The World Health Organization on Friday appealed for more funds to support Ukraine’s health sector, which has been badly damaged by the Russian invasion.
WHO Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, said the
The country now needed more funds to ensure that mental health services and rehabilitation could be delivered while ensuring community access to health services.
US MAY DELIVER ‘SIGNIFICANT NUMBER’ OF ABRAMS TANKS TO UKRAINE DESPITE PENTAGON DISTURBANCE
“Our goal is to reach 13.6 million people with this support this year,” he said during an online briefing from the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr. “That’s why we’ve increased our 2023 appeal to $240 million: $160 million for Ukraine and $80 million for refugee-welcoming countries.”
Kluge said nearly 10 million people may currently have a mental health condition in Ukraine.
A woman reacts to saving her brother after an apartment building was badly damaged in a rocket attack in Ukraine on February 15, 2023. (REUTERS/Marko Djurica)
He described his healthcare system as “extraordinarily resilient” despite having suffered nearly 780 attacks against it.
But Ukraine also needed more mobility aids, such as wheelchairs, for those who have sustained serious injuries during the conflict.
A WHO survey showed 10 percent of Ukrainians struggle to access medicines, including due to damaged or destroyed pharmacies and unavailability of supplies, Kluge said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
A third of the people interviewed said they could no longer afford the medicines they needed.
Ukraine says it expects Russia to widen the war with a big push as it approaches Feb. 24, the anniversary of what Russia calls its “special military operation.”
