News

Hostilities and a global pandemic: a two-fold challenge for eastern Ukraine 24-08-2020

“I wanted to continue providing people with the assistance and support that they deserve,” says Oleh Mikhalov, about his decision to join WHO in conflict-affected eastern Ukraine, 5 years ago.

COVID-19 and conflict, a double battle for humanitarian workers 19-08-2020

Humanitarian worker Aron Kassahun Aregay joined the WHO Country Office in Ukraine in late 2019. From having worked as an epidemiologist in numerous emergency settings on the African continent, he was now in charge of information management, coordinating the health cluster response in the eastern conflict areas.

Universal health coverage on the agenda as Ukraine’s Health Minister visits WHO/Europe 11-12-2019

Reforms to reduce the financial burden of health care in Ukraine were discussed as Ukraine’s Minister of Health, Dr Zoryana Skaletska, visited WHO/Europe in Copenhagen on 2 December 2019.

What to do when you are running against time to save a life 04-11-2019

Rapidity of intervention and knowledge of the right steps to take are crucial for saving lives in trauma situations. If a patient’s airway is obstructed, there are only few minutes left to avoid death. Major trauma care also requires several health specialists to intervene simultaneously as a team.

Ukraine: supporting nongovernmental organizations in addressing mental health needs in emergencies 23-09-2019

In order to support nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in their response to emergencies around the world, WHO in partnership with the International Medical Corps organized a capacity building initiative in Kyiv, Ukraine on 16–23 July 2019. The event, aimed at humanitarian professionals from across the world, focused on ensuring mental health services at the primary health care level in humanitarian settings.

World Patient Safety Day: making infection prevention and control everyone’s business in conflict-affected areas 16-09-2019

In conflict-affected areas, health-care facilities provide life-saving services with very limited resources. Combined with poor infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, inadequate water supply and sanitation, and weak hygiene infrastructure, this can often result in disease amplification among staff and patients, and in some situations in the community itself. On the first-ever World Patient Safety Day, the WHO Regional Office for Europe draws attention to patient safety and safer health care in various settings, including in the conflict-affected areas of eastern Ukraine and north-western Syria that the Regional Office is supporting.

Scaling up emergency health services in eastern Ukraine: the ABCDE of trauma care 26-08-2019

Trauma care, as an area of essential expertise for saving lives and protecting people from disabilities, is vital in eastern Ukraine’s conflict affected areas. Accordingly, the WHO Health Emergencies Programme provides state-of-the-art knowledge and experience to upgrade the skills of health care professionals so they are better enabled to treat injured patients and more confident in their interventions.

On World Humanitarian Day, WHO recognizes women at the forefront of humanitarian work 16-08-2019

Lack of access to essential health services is one of the biggest challenges for people living in emergency settings. Limited freedom of movement due to insecurity, disrupted medical supplies and shortages of medical personnel make humanitarian response in such areas especially challenging. Despite this, humanitarian workers keep providing life-saving services, taking care of the sick, preventing diseases and promoting healthy lifestyles.

New estimates highlight need for investment in mental health services in conflict-affected areas 18-06-2019

Of people living in an area affected by conflict 1 in 5 (22%) has depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, and about 9% of conflict-affected populations have a moderate to severe mental health condition, according to an analysis of 129 studies published in The Lancet. The figures are substantially higher than the global estimate for these mental health conditions in the general population, which stands at 1 in 14 people. The findings suggest that past studies underestimated the burden of mental health conditions in conflict-affected areas.

Eastern Ukraine: training primary health-care professionals to provide mental health services 17-06-2019

To support primary health-care professionals to provide mental health services in eastern Ukraine, 12 teams of family doctors and nurses from Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region were trained to identify the symptoms of widespread mental conditions such as depression, acute stress, grief, post-traumatic stress disorder, self-harm and substance use disorders, and to provide basic mental health care. The training took place on 21–24 May 2019.

Improving trauma care and emergency response in eastern Ukraine 01-05-2019

Over 40 health-care professionals from government-controlled areas of Donetsk Region, Ukraine, strengthened their knowledge and skills in emergency medicine through the Advanced Trauma Care Training (ATCT) held in Kramatorsk on 23–25 April 2019. The training, organized in cooperation with the Department of Health of Donetsk Regional State Administration, was part of WHO’s initiative on enhancing trauma care, emergency medicine and integrated mental health services in Ukraine, supported financially by the Government of Austria.

32 000 people receive life-saving medicine and treatment in the conflict-affected areas of eastern Ukraine 26-02-2019

Over 32 000 patients in the conflict-affected areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions will benefit from the medical supplies for trauma care, surgery and blood transfusion delivered by WHO in February 2019. In addition, selected health-care facilities in the non-government controlled areas of Luhansk region received 11 oxygen concentrators, 18 infusion pumps, 8 neonatal infrared heaters and an artificial lung ventilator. The medical equipment was supplied in partnership with Médecins du Monde (MDM), with financial support from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

Better emergency health care for 40,000 people in eastern Ukraine 31-01-2019

To improve the quality of health care services and reduce health risks for over 40 000 people in need in non-government controlled areas of Ukraine’s Luhansk region, WHO trained over 30 health workers on 23—25 January 2019. The training focused on supporting emergency health care specialists in trauma emergency care and lifesaving procedures.