Ukraine

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Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection has increased from about 3 million to nearly 18 million, and hostilities and fighting have spread throughout the country.

Access to care: an urgent need for the people affected by the armed conflict

Médecins du Monde ensures vital access to health services in the areas impacted by the armed conflict in Ukraine. Our action targets the most vulnerable people in particular, including internally displaced people, those living under precarious conditions, older adults, and people with disabilities. These groups face major barriers to accessing health services and need a sustained and coordinated response.

Médecins du Monde’s action focuses on essential needs: directly providing primary health care, strengthening the health system, and supporting displaced people. On the ground, mobile clinics serve people facing serious difficulties in accessing healthcare. Providing access to psychosocial care is a priority. The people directly affected by the armed conflict face increased risk of developing mental health issues, in particular problems of anxiety and depression as well as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Health facilities targeted

Attacks on health facilities and ambulances have left up to half of the medical facilities out of service in areas near the front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, including the Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions. The national supply chain for medicines and medical supplies has been disrupted, especially in areas close to the front line and in isolated rural areas.

These attacks violate the rules of international humanitarian law, which explicitly prohibits targeting medical facilities and requires parties to the conflict to respect and protect health infrastructure.

Médecins du Monde’s international network has been present in Ukraine since 2015. Due to the armed conflict between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed separatists dating from 2014, nearly half of the health facilities in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces were already damaged or not fully operational prior to the February 2022 invasion.