The risk of injury to healthcare workers in Ukraine who use medical transport is three times higher than that of other medical personnel, according to the WHO, UNN reports .
Details
According to the WHO's Health Attack Surveillance System, emergency and disaster medicine workers, as well as other mobile health workers who travel to patients, are 3 times more likely to be injured, wounded or even killed in attacks than other health workers.
Many emergency teams come under fire either on the way to a call or at their bases. Already 4 of our employees have been killed, 12 people have been injured and hospitalized
Since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the WHO has verified 1,682 attacks on Ukraine's medical system, resulting in 128 deaths and 288 injuries to medical staff and patients.
During the first quarter of 2024, the WHO recorded 68 attacks, of which 12, or almost 20%, were directed at emergency medical services.
These attacks included:
- 9 attacks on emergency medical facilities;
- 7 attacks that led to damage to fast cars;
- 6 attacks that damaged emergency medical equipment.
In 3 of these 12 attacks, 4 medical workers were injured and 2 were killed. This represents a number of casualties that is almost 3 times higher than that of other healthcare services during the same period.
Recall
Three rescuers, Vladislav Loginov, Sergey Baidalinov and Vladimir Matyushenko, were killed in Kharkiv during a Russian drone attackwhile rescuing people.