Kyiv/Lviv – Russian invasion of Ukraine has strained the country’s the Healthcare system so much that space to treat patients at hospitals has shrunk constantly because of constant shelling and damage.
The World Health Organization declared its highest level of emergency in Ukraine the day after the invasion, coordinating a major relief effort there and in neighboring countries whose medical systems also are under strain.
About 6.4 million people have fled to other European countries, and a slightly higher number are internally displaced, according to U.N. estimates. That presents a major challenge to a health care system built on family doctor referrals and regionally separate administrations.
Across Ukraine, 900 hospitals have been damaged and another 123 have been destroyed, said Health Minister Viktor Liashko, noting: “Those 123 are gone, and we’re having to find new sites to build replacements.”
In addition, scores of pharmacies and ambulances have been destroyed or are seriously damaged, and at least 18 civilian medical staff have been killed and 59 others seriously wounded, he said.
“In occupied areas, the referral system has totally broken down,” Liashko told The Associated Press. “People’s health and their lives are in danger.”
“Pharmacies have not been working, and shortages have become increasingly acute: Hospital staff were among those evacuated, including specialists. We just need more staff,” said Skorokhod, who heads a Red Cross initiative to provide residents with free medications.
Leaders discuss way out of war
The U.N. chief and the presidents of Turkey and Ukraine on Thursday, discussed ways to end Russia’s war on Ukraine and secure Europe's largest nuclear power station, as Russia and Ukraine traded accusations of new shelling near the plant.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attend a meeting, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine/REUTERS
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters after talks, that he was gravely concerned about circumstances at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and called for military equipment and personnel to be withdrawn.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he, Guterres and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed building on a recent positive atmosphere to revive peace negotiations with Russia that took place in Istanbul in March.
In a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement in July for Russia to lift a blockade of Ukrainian grain shipments, and exports resumed at the beginning of August.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is readying about $800 million of additional military aid to Ukraine and could announce it as soon as Friday, three sources familiar with the matter said.
-AP/Reuters