ReliefWeb

Situation update

As the war in Ukraine persists, fighting and hostilities have intensified in the eastern and southern parts of the country. While most of the active warfare on the ground is in the East and the South, missile attacks and casualties continue to be reported in several other regions, including Kharkivska, Kyivska, Cherkaska, Odeska, Vinnytska oblasts, taking a heavy toll on civilians and civilian infrastructure. As of 12 July, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR) recorded 11 544 civilian casualties in the country: 5024 killed and 6520 injured.

The on going war is having a devastating impact on the lives and health of the people of Ukraine. Access to healthcare is severely impacted due to security concerns, damage to health facilities, restricted mobility, broken supply chains and mass displacement. People’s mental health and psychosocial wellbeing are acutely affected by exposure to life threatening events. Finally, the risk of disease outbreaks has considerably increased due to the lack of access to water, sanitation and hygiene, crowded conditions in underground shelters and collective centres, as well as suboptimal coverage for routine vaccinations.

As the health needs continue to grow, the humanitarian response of Health Cluster Ukraine has expanded significantly; the number of Health Cluster partners in the country has doubled, from 73 in February to 149 by mid-July. The number of Technical Working Groups (TWG) has increased from two to ten. To further ramp up Health Cluster operations, Health Cluster Ukraine has expanded its presence and **established coordination hubs in the eastern and central parts of the country; ** the Southern Sub-Cluster will soon have a presence in Odesa to cover the response for the southern oblasts.