The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
STORYLINE
Five months into the war in Ukraine, people are suffering severely from all kinds of diseases and disabilities with an overstretched health system operating in the country, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today at a press briefing at the United Nations in Geneva.
Speaking via zoom from the port city Odessa in southern Ukraine, Dr. Dorit Nitzan, WHO’s Incident Manager in Ukraine, said that “the health institutions here in Odessa, and I am sure that in Mykolaiv and elsewhere, now where the fights are ongoing, are really overstretched”.
WHO is currently establishing a WHO hub in Odessa where they are focusing, together with the Ukraine Ministry of Health and other national and international partners, on the needs of the affected population – people whose physical and mental health has been harmed and deteriorated due to the Russian invasion.
“People are being disabled in all kinds of ways due to the war”, said Dr. Nitzan. “The noise and bombardments damage hearing. The landmines have been the cause of amputations, and of course, the fear, the grief and the uncertainty that exerts on mental health”.
There are also diabetics who could not get treatment and whose disease is now severe. Premature babies, pregnant women, older people, many of whom have been left behind.
According to Dr. Nitzan, “the people who have not been able to receive early diagnosis and treatment for cancer, are now having more advanced tumors and more critical illnesses”. She added that “people that have not been able to receive medications, for example hypertension, now have failing hearts and maybe strokes”.
The expertise of a countrywide-renowned Ophthalmology Centre based in Odessa is now sorely needed. “Other people have been suffering the terrible effects of missile attacks and other shelling”, said Dr. Nitzan. “And what we do not recognize and what we see more here is the impact on our vision with burns and damages to their eyes, leaving people permanently or partially blinded”.
WHO and other humanitarian partners are waiting for the establishment of humanitarian corridors in order to get to the conflict affected populations.
“Gender based-violence we see as in every war, and together with the UN family, each of the organization that is doing something is involved”, Dr. Nitzan said. “We are in the health care, hotlines and support to aid those who have suffered from this violence”.
Treatment of waterborne diseases, the ever-present risk of a cholera outbreak in the country, is a particular concern for WHO. Together with other humanitarian partners they are currently waiting to get security clearance for an assessment mission to Mykolaiv.
Dr. Dorit Nitzan described the current health situation in Ukraine as “Covid-19 is increasing now, cholera we are getting ready, polio (is) under control, measles we are working very hard to vaccinate but we are working in different areas in order to make sure that we are there”.
-ends-
STORY: Ukraine Update – WHO
TRT: 2 mins 40s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 8 July 2022, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Wide shot, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide shot, Press room, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Dr Dorit Nitzan (Zoom from Odessa - Ukraine), WHO Ukraine Incident Manager: “The health institutions here in Odessa, and I am sure that in Mykolaiv and elsewhere, now where the fights are ongoing, are really overstretched”.
- Mid shot, Screens in press briefing room.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Dr Dorit Nitzan (Zoom from Odessa - Ukraine), WHO Ukraine Incident Manager: “People are being disabled in all kinds of ways due to the war. The noise and bombardments damage hearing. The landmines have been the cause of amputations and of course, the fear, the grief and the uncertainty that exerts on mental health”.
- Mid shot, journalist, typing on laptops
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Dr Dorit Nitzan (Zoom from Odessa - Ukraine), WHO Ukraine Incident Manager: “The people who have not been able to receive early diagnosis and treatment for cancer, are now having more advanced tumors and more critical illnesses. People that have not been able to receive medications, for example hypertension, now have failing hearts and maybe strokes”.
- Close-up, hands typing on notepad.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Dr Dorit Nitzan (Zoom from Odessa - Ukraine), WHO Ukraine Incident Manager: “Other people have been suffering the terrible effects of missile attacks and other shelling. And what we do not recognize and what we see more here is the impact on our vision with burns and damages to their eyes, leaving people permanently or partially blinded”.
- Medium shot, journalist taking notes, spokesperson reading on cell phone
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Dr Dorit Nitzan (Zoom from Odessa - Ukraine), WHO Ukraine Incident Manager: “Gender based-violence we see as in every war, and together with the UN family, each of the organization that is doing something is involved. We are in the health care, hotlines and support to aid those who have suffered from this violence”.
- Medium shot, journalists in the room
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Dr Dorit Nitzan (Zoom from Odessa - Ukraine), WHO Ukraine Incident Manager: “Covid-19 is increasing now, cholera we are getting ready, polio (is) under control, measles we are working very hard to vaccinate but we are working in different areas in order to make sure that we are there”.
- Wide shot, press briefing room with journalists and screen
- Medium shot, participants typing on laptops
- Medium shot, podium with speakers and screen in the background.
Similar Stories
1
1
2
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
Aid is surging into Gaza “at scale” in line with the ceasefire agreement that has seen Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners released and families reunited, but massive needs remain across the devastated enclave, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
2
1
1
2
Edited News | WHO , OCHA , WMO
UN regrets US exit from global cooperation on health, climate change
UN agencies reacted with regret on Tuesday to the United States’ decisions to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
'Cabrini' film lead and Gomorrah star Cristiana Dell’Anna travelled to Geneva on Friday to highlight the age-old dangers confronting migrants – and the astonishing Italian missionary who travelled to New York City's slums at the turn of the last century, determined to protect them.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN warns of escalating danger for Sudanese civilians amid ethnic violence and war crimes.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO
UN health agency says 500 to 600 aid trucks a day could reach Gaza once ceasefire begins
Amid media reports that Israel’s Security Cabinet recommended the approval of a Gaza ceasefire on Friday, humanitarian aid agencies prepared to expand the flow of humanitarian aid assistance to Palestinians in the territory, devastated by 15 months of war.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA , UNHCR
UN stands with people of Ukraine for the long term insists UN aid chief at humanitarian appeal launch in Kyiv
The embattled people of Ukraine and those forced abroad need $3.32 billion in lifesaving and sustained humanitarian assistance to help them cope as a fourth year of war looms after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, UN aid chiefs said on Thursday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Syria: Tragedy ‘at every step’ as millions of children face landmine threat – UNICEF
In Syria, landmines and other explosives left over from years of conflict present an ever more lethal threat to children, accounting for over 100 child deaths and injuries last month alone, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO , WHO
LA wildfires: Climate change made the disaster worse says WMO
The powerful dry winds and tinderbox conditions that have been fuelling the continuing Los Angeles wildfire tragedy have been made worse by climate change, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif on Wednesday updated the Human Rights Council on the human rights situation in Ukraine, outlining the findings of OHCHR’s latest periodic report covering 1st September to 30th November 2024.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“We are deeply troubled by the marked increase in executions in Iran last year. At least 901 people were reportedly executed in 2024, including some 40 in one week alone in December. At least 853 people were executed in 2023,” Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the UN bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Avian flu risk still ‘low’ after first US patient dies – WHO
A day after the United States reported its first human death from avian flu, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) insisted that the risk to the general population remains “low”.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The appointment on Thursday of Karla Quintana as head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic is a key development after nearly a year and a half of work by the UN Human Rights Office supporting the institution’s launch.