The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Ukraine: health care attacks continue as battleground moves east
As the focus of the war in Ukraine shifts to the east of the country, nearly seven weeks since the Russian invasion, health care facilities have continued to come under attack, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
“As of yesterday, WHO has verified 108 incidents of attacks on health care in Ukraine,” said WHO spokesperson Bhanu Bhatnagar. “This could range from attacks on health facilities and personnel, transport like ambulances, supplies and warehouses. At least 72 people have been killed and 51 people injured in those attacks.”
Speaking from Lviv in western Ukraine, Mr. Bhatnagar noted that “roughly 300 health facilities are in conflict areas at this time and about 1,000 health facilities are in changed areas of control”.
Since Russian forces entered Ukraine on 24 February, WHO has delivered 216 tonnes of emergency and medical supplies and equipment to the country, via Lviv. More than half of that amount has reached the intended destination, mostly in the east and north of the country, where needs are greatest.
“Over the coming days, WHO will be providing 15 generators to hospitals across Ukraine that have limited or no power supply,” Mr. Bhatnagar continued. “The generators are destined for oblasts in the east, in the south and in the north, and we have set aside two generators for hospitals in Mariupol for delivery as soon as we can get in.”
In addition to pursuing all efforts to re-open operations in Kyiv, the WHO spokesperson explained that the UN agency also wanted to expand its strategic operational base in Dnipro, in the central-eastern part of the country, although this “still remains uncertain”, he said.
WHO also plans to deliver 20 ambulances to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health this week and it is also helping the authorities to set up field hospitals to provide basic healthcare services where health infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
The UN agency has also evacuated those in need of immediate medical treatment to the Polish border town of Korczowa, where the Polish government has set up a health facility to treat up to 200 people.
ends
STORY: Ukraine Health Care Attacks – WHO
TRT: 1 min 21s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 12 April 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, flag alley, UN Geneva.
- Wide shot, UN Geneva Press room.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Bhanu Bhatnagar (Zoom from Lviv), spokesperson, WHO: “Roughly 300 health facilities are in conflict areas at this time and about 1,000 health facilities are in changed areas of control.”
- Close-up, TV camera lens and viewfinder and large-screen TV to rear, showing podium speaker and external speaker.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Bhanu Bhatnagar (Zoom from Lviv), spokesperson, WHO: “As of yesterday, WHO has verified 108 incidents of attacks on health care in Ukraine; this could range from attacks on health facilities and personnel, transport like ambulances, supplies and warehouses. At least 72 people have been killed and 51 people injured in those attacks.”
- Medium shot, participant sitting in front of laptop.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Bhanu Bhatnagar (Zoom from Lviv), spokesperson, WHO: “Over the coming days, WHO will be providing 15 generators to hospitals across Ukraine that have limited or no power supply. The generators are destined for oblasts in the east, in the south and in the north, and we have set aside two generators for hospitals in Mariupol for delivery as soon as we can get in.”
- Medium shot, journalists/participants seated, one checking her phone, TV camera on tripod to rear and large screen TV.
- Medium shot, participant seated, looking at laptop screen.
- Wide shot, journalists/participants seated, with TV camera and lighting tripods in view, and large-screen TV showing speakers.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IFRC
Ukraine: Families in ‘survival mode’ amid Russian strikes and -18°C cold
Families across Ukraine are in “constant survival mode” amid ongoing waves of Russian missile and drone strikes that have left blocks without power for days at a time, while temperatures plunge to a deadly -18°C (-0.4°F), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence urges Iranian authorities to end violent repression and calls for accountability.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Gaza: A ceasefire that ‘still buries children’ is not enough, says UNICEF
Airstrikes, drone strikes and hypothermia are among the lethal conditions prevailing in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 children killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
At the UN bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Marta Hurtado commented on the widespread repression and intimidation against political opposition ahead of the general elections in Uganda.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Aid agencies marked 1,000 days of war in Sudan on Friday with a grim reminder that the conflict has created the world’s biggest hunger crisis and largest displacement emergency. Every day, civilians have been “paying the price for a war they did not choose”, said the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Ravina Shamdasani, UN Human Rights spokesperson, made the following comments at the bi-weekly press briefing of the United Nations on the United States’ intervention in Venezuela.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR
Venezuela: US military intervention ‘far from victory for human rights’, makes world less safe – UN rights office
The UN rights office (OHCHR) on Tuesday expressed concern over the situation in Venezuela following the United States military operation and seizure of President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend, insisting that the move runs counter to international law and damages global security.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
As fighting spreads across Sudan in a dangerous new escalation, "people are scared, people are fleeing their homes," the UN migration agency, IOM, said on Friday, noting that more than 50,000 people have fled attacks and violence since late October in Kordofan region alone.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Volker Türk the UN Human Rights High Commissioner made the following remarks during and Oral update tothe Human Rights Council intersessional meeting on Venezuela.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
New flu variant is surging, but vaccination still our best bet - WHO
Amid an early start to the Northern Hemisphere influenza season a new variant of the virus is rapidly gaining ground - but vaccination remains the “most effective defence”, the UN health agency said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
In Sudan, deep concerns persist for the many tens of thousands of people believed to still be trapped in the city of El Fasher in the Darfur region, but UN aid agencies believe they may soon get access to the embattled city.