New Delhi: The WHO’s Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) said there is no time to lose in view of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and and the international community must continue to work as partners, with pace and urgency, to stop and ameliorate the devastation.
In a statement, the PMNCH, a global alliance of more than 1,000 organisations, said the lives of Ukrainian women, children and adolescents hang in the balance.
The UN estimates that 12 million people in Ukraine will need immediate relief and protection to prevent loss of life and livelihood, while millions more will be forcibly displaced and will require long-term psycho-social and economic support, it said.
They may include up to four million refugees, of whom a disproportionate number will be women and children who will need protection and assistance in neighbouring countries, the statement said.
“We appeal for sustained and uninterrupted access to essential healthcare and services and the delivery of humanitarian assistance; protection for all civilians, especially patients and health and care workers, as well as for health facilities, transport systems and supplies; safe and unimpeded access for aid groups to conflict-affected areas according to the core humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and operational independence; and safe passage for all nationalities and ethnicities fleeing Ukraine,” it said.
The PMNCH said for the sake of so many people seeking safety in this massive and growing refugee surge, the international community must continue to work as partners, with pace and urgency, to stop and ameliorate the devastation, and to guard against the inter-generational costs of violence and war on children and adolescents.
The PMNCH said it stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and other vulnerable populations around the world.
“We must safeguard their lives, health and rights…. There is no time to lose,” it added.
