on World Health Day,” noted Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, who visited the humanitarian hub of Lviv in western Ukraine today. “I have been personally struck by the resilience and fortitude of health-care providers and indeed of the health system itself in Ukraine. WHO has been working to ensure supply lines remain open to allow life-saving health and medical supplies to reach cities and towns nationwide, and continued attacks on health make this effort all the more challenging.”

The impact of this violence is not only immediate but will be felt long-term, with consequences for Ukraine’s health-care system – seriously harming efforts to institute health reforms and achieve universal health coverage.