Six  million people in the Ukraine are now in need of humanitarian assistance. More than 2 million people have fled the country since the Russian invasion began on Feb 24, 2022. An unknown number, probably in the millions, of Ukrainians are internally displaced. Several cities are under siege, including Mariupol in the south, where 200 000 people are trapped without power or running water, and WHO has warned that attacks on Ukrainian hospitals and ambulances are escalating. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reckons refugee numbers could hit 4 million.

 

The prospects for health care are bleak. For Ukrainian patients trying to access care, the journey to the health centre might be impossibly dangerous. Some facilities will be irreparably damaged. Others will not be able to function because their staff have left.

 

“Medical centres in areas of Ukraine that are as yet unaffected by the fighting will need to plan what to do if the Russians advance”, said Richard Sullivan, co-director of the Conflict and Health Research Group at King's College London. “Do they keep going and hope for the best, or evacuate?” Russian forces in Syria were repeatedly accused of deliberately targeting health-care institutions.

 

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