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 Medical needs are already acute, with the World Health Organization
warning on Sunday that oxygen supplies were running out.
Fears of a wider public health crisis are growing as people flee
their homes, health services are interrupted and supplies fail to
reach Ukraine, which has also been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said on Monday routine immunisation
and outbreak control efforts for polio had been suspended in Ukraine
because of the fighting. WHO has received reports that coronavirus
vaccination campaigns have also been put on hold in many parts of
the country, he said.
Last October, Ukraine found the first polio case in Europe for five
years - a 17-month old toddler who was paralysed - and another case
involving paralysis was found in January.
Nineteen more children have been identified with the vaccine-derived
form of polio but without symptoms of paralysis.
A nationwide polio immunisation campaign to reach the 100,000
children still unprotected in Ukraine began on Feb. 1, but has been
halted since fighting began and as health authorities shift to
emergency care.
The WHO said electricity shortages in some areas had affected the
safety of vaccine stock, and surveillance had been disrupted.
"WHO is working to urgently develop contingency plans to support
Ukraine and prevent further spread of polio caused by the conflict,"
said Jasarevic.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" to destroy
its neighbour's military capabilities and capture what it regards as
dangerous nationalists. It denies targeting civilians.
CONCERN FOR HIV PATIENTS
The U.N. agency for HIV/AIDS has said there is less than a month's
worth of drugs for HIV patients left in Ukraine.
"People living with HIV in Ukraine only have a few weeks of
antiretroviral therapy remaining with them, and without continuous
access their lives are at risk," said UNAIDS Executive Director
Winnie Byanyima.
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 Before Russia's invasion began last week,
Ukraine had 250,000 people living with HIV, the
second-largest number in Europe after Russia.
It also had high rates of tuberculosis,
including one of the highest rates of multi-drug
resistant TB in the world. There are an
estimated 30,000 new TB cases annually in
Ukraine.
Ukraine's government and the Stop TB
Partnership, an international initiative, said
on Monday all TB clinics in the country were
still open, but patients had been given a
month-long supply of drugs to take away with
them in case the situation worsened or it was
dangerous to travel to clinic.
Enough treatments are available for existing and
projected new patients until the end of 2022,
Stop TB said, although the organisation is
working with the WHO on potential emergency
orders for neighbouring countries.
Interruptions in treatment or diagnosis can
drive up wider transmission as well as risk
patients' lives, experts say.
"It's clear we expect many more TB cases," said
Viorel Soltan, a Stop TB Partnership
representative, predicting an impact on the
wider health system in Ukraine.
COVID-19 is also still a concern, with only just
over one in three people fully vaccinated
against the virus disease. Daily new cases hit a
peak of around 40,000 in February but were
declining before reporting stopped after
Russia's invasion.
Humanitarian relief organisation Project HOPE
said on Monday pharmacies in all cities under
attack were reporting running out of medical
supplies.
(Editing by Timothy Heritage)
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