Ukraine, backed by dozens of countries, seeks urgent WHO meeting on invasion impact
2022.04.29 17:32
Local residents gather to receive humanitarian aid during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 28, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
GENEVA (Reuters) – Ukraine, along with dozens of other countries, has written to the World Health Organization’s regional chief calling for an urgent meeting on the impact of Russia’s invasion on health, a letter obtained by Reuters on Friday showed.
The letter sent this week by Ukraine’s diplomatic mission in Geneva, where the WHO is headquartered, is signed by some 38 other members of the agency’s European region, including France, Germany and Britain.
It is addressed to Europe regional director Hans Kluge and calls for him to call an urgent meeting “no later than 9 May”. The letter also suggests that Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus address the matter at a meeting of the World Health Assembly in May.
The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters is also seeking comment from Russia, which is one of 53 members of the WHO’s European region.
