WHO launched its Humanitarian Appeal for Ukraine 2026, requesting USD 42 million to protect access to health care for 700,000 people. The appeal aims to strengthen emergency and trauma care, sustain and restore essential primary health services, build national and local preparedness, and coordinate medical evacuation for patients in need of specialized care.

Ongoing hostilities and attacks on civilian infrastructure continue to drive urgent health needs across Ukraine. Since early 2022, WHO has verified at least 2,841 attacks on health care. Repeated strikes on critical energy infrastructure have severely damaged power generation, increasingly disrupting the delivery of essential health services. At the same time, 3.6 million people remain internally displaced, interrupting treatment pathways, limiting access to care and placing additional pressure on overstretched services in host communities.

“Our recent assessments show that more than two-thirds of Ukrainians report a decline in their health compared to the pre-war period, with mental health concerns affecting nearly half of the population,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “Through it all, Ukraine’s brave health workers continue to provide care under extraordinary conditions, including in life-threatening frontline areas. To support them and the people of Ukraine, our 2026 appeal will sustain trauma services, maintain primary care delivery in conflict-affected zones, support medical evacuations for critically ill patients, and ensure continuity of care for millions who are displaced or cut off from services. As humanitarian funding declines globally, this US 42 million investment is essential to prevent further deterioration of people’s health and maintain the resilience of Ukraine’s health system.”

Putting people first: WHO’s 5 priorities for 2026

1. WHO and partners will sustain lifesaving trauma care and emergency medical services in frontline and conflict-affected areas by strengthening emergency medical teams, expanding surge capacity, ensuring the supply of essential medicines and maintaining continuity of care.
2. WHO and partners will ensure access to essential health care in frontline areas, particularly within the 0–20 km zone, where needs are most acute. Support will focus on primary health care, trauma care, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), mental health and safe referral pathways. Modular units, last-mile medicine deliveries, outreach teams, and investments in energy and water resilience will help maintain care for older people, people with disabilities, women, children and people with chronic conditions.
3. WHO and partners will sustain integrated health services for people on the move, including internally displaced people and evacuees, along displacement routes and in transit centres, with a focus on primary care, mental health and psychosocial support, infection prevention, and outbreak preparedness.
4. WHO and partners will support the safe medical evacuation of wounded and critically ill patients from frontline areas, expanding critical care transfer capacity, embedding standardized clinical protocols, and fully aligning evacuation systems with the Ministry of Health and international partners, including the European Union (EU) Civil Protection Mechanism.
5. WHO will continue to lead the Health Cluster, coordinating more than 200 humanitarian health partners working in Ukraine. This includes strengthening health information systems, public health intelligence, risk communication and community engagement, disability inclusion, gender equity, and prevention of gender-based violence, while supporting emergency-ready health systems, flexible financing, decentralized service delivery and a resilient health workforce.

What WHO delivered in 2025

“Ukraine’s humanitarian health needs remain immense, and the pressure on the health system is not easing,” said Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine. “In 2025, WHO helped nearly 2 million people access care, medicines and emergency support, often close to the frontlines. In 2026, our focus will remain on essential services in conflict-affected areas, safe medical evacuations, support for displaced populations and strong coordination to ensure no one is left without care when they need it most.”

In 2025, WHO reached 1.9 million people across Ukraine through service delivery, medical supplies, referrals and capacity-building, with a strong focus on frontline and hard-to-reach locations.

• 319 metric tonnes of medical supplies were delivered to 954 health facilities, reaching over 1 million people through 52 interagency convoys and 40 direct WHO deliveries.
• 28 modular prefabricated units were installed to replace damaged or destroyed facilities, expanding primary and emergency care capacity.
• To improve winter resilience, 22 heating units and 13 water stations were installed in hospitals.
• 9800 over-the-counter medicine kits were delivered, benefiting more than 30 000 people.
• Over 2,500 health professionals were trained in trauma care, mass-casualty management and emergency life support, including 106 certified national trainers.
• WHO supported 1,231 medical evacuations, including 788 through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
• Outreach teams conducted 19,824 consultations across 131 hard-to-reach locations.
• Capacity-building included infection prevention and control training for 50 facilities, NCD training for 302 clinicians, and mental health and psychosocial support training for over 1,400 people, with Mental Health Gap Action Programme training delivered to 338 health workers in 117 locations.

Source: WHO Europe Region