More than four and a half months since the Russian invasion, civilians continue to be the target of explosions and missile attacks, especially in eastern cities including Donetsk, Sloviansk, Makiivka, Oleksandrivka and Yasynuvata, as well as as in the southern turrets, at Odessa and Mykolaiv.
Senior United Nations officials have long called for the establishment of humanitarian corridors to enable the safe and continuous delivery of assistance to extremely vulnerable populations in Ukraine. But OCHAThe United Nations aid-coordinating wing, has regularly signaled that access in many places is still too dangerous or blocked.
Corridor call
Dr Nitzan said via video link in Odessa to journalists in Geneva, saying: “I am sure that once there is a corridor, we will get there. “So the fact that there’s no lobby speaks for itself, certainly we’re all asking (a) in some other form, please, let us in.”
According to the World Health Organization, the dangerous situation continues to impede life-saving operations (WHO), which describes health services in many places that are now “severely stretched”.
© UNICEF
At a hospital in western Ukraine, doctors managed to remove a 4-centimeter-long shrapnel and save the life of a 13-year-old boy after he was severely wounded by shelling in eastern Ukraine.
Very vulnerable
Speaking from Odessa, Dr Dorit Nitzan, WHO Ukraine Crisis Incident Director, warned that others who need immediate help include those with chronic but preventable illnesses.
“Those who were not diagnosed and treated early for cancer now have more advanced tumors and more critical illness,” she said. “People who have been unable to receive medication for their high blood pressure and now have heart failure or have a stroke. These patients with diabetes cannot be treated and the disease has become severe. “
The important role of NGOs
Dr. Nitzan highlighted the important role that governments, non-profit organizations and volunteers play in delivering medicines and relief items on behalf of WHO, when the organization is unable to secure an agreement to perform.
“We don’t have access to all areas,” she continued. “Many areas are under fire, under attack, as I said we have to go to Mykolaiv this morning, we are waiting for security measures to stabilize last night but today is different, so everyone things are changing.”
However, WHO experts still need to reach out to patients to assess their needs, offer advice and support, the WHO official stressed.
“People have been disabled in every way,” continued Dr Nitzan, pointing to those whose hearing or vision was damaged in the shelling attacks and others who suffered burns or amputations. after stepping on a mine.
“If we can’t go with the experts to the hospital, to the people, to the people in need, we really can’t do the best job,” she said. “So what we’re asking is to have humanitarian corridors in place to allow us to step in and take care of those in need.”
© UNICEF / Lviv . Territorial Medical Union Hospital
A mother and her 11-year-old twins were among many caught up in tragedy at Kramatorsk station in Ukraine when a missile hit and injured hundreds of people fleeing the conflict.
Mental trauma
In addition to addressing people’s immediate physical health needs, WHO noted her grave concerns about the emotional trauma of war and “fear, grief and uncertainty”. that it created.
According to the latest OCHA’s humanitarian updateWhile eastern Ukraine accounts for most of the active wars, multiple missile attacks and casualties were reported in the last week in several other regions.
These include the turrets east of Kharkiv and west of Khmelnytski, where civilians and civilian infrastructure have been severely affected.
Thomson Phiri from the UN World Food Program warned that communities in both the south and east are facing growing food insecurity, especially as intense fighting leaves them vulnerable to food shortages. cut off the supply line.WFP).
“One in three families in Ukraine is food insecure, rising to one in two in the east and south,” said Phiri, adding that food distribution or WFP’s cash reached 2.6 million people last month.
The latest Ukrainian government estimates show that 25,000 km of roads and more than 300 bridges have been damaged or destroyed since 24 February.
Other critical infrastructure across the country was also affected, with losses amounting to $95 billion.
