The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
STORYLINE
Five months into the war in Ukraine, people are suffering severely from all kinds of diseases and disabilities with an overstretched health system operating in the country, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today at a press briefing at the United Nations in Geneva.
Speaking via zoom from the port city Odessa in southern Ukraine, Dr. Dorit Nitzan, WHO’s Incident Manager in Ukraine, said that “the health institutions here in Odessa, and I am sure that in Mykolaiv and elsewhere, now where the fights are ongoing, are really overstretched”.
WHO is currently establishing a WHO hub in Odessa where they are focusing, together with the Ukraine Ministry of Health and other national and international partners, on the needs of the affected population – people whose physical and mental health has been harmed and deteriorated due to the Russian invasion.
“People are being disabled in all kinds of ways due to the war”, said Dr. Nitzan. “The noise and bombardments damage hearing. The landmines have been the cause of amputations, and of course, the fear, the grief and the uncertainty that exerts on mental health”.
There are also diabetics who could not get treatment and whose disease is now severe. Premature babies, pregnant women, older people, many of whom have been left behind.
According to Dr. Nitzan, “the people who have not been able to receive early diagnosis and treatment for cancer, are now having more advanced tumors and more critical illnesses”. She added that “people that have not been able to receive medications, for example hypertension, now have failing hearts and maybe strokes”.
The expertise of a countrywide-renowned Ophthalmology Centre based in Odessa is now sorely needed. “Other people have been suffering the terrible effects of missile attacks and other shelling”, said Dr. Nitzan. “And what we do not recognize and what we see more here is the impact on our vision with burns and damages to their eyes, leaving people permanently or partially blinded”.
WHO and other humanitarian partners are waiting for the establishment of humanitarian corridors in order to get to the conflict affected populations.
“Gender based-violence we see as in every war, and together with the UN family, each of the organization that is doing something is involved”, Dr. Nitzan said. “We are in the health care, hotlines and support to aid those who have suffered from this violence”.
Treatment of waterborne diseases, the ever-present risk of a cholera outbreak in the country, is a particular concern for WHO. Together with other humanitarian partners they are currently waiting to get security clearance for an assessment mission to Mykolaiv.
Dr. Dorit Nitzan described the current health situation in Ukraine as “Covid-19 is increasing now, cholera we are getting ready, polio (is) under control, measles we are working very hard to vaccinate but we are working in different areas in order to make sure that we are there”.
-ends-
STORY: Ukraine Update – WHO
TRT: 2 mins 40s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 8 July 2022, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Wide shot, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide shot, Press room, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Dr Dorit Nitzan (Zoom from Odessa - Ukraine), WHO Ukraine Incident Manager: “The health institutions here in Odessa, and I am sure that in Mykolaiv and elsewhere, now where the fights are ongoing, are really overstretched”.
- Mid shot, Screens in press briefing room.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Dr Dorit Nitzan (Zoom from Odessa - Ukraine), WHO Ukraine Incident Manager: “People are being disabled in all kinds of ways due to the war. The noise and bombardments damage hearing. The landmines have been the cause of amputations and of course, the fear, the grief and the uncertainty that exerts on mental health”.
- Mid shot, journalist, typing on laptops
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Dr Dorit Nitzan (Zoom from Odessa - Ukraine), WHO Ukraine Incident Manager: “The people who have not been able to receive early diagnosis and treatment for cancer, are now having more advanced tumors and more critical illnesses. People that have not been able to receive medications, for example hypertension, now have failing hearts and maybe strokes”.
- Close-up, hands typing on notepad.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Dr Dorit Nitzan (Zoom from Odessa - Ukraine), WHO Ukraine Incident Manager: “Other people have been suffering the terrible effects of missile attacks and other shelling. And what we do not recognize and what we see more here is the impact on our vision with burns and damages to their eyes, leaving people permanently or partially blinded”.
- Medium shot, journalist taking notes, spokesperson reading on cell phone
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Dr Dorit Nitzan (Zoom from Odessa - Ukraine), WHO Ukraine Incident Manager: “Gender based-violence we see as in every war, and together with the UN family, each of the organization that is doing something is involved. We are in the health care, hotlines and support to aid those who have suffered from this violence”.
- Medium shot, journalists in the room
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Dr Dorit Nitzan (Zoom from Odessa - Ukraine), WHO Ukraine Incident Manager: “Covid-19 is increasing now, cholera we are getting ready, polio (is) under control, measles we are working very hard to vaccinate but we are working in different areas in order to make sure that we are there”.
- Wide shot, press briefing room with journalists and screen
- Medium shot, participants typing on laptops
- Medium shot, podium with speakers and screen in the background.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The appointment on Thursday of Karla Quintana as head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic is a key development after nearly a year and a half of work by the UN Human Rights Office supporting the institution’s launch.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
The head of the UN migration agency stressed on Friday that Syria is in no position to take back millions of Syrians following the fall of the Assad regime, while there is an urgent need to “re-evaluate” sanctions impacting the war-ravaged country.
1
1
1
Edited News | IIIM , UNHCR
Syria: ‘Key priority’ is to preserve evidence of crimes – UN investigators
In Syria, new access to evidence of horrific human rights violations means that accountability may be closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved, a top UN investigator said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OSE , ICRC , UNHCR
Syria: UN and partners urge action to preserve evidence of prison atrocities, stabilize country
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria five days ago, hundreds of people have rushed to Saydnaya prison, desperate to find loved ones. Disturbing images from the prison and other detention centers have since surfaced, exposing the “unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured for years,” said Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN special envoy for Syria, on Friday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNRWA
Gaza: “Sickening normalisation” of suffering, amid attacks on people and aid convoys
Ongoing military operations by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza continue to devastate Palestinian children and families, with mounting casualties and a critical lack of humanitarian aid for the desperate population.
“Local media reporting here that last night, 30 people were killed in this area in strikes” said a senior emergency officer with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Louise Wateridge, speaking to reporters in Geneva from central Gaza.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
Rights experts call for end to impunity for Israel’s violations of international law
Four independent human rights experts have jointly called for the international community to sanction Israel’s conduct of hostilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as in the wider Middle East region - including in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. They also called for the restoration of trust in the international justice system through the abandonment of “extreme interpretations” and “double standards” in the application of the universal norms regulating the conduct of war.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR
Syria: needs continue to grow amid highly uncertain situation, say aid teams
The historic power shift in Syria and the still volatile situation two days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime have increased humanitarian needs in a country where nearly 17 million people, including millions of internally displaced, already depended on humanitarian aid before the recent events, UN aid teams said on Tuesday.
2
1
3
Edited News , Press Conferences | OSES
Barely 48 hours since opposition forces including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept into Damascus and forced out President Bashar al-Assad, the top UN negotiator tasked with helping Syrians’ create a peaceful and democratic future insisted that nothing could be taken for granted.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday called on States to do all in their power to end senseless conflicts and suffering.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
No evacuation order given before Kamal Adwan Hospital strike, says WHO
One of the last partially functional health centres in northern Gaza was reportedly hit again overnight into Friday by several strikes, leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called on the Georgian authorities to respect and protect the rights to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly following several nights of protests that were marred by violence, and dispersed using disproportionate, and in some cases unnecessary, force by the police in the capital, Tbilisi.