Healthcare for 20,000 people in Ukraine

On Sunday, April 12, two ballistic missiles struck the city center of Sumy, killing 35 people, including minors, and wounding at least 119, according to Reuters. The attack targeted a densely populated area, including Sumy State University, where Doctors of the World was scheduled to hold a training session on mental health at the end of the month. The course was to be held at this university precisely because it had been identified as one of the few places in the city that offered adequate shelter during emergencies. As civilian infrastructure, the university building is protected by international humanitarian law and should not be targeted.

We have been working in Ukraine since 2014, operating in 13 oblasts (regions) and providing essential healthcare and psychosocial support to war-affected communities. Since 2022, and with particular intensity in recent weeks, we have observed repeated attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including healthcare facilities and personnel. On April 1, 2025, the Chornobaivka ambulatory, supported by our organization, was hit by artillery shelling. In Dnipropetrovsk oblast, the city of Nikopol and its surroundings, health facilities and civilian infrastructure are regularly targeted by missiles from the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia oblast.

Our work contiues in Ukraine, to help those in need of medical and psycosocial help, and it will continue once the war is over to assit with recovery and reconstruction.