More Than Half of Ukrainians Vulnerable to Health Risks

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The numbers can be daunting: A total 3.5 million Ukrainians have fled the fighting to other countries since the war with Russia began a month ago. Another 6 million have had to flee their homes, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration.

That all is in addition to the 12 million Ukrainians now living within a zone controlled by Russian forces.

Altogether, that means that nearly half of all Ukrainians are either on the move or cannot move because of the ongoing conflict, Michael Ryan, MD, executive director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Health Emergencies Programme, said at a virtual press conference Wednesday.

“That’s an incredible, shameful statistic 4 weeks into this invasion,” he said.

A closer look at the six million internally displaced people reveals how vulnerable they are, Ryan said, including:

27% of those households have an infant under age 5
56% of families have a person over age 60
32% of families have a chronically ill person
10% of families have a pregnant woman
19.5% of those households have a disabled person

These figures “do not even get to the issues of mental health and the trauma that those people have suffered,” Ryan said.

Although a lot of media focus is on the refugees, “there’s an incredibly complex problem inside Ukraine as well and very, very complex needs.”

Ryan expects the situation to worsen before it gets better.

“I don’t like to be ‘a Cassandra’ but the problems we face so far, collectively…are really the tip of an iceberg of need,” Ryan said. “There’s going to have to be a further massive scaling up of assistance within Ukraine in the coming weeks.”

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, agreed.

“The situation continues to deteriorate in many parts of the country and this [is] critical in the Mariupol and Bucha districts,” he said.

“In addition, the disruption to services and supplies throughout Ukraine is posing an extreme risk to people with cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, HIV and [tuberculosis], which are among the country’s leading causes of mortality.

“Displacement, poor shelter and overcrowded living conditions caused by the conflict are also increasing the risk of measles, pneumonia and polio as well as COVID-19,” he said.

Adding to the challenge are the now 64 verified attacks on healthcare since the start of the war. Health systems, health facilities, and health workers, Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “should never be a target.”

Based on a March 23 virtual press conference by the World Health Organization.

Damian McNamara is a staff journalist based in Miami. He covers a wide range of medical specialties, including infectious diseases, gastroenterology, and critical care. Follow Damian on Twitter: @MedReporter.

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