WHO briefs the diplomatic community on health system response, early recovery and reform

A health system under sustained attack

The scale of the challenge is significant. Since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, WHO has verified 2985 attacks on health in Ukraine – damaging hospitals, ambulances, primary healthcare facilities and health care workers. In 2025, attacks on Ukraine’s health care increased by 20%, compared to 2024. Despite this, Ukraine’s health system has continued to function, supported by the dedication of its health workforce and sustained international assistance.

“Daily shelling, the destruction of healthcare infrastructure, and growing humanitarian needs — these are the conditions in which Ukraine’s healthcare system has been operating since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. According to the latest estimates, the cost of rebuilding the healthcare sector over the next ten years has already reached USD 23.6 billion. Hundreds of healthcare workers and patients in hospitals, ambulances, laboratories, and pharmacies have been targeted. Despite these challenges, we are not only responding to them but also continuing to implement systemic reforms within the country. In particular, we are strengthening areas of care where demand is increasing — especially mental health, rehabilitation, and trauma care. We are grateful to WHO for its consistent support in advancing these efforts,” Viktor Liashko, Minister of Health of Ukraine

The Minister highlighted the value of WHO’s technical expertise in advancing health reforms, strengthening emergency preparedness, and supporting Ukraine’s path towards European integration. Ukraine formally adopted its National Health Strategy 2030, the country’s first official national health strategy, providing a road map for universal health coverage and EU alignment. He also noted Ukraine’s active role in WHO’s governing bodies, including representation on the Executive Board and the Standing Committee of the Regional Committee for Europe, through which Ukraine shapes international health policy.

From emergency response to reform transition

WHO has been present in Ukraine since 1994, working alongside government institutions to strengthen the health system. Since the full-scale invasion, that work has operated across three tracks simultaneously: responding to urgent health needs, restoring disrupted services, and driving the institutional reforms that will define Ukraine’s health system for decades to come.

In 2025, a total of 1.9 million people were reached with various health interventions. In the same year, WHO delivered 320 metric tonnes of medical supplies to 954 health facilities across Ukraine via 41 inter-agency convoys, including 40 WHO bilateral deliveries and partner deliveries. 

WHO works closely with national authorities, UN agencies, and partners to align the health response with community needs. Through the WHO-led Health Cluster, more than 212 actors coordinate assessments, share information, and align activities. WHO is supporting with medical supplies and ensuring services are available at evacuation and transition points for internally displaced people.

To strengthen emergency preparedness and response capacity, various trainings have been organized and completed by more than 3,000 health workers in 2025—such as mass casualty management, trauma care, CBRN, and emergency response coordination—so that medical staff are better prepared to respond to sudden surges of patients during attacks or other emergencies.

To keep healthcare facilities operational, WHO provided heating equipment, inverters, water stations, and other water-supply solutions to ensure healthcare services continued even during power outages or harsh winter conditions. To support healthcare recovery, WHO has established, since 2023, 58 prefabricated modular units (46 primary health care and 12 emergency medical services) in regions where fixed infrastructure had been destroyed, covering approximately 328,000 people.

Progress on reform continued in parallel. In January 2025, Ukraine adopted a new Mental Health Law – the first of its kind in the country – formally integrating mental health across health, education, social protection, and veterans’ services. About 1,5 million people have received mental health care through their family doctor since 2022.

In Ukraine, the WHO is actively involved in the broader health system — including prevention and treatment of noncommunicable diseases, vaccine provision, laboratory upgrades and many more. Our team is also involved in health financing with a focus on ensuring that limited resources are used efficiently, transparently, and where they are most needed, particularly in the context of war.

"Carrying out WHO's health mission during active hostilities requires more than health expertise — it takes trust, coordination, and committed partnerships. Our work covers mental health, rehabilitation, disease prevention, and health system strengthening — as well as emergency response to keep hospitals and primary care operational and resilient, and to reach the most vulnerable communities. It moves forward every day because of those partnerships. We thank Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the opportunity to share this progress with the diplomatic community," Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative and Head of the WHO Country Office in Ukraine.

A coordinated international response

WHO’s work in Ukraine is embedded within the broader United Nations response. As the lead agency for the health outcome of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2025–2029, WHO works alongside UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, and other UN agencies to ensure that health interventions align with Ukraine’s wider recovery and development priorities.

“With the World Health Organization in the lead, the United Nations works to ensure that our support for health services and care fits well with broader humanitarian and development efforts and priorities of the Ukrainian government.  People and their needs come first, and we must ensure that no one is left behind,” Matthias Schmale, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine.

WHO’s cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also played a key role in enabling effective operations in a complex environment, ensuring that staff accreditation and operational logistics are managed in a way that allows assistance to reach people who need it most.

Sustained support is essential

Participants at the briefing were called on to anchor their support within Ukraine’s three strategic frameworks: the National Health Strategy 2030, WHO’s Country Cooperation Strategy for Ukraine 2024–2030, and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2025–2029. These frameworks ensure that international assistance is coordinated, targeted, and aligned with Ukraine’s own priorities.

As Ukraine continues to manage the demands of war while advancing ambitious health reforms, a sustained and predictable international partnership remains essential. The health system’s resilience, as it enters its fifth year of war, is a foundation worth building on – and one that requires continued investment to protect.