WHO reports 700 strikes on medical facilities since war started

• The World Health Organization (WHO) claims to have documented 703 attacks against medical infrastructure.
• Dr. Hans Henri P Kluge says such attacks are a “breach of international humanitarian law”.
• He expects two to three million people to leave their homes in search of warmth and safety.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started, the World Health Organization (WHO) claims to have documented 703 attacks against medical infrastructure.

In a speech in Kyiv, WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr. Hans Henri P Kluge, says such attacks are a “breach of international humanitarian law and the rules of war”.

He adds that due to the attacks on health and energy infrastructure, hundreds of hospitals and healthcare facilities are “no longer fully operational, lacking fuel, water and electricity to meet basic needs”.

“Maternity wards need incubators. Blood banks need refrigerators. Intensive care beds need ventilators. And all require energy,” he says.

The purpose of his visit, he continues, is to draw attention to the problem, meet with the appropriate officials, and express his gratitude to the medical professionals in Ukraine.

According to Kluge, 10 million people in Ukraine, or one-fourth of the country’s population, are without electricity, which is a dangerous condition given that temperatures are predicted to drop as low as -20C.

“Cold weather can kill,” he comments, adding that desperate families are being forced to turn to alternative heating methods – such as burning charcoal or wood or using generators by diesel or electric heaters – which could bring health risks.

He says he expects two to three million people to leave their homes in search of warmth and safety, adding that those who do so will face “unique health challenges”, including respiratory illnesses such as Covid, pneumonia and flu.

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