The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Mariupol steel works convoy: UN health agency ready ‘for whatever is needed’
UN humanitarians said on Tuesday that they were standing ready to help receive a group of evacuees from the heavily damaged Azovstal steel works complex in the embattled Ukrainian city of Mariupol, more than two months since Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.
“We do not know what to expect …on this convoy but we are all of us, the health system, MSF is here with us and other NGOs and volunteers, all ready for the, whatever is needed,” said Dr Dorit Nizan, World Health Organization (WHO) Incident Manager for Ukraine, speaking from a reception centre in Zaporizhzhia, hundreds of miles to the north of Mariupol.
Confirmation came on Sunday from the UN aid coordinating office OCHA that the operation to evacuate desperate civilians from the vast steel plant was under way, coordinated by the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and “parties to the conflict”.
According to news reports, more than 100 civilians were allowed to leave in the first phase of the operation. Many others have already arrived in Zaporizhzhia from villages and towns to the west of Mariupol, Dr Nizan said.
Although the majority of these arrivals had only minor injuries requiring medical care, mental health linked to the trauma of the war “is a big issue” which will require care and support in the longer term, the WHO official explained.
“We are already receiving people, mainly mothers and children from Mariupol and its vicinity. So these people continue coming and I don’t know if you can see in the background, but cars are coming with volunteers from the region here, Zaporizhzhia, that are driving them from the contact line.”
Before the Russian invasion on 24 February, Mariupol’s population numbered around 500,000. Today, around 100,000 are believed to remain in the battered city, the WHO official continued.
Since the start of the war, the UN health agency has delivered 382 tonnes of medical supplies to Ukraine, including 291 tonnes that have already reached beneficiaries. The agency has established hubs across the vast country, including in Lviv, Kyiv, Dnipro, Donetsk and Luhansk.
“Many people left these regions because they are close to the contact line, and they are you know, under fight(ing) and shelling,” Dr Nizan said. “But many of the health workers stayed to deliver, to help, and those that left are replaced by other health care workers that came from the other areas that were occupied.”
ends
STORY: Ukraine Update - WHO
TRT: 1 min 29s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 3 May 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, a cloudy day.
- Wide shot, podium with moderator in Press briefing room, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Dorit Nizan, (via Zoom from Zaporizhzhia), WHO Incident Manager for Ukraine: “We do not know what to expect on the, you know, on this convoy but we are all of us, the health system, MSF is here with us and other NGOs and volunteers, all ready for the, whatever is needed.”
- Wide shot, podium moderator and large-screen TV showing Dr Nizan speaking via Zoom from Ukraine.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Dorit Nizan, (via Zoom from Zaporizhzhia), WHO Incident Manager for Ukraine: “We are already receiving people, mainly mothers and children from Mariupol and its vicinity. So these people continue coming and I don’t know if you can see in the background, but cars are coming with volunteers from the region here, Zaporizhzhia, that are driving them from the contact line.”
- Medium shot, journalists wearing facemasks checking phone or typing on laptops, TV light panel to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Dorit Nizan, (via Zoom from Zaporizhzhia), WHO Incident Manager for Ukraine: “Many people left these regions because they are close to the contact line, and they are you know, under fight(ing) and shelling, but many of the health workers stayed to deliver, to help, and those that left are replaced by other health care workers that came from the other areas that were occupied.”
- Medium shot, journalists wearing facemasks, typing on laptops or checking mobile phone.
- Medium shot, journalists wearing facemasks, typing on laptop or taking notes.
- Wide shot, journalists wearing facemasks, typing on laptop or taking notes.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the UN Human Rights Office have today released a report detailing the evolution of violent gang incidents beyond the capital Port-au-Prince since October 2024 up to June 2025, and the resulting loss of life and mass displacement.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Gaza: ‘Unacceptable’ choice between getting shot or getting fed – UN humanitarians
Following the deaths of several children in an Israeli strike on Palestinians waiting in line for nutritional supplements in central Gaza on Thursday, UN humanitarians have once again condemned the killings of people at aid distribution sites in the enclave.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the United Nations bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights made the following comments on the recent violence in Kenya.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
US tariffs uncertainty hurts world economy, with poorest countries hit hardest – top UN economist
A new US decision to further delay the end of a 90-day pause on tariffs is bad for business, a top UN economist said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Gaza aid site horror continues as more starving people shot trying to get food
Amid intensifying hopes for a new Gaza ceasefire, UN humanitarians confirmed disturbing details on Friday of continued killings and injuries of Palestinians desperately seeking food at aid sites.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
A clearer picture of needs across Iran is beginning to emerge after the conflict this month with Israel, which left hundreds dead, several hospitals hit and a spike in Afghan refugees returning home, the UN’s top official in Tehran said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO
The blistering early-summer heatwave that’s brought life-threatening temperatures across much of the northern hemisphere is a worrying sign of things to come, UN weather experts said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Human Rights Council annual panel on adverse impacts of climate change.
1
1
2
Edited News | WHO
The first meagre midweek delivery of urgently needed medical goods to enter Gaza in months will provide scant relief to the enclave’s people, who continue to be shot and killed as they search for food, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
2
1
2
Statements , Edited News | HRC
Enhanced interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report on Myanmar presented by Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and oral update by Thomas Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
The conflict-impacted people of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) urgently need much more international assistance than they are getting today, the UN’s top aid official said on Thursday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNOG
Violence in Myanmar is spiralling as the military junta increases its attacks on monasteries, schools and camps sheltering people uprooted by the civil war, a top independent human rights investigator warned on Wednesday.