WHO expects additional $18M in funding to help Ukraine

The World Health Organization (WHO) expects an additional $18 million in funding to help Ukraine, Spokesman of the World Health Organization Tarik Jasarevic told Report.

He noted that the WHO has received $38.2 million (66%) against its appeal for $57.5 million over the next three months: “WHO would like to thank Canada, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, Novo Nordisk Foundation, and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for their timely contributions. Flexible funding remains critical to enable WHO to deliver urgent life-saving assistance where its most needed.”

WHO has so far released $10.2 million from the Contingency Fund for Emergencies. WHO has so far delivered 218 metric tons of emergency and medical supplies and equipment to Ukraine. Of that amount, 142 metric tons – roughly two-thirds – have reached their intended destinations, mostly in the east and north of the country where the need is greatest.

“We are working with nearly 100 local and international partners to deliver life-saving medical supplies to the hardest-hit areas in Ukraine. We continue to call for safe passage to deliver vital supplies to Mariupol and other encircled cities,” he said.

“One of our biggest concerns right now is maintaining access to people who need help. An increase in fighting could further threaten our supply chains in and out of affected areas. To mitigate this risk, we plan to ramp up our donations to the Ministry of Health and assess the possibility of pre-positioning supplies in additional locations to help build a network of warehouses. Our Country Office in Ukraine is fully operational, despite being relocated to the western city of Lviv," Jasarevic concluded.