Thread by @WHO

LIVE: @DrTedros' address at the High-Level International Donors’ Conference for #Ukraine twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

"It’s often said that the 1st casualty of war is truth. The same saying could apply to health. The disruption of health services across #Ukraine has been catastrophic, compounded by displacement & millions of people remain trapped in conflict areas, unable to move"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "This puts services and infrastructure, and the health of millions of people, at severe risk. The resilience of any health system is defined not by its buildings, but its people – those who deliver care even in the most extreme circumstances"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "We salute the nurses caring for newborns in hospital basements;

Ambulance drivers and paramedics rescuing people from bombed buildings;

Medical teams conducting surgery and delivering babies under fire"-@DrTedros #Ukraine

@DrTedros "[We salute] Primary health care workers still trying to provide care for children and older people;

And the logistics workers who continue to find and deliver supplies on which lives depend"-@DrTedros #Ukraine

@DrTedros "But even worse than disruptions to health services are attacks on health care. WHO has now verified 191 attacks on health care, with 75 deaths and 54 injuries"-@DrTedros #Ukraine

@DrTedros "Hospitals.
Clinics.
Ambulances.
Health workers.
Patients.

Let’s be clear: attacks on health are a violation of international humanitarian law – this is utterly unacceptable"-@DrTedros #NotATarget #Ukraine

@DrTedros "WHO has 80+ staff in #Ukraine, supported by hundreds more in neighbouring countries & 🌍, who are working around the ⏰ to get life-saving medical supplies to people who suffer from life-threatening conditions, such as diabetes, cancer & cardiovascular diseases"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Prior to the conflict, WHO was working with the @MoH_Ukraine to prepare for the worst-case scenario, pre-positioning supplies in hospitals, training #healthworkers on mass casualty management, and strengthening disease surveillance"-@DrTedros #Ukraine

@DrTedros @MoH_Ukraine "Within days of the Russian Federation’s invasion, we sent in medical supplies, trauma kits and more from our logistics hub in Dubai, supported by millions of dollars from WHO’s Contingency Fund for Emergencies"-@DrTedros #Ukraine

@DrTedros @MoH_Ukraine "These funds, which we were able to mobilize immediately, enabled us to respond rapidly to support the @MoH_Ukraine in meeting health needs in the earliest days of the war"-@DrTedros #Ukraine

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1522175079605575680?s=20&t=t_9jp-bXZCEbTGCUmz6Qvg

@DrTedros @MoH_Ukraine "So far, we've delivered 316+ metric tonnes of medical supplies, supporting care for 7.5 million people, & 200,000+ surgeries. We are also working in neighbouring countries to support the health needs of over 5 million refugees who have now fled Ukraine"-@DrTedros #Ukraine

@DrTedros @MoH_Ukraine "WHO supports proposals to provide burden-sharing funding to assist neighbouring countries who have been so generous in welcoming refugees"-@DrTedros #Ukraine️

@DrTedros @MoH_Ukraine "WHO faces many obstacles in delivering humanitarian assistance where it is needed. In partnership with the @MoH_Ukraine, we'll continue to deploy teams throughout #Ukraine, to address immediate health needs, & to support the future reconstruction of the health system"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @MoH_Ukraine "We thank donors who have supported the health response so far. WHO’s needs for the next 6 months are $80 million, against an overall health sector ask of $110 million"-@DrTedros #Ukraine

@DrTedros @MoH_Ukraine "We call for human rights and international humanitarian law to be upheld, to allow for safe and sustained humanitarian assistance"-@DrTedros #Ukraine

@DrTedros @MoH_Ukraine "We call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire for Mariupol and other encircled cities, to allow civilians to evacuate, and to allow WHO and our partners to deliver vital supplies and assess health needs"-@DrTedros #Ukraine

@DrTedros @MoH_Ukraine "And we call on the Russian Federation to stop this war.

There is only one remedy for the disease of war: peace.

Peace for #Ukraine"-@DrTedros