WHO / HEALTH EMERGENCIES

With 82 attacks on health care since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, the WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said the UN agency is “outraged” these attacks are continuing. WHO

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:44
• Production Date: 30 March 2022
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: TEDROS GHEBREYESUS
• Corporate Name: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION - WHO
• Subject Topical: EMERGENCY RELIEF
• Geographic Subject: AFGHANISTAN; UKRAINE
• MAMS Id: 2723848
• Parent Id: 2723848
• Alternate Title: unifeed220330h

Description

STORY: WHO / HEALTH EMERGENCIES
TRT: 2:44
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 30 MARCH 2022, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, press briefing room
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
" We continue to urge for guarantees of safe passage to deliver supplies to Mariupol and other besieged cities. We have also issued guidelines for donations, including a list of critical supplies for which support is urgently needed. We are outraged that attacks on health care are continuing. Since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s invasion, there have been 82 attacks on health care, resulting in at least 72 deaths and 43 injuries, including patients and health workers. Attacks on health care are a violation of international humanitarian law, and must stop immediately. "
3. Wide shot, press briefing room
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ian Clarke, WHO HQ Incident Manager, Ukraine:
"We're now in the process of working with our health partners, both for Ukraine and the hosting countries, to come up with a comprehensive strategic response plan that will cover the health care needs for Ukrainians regardless of where they are located, both in Ukraine or in hosting countries. And that will provide a longer-term outlook in terms of the specific activities, the funding requirements across the different health sector partners for probably a year. We're working on that the exact time scale. "
5. Wide shot, press briefing room
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ian Clarke, WHO HQ Incident Manager, Ukraine:
"Just in terms of the delivery, notwithstanding the access issues, we have been successful in the last couple of days of reaching people in need in the east of the country. Obviously, that's where the greater need is. In the last two days, we've been able to dispatch more than 21 metric tonnes to eight locations, all in areas which are contested. We tried to get into Mariupol. We have been unsuccessful to date together with our interagency partners, but we have been able to access places like Kherson and of course, we will continue to try to access those areas."
7. Wide shot, press briefing room
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
"Women and girls are especially at risk – from lack of access to health services, and lack of access to education. Last week’s decision by the Taliban leadership to ban girls from school is very troubling. WHO remains on the ground, and we remain committed to protecting and promoting the health of the people of Afghanistan."
9. Med shot, WHO headquarters

Storyline

WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said the UN agency is “outraged” that attacks on health care are continuing in Ukraine.

According to him, since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s invasion, there have been 82 attacks on health care, resulting in at least 72 deaths and 43 injuries, including patients and health workers.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Ghebreyesus stressed that “attacks on health care are a violation of international humanitarian law, and must stop immediately. "

The WHO chief said the agency is working with health partners, both for Ukraine and the hosting countries, to come up with a comprehensive strategic response plan that will cover the health care needs for Ukrainians regardless of where they are located, both in Ukraine or in hosting countries.

“And that will provide a longer-term outlook in terms of the specific activities, the funding requirements across the different health sector partners for probably a year. We're working on that the exact time scale," he said.

Ian Clarke, WHO HQ Incident Manager for Ukraine, said the agency, notwithstanding the access issues, has been successful in the last couple of days of reaching people in need in the east of the country, where the greater need is.

In the last two days, WHO has been able to dispatch more than 21 metric tonnes to eight locations, all in areas which are contested.

“We tried to get into Mariupol. We have been unsuccessful to date together with our interagency partners, but we have been able to access places like Kherson and of course, we will continue to try to access those areas," Clarke informed.

Ghebreyesus also addressed the situation in Afghanistan, where he noted that women and girls are especially at risk, from lack of access to health services, and lack of access to education.

He called last week’s decision by the Taliban leadership to ban girls from school “very troubling” and said WHO remains on the ground, committed to “protecting and promoting the health of the people of Afghanistan."