A woman holds a child as people arrive at a train station converted to a refugee center, at the border control area between Poland and Ukraine, after Russia launched a major military operation against Ukraine , in Przemysl, Poland, February 25, 2022.
Kacper Pempel | Reuters
Ukrainian hospitals could run out of oxygen supplies in the next 24 hours as the Russian invasion disrupts traffic around the country, putting thousands more at risk, according to the World Health Organization. World Health Organization.
The WHO, in a statement on Sunday, said trucks were unable to transport oxygen supplies from factories to hospitals around the country, including the capital Kyiv, which has faced mass Russian missile attacks during the night.
“The oxygen supply situation is approaching a very dangerous level in Ukraine,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and European Regional Director Hans Kluge said in a joint statement. “Most hospitals could run out of oxygen reserves within the next 24 hours. Some have already run out. This puts thousands of people at risk,” they said.
According to the WHO, Ukraine needed a 25% increase in oxygen supply compared to the country’s needs before Russia invaded last week. The global health body called on the facility to create a safe transit corridor to increase oxygen supply to Ukraine through a logistical route through neighboring Poland.
“It is urgent to ensure that lifesaving medical supplies – including oxygen – reach those who need them,” said Tedros and Kluge.
According to WHO, vital hospital services are also under threat due to lack of electricity and lack of electricity. The global health agency said that ambulances transporting patients were at risk of getting caught in the crossfire of fighting between the Russian and Ukrainian armies.
According to the WHO, an oxygen supply is important for patients with Covid-19, as well as those with health complications from pregnancy and childbirth, chronic illness, sepsis, trauma and trauma. There are currently 1,700 people hospitalized with Covid in Ukraine.
The WHO says Ukraine has made significant progress in strengthening its health care system in the face of Russia’s invasion, including expanding oxygen therapy to treat critically ill patients with Covid-19. “This progress now runs the risk of being derailed during the current crisis,” said Tedros and Kluge.
Ukraine has been facing a surge in omicron Covid infections, with a staggering 555% increase in cases between January 15 and February 25, according to a report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The country faces an increasing risk of spreading Covid as civilians flee the Russian invasion. Another Covid outbreak combined with a growing number of war injuries will put additional pressure on Ukraine’s already overstretched healthcare system, according to a United Nations report.
Ukraine has suffered at least 240 civilian casualties since the Russian invasion began, including 64 dead and 176 wounded, according to a United Nations report. However, the UN’s humanitarian affairs agency believes the actual number of civilian casualties is significantly higher.
More than 368,000 people have left Ukraine for neighboring European countries, according to the United Nations refugee agency. The Ukrainian government estimates that the Russian invasion could lead to 5 million refugees in the worst case scenario.
Many Ukrainians are fleeing to Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The UN says the scale of the humanitarian crisis will test the capabilities of neighboring countries. The United Nations refugee agency has posted information in Ukrainian, Russian and English for people seeking help.
According to the UN, damage to civilian infrastructure has left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity or water.
The UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs said: “The ongoing conflict continues to take a severe toll on human life, cause increasing numbers of civilian casualties, disrupt livelihoods and cause damage critical civilian infrastructure, including hundreds of homes, water and sanitation infrastructure, schools, and health facilities”.
The fighting has forced UN agencies and international humanitarian organizations to halt response operations in many parts of the country. However, the UN and its partners remain steadfast and prepared to scale up their operations as they gain better access to the worst-affected areas and the security situation allows for the full deployment of assistance. humanitarian, according to the UN report.
