Health Emergency Response in Ukraine Annual Report 2018

The conflict in Ukraine enters its sixth year with 3.4 million people affected in eastern Ukraine. More than 800 000 residents along the 457 kilometer-long contact line are among those in need. People living in the conflict affected areas, including 845 000 internally displaced people (IDPs), are exposed to increased health risks because of limited access to health care services. The contact line, separating the government-controlled areas (GCAs) from the non-government controlled areas (NGCAs), is also considered to be one of the most mine-contaminated areas in the world.

To address the health needs of affected people, WHO continues to lead the incident management system, including the Health and Nutrition Cluster. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) in Ukraine has been operating through the WHO Country Office in Kyiv and four Field Offices in Donetsk, Kramatorsk, Luhansk and Severodonetsk. Medicines, medical supplies and medical equipment have been delivered to health care facilities, and support has been provided for training health workers to improve the quality of health care services, including mental health care services, laboratory surveillance and immunization.

In 2018, over 300 000 people living in the conflict affected areas received access to better health care services through assistance provided by WHO and its health partners.