The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched its 2026 Humanitarian Appeal for Ukraine, requesting US$ 42 million to protect health care access for approximately 700,000 people. The funding will strengthen emergency and trauma care, sustain essential primary health services, build national and local preparedness, and coordinate medical evacuations for patients requiring specialized treatment.
Ongoing hostilities and repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure have created urgent health needs across Ukraine. Since early 2022, WHO has verified at least 2,841 attacks on health care facilities. Damage to critical energy infrastructure has disrupted essential health services, while 3.6 million internally displaced people face interrupted treatment pathways and limited access to care, placing additional strain on host communities.
Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, emphasized that more than two-thirds of Ukrainians report a decline in health since the war began, with nearly half experiencing mental health concerns. Despite these challenges, Ukrainian health workers continue to provide care under extreme conditions. The 2026 appeal aims to sustain trauma services, maintain primary care in conflict zones, support medical evacuations, and ensure continuity of care for displaced populations, addressing the risks posed by declining global humanitarian funding.
WHO’s 2026 priorities include sustaining lifesaving trauma care and emergency medical services in frontline areas, ensuring access to essential health care within high-risk zones, and maintaining integrated health services for displaced populations along transit routes and in temporary shelters. The organization will also expand medical evacuation capacity, implement standardized clinical protocols, and coordinate closely with the Ministry of Health and international partners, including the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
Additionally, WHO will lead the Health Cluster, coordinating over 200 humanitarian health partners in Ukraine. This includes strengthening health information systems, public health intelligence, 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.
In 2025, WHO provided nearly 2 million people across Ukraine with access to care, medicines, and emergency support, often close to frontlines and in hard-to-reach locations. This included delivering 319 metric tonnes of medical supplies to 954 health facilities, installing modular units to replace damaged infrastructure, deploying heating and water stations for winter resilience, distributing over-the-counter medicine kits, training thousands of health professionals in trauma, emergency care, mental health, and infection prevention, and conducting more than 1,200 medical evacuations, including through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Outreach teams delivered nearly 20,000 consultations across remote areas, ensuring continued health support amid ongoing conflict.
