Ukraine: Guterres holds talks in Moscow as humanitarian crisis deepens
As UN chief António Guterres travelled to Moscow on Tuesday, insisting that he would do “everything possible to end the war as soon as possible” in Ukraine and minimise suffering, ongoing clashes in the east have continued to increase humanitarian needs, aid agencies have confirmed.
Speaking from Rivne oblast close to the border with Belarus, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Bhanu Bhatnagar condemned new attacks on Ukraine’s health care facilities, which have deprived people of emergency treatment and preventative care, such as vaccines.
“As of yesterday, we had verified an additional two attacks on health care, so 164 attacks on health care …and the 73 deaths as a result of those attacks and 52 injured,” he said.
To boost relief to more embattled populations, UN aid coordinating office, OCHA, upped its appeal for funding, to meet increased needs. “Over $2.25 billion is now required for needs inside Ukraine, more than double the amount requested when we launched the appeal on 1 March,” said OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke. “The estimated number of people in need of humanitarian aid in Ukraine has also increased from 12 million to 15.7 million. The revised appeal aims to help 8.7 million of the worst affected across the country.”
Latest data from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, indicates that the war “has uprooted more than 12.7 million people in the past two months alone”, spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told journalists in Geneva. “More than five million have fled as refugees across the borders and 7.7 million remain displaced inside the country. Almost 13 million more people are also estimated to be stranded in affected areas or unable to leave, due to security risks.”
ends
STORY: Ukraine Update – WHO, UNHCR, OCHA
TRT: 1 min 31s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 26 April 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
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