A Ukraine delegation, including the country’s Deputy Health Minister Oleksii Iaremenko, has recently updated the World Health Assembly on the situation on the ground in Ukraine.
The Minister spoke about the huge pressures nurses and other healthcare workers were still under both physically and mentally in the country’s war zones. The talks then focused on exploring ways to provide mental and psychological support to Ukrainian nurses and other healthcare workers affected by the war.
The discussions included a new mental health initiative for the country launched by Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, who has also called for international support.
Attending the Assembly, International Council of Nurses’ Chief Executive Officer Howard Catton, said he briefed the minister on ICN’s work in Ukraine and the council’s campaign #NurseforPeace.
‘What our talks underlined was that there are still many nurses and other health workers in Ukraine working under incredible pressure, enduring daily attacks. As well as the physical dangers, their mental and psychological health is being affected both in the short and long term.
“Building on the First Lady of Ukraine’s announcement of a new health initiative, ICN is exploring ways to work with the Ukraine Health Ministry and the WHO to respond to Ukraine’s urgent need for more mental and psychological support.”
