Disease outbreaks, a mental health crisis and lack of access to care are among the devastating health impacts of the destruction of the Kahkovka dam in southern Ukraine a week ago, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
WHO's representative in Ukraine Dr. Jarno Habicht told reporters that after the collapse of the dam caused severe flooding and massive displacement, the agency's primary concern was the potential outbreak of waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid, as well as rodent-borne diseases.
The agency's teams were monitoring the situation on the ground and were ready to scale up support, he said.
Water and food security fears
Dr. Habicht noted that back in the spring, WHO had provided cholera kits to people in the Kherson region and neighbouring areas "as a preventive measure". Water safety messages were being shared in collaboration with the Ukrainian Ministry of Health on social media, along with information materials on how to avoid getting sick from contaminated water.
But the situation was evolving fast, Dr. Habicht said, and hundreds of thousands were in need of drinking water.
He also pointed out that WHO and partners in the field were monitoring the long terms impact of the release of hazardous chemicals into the water. Food security was another major concern in the flooded settlements.
As of Monday, the UN and partners had delivered water, hygiene items and food to nearly 180,000 people in the affected areas, according to the UN aid coordination office (OCHA).
Dr. Habicht also informed of ongoing discussions with the authorities on pipelines to support neighbouring cities like Kryvyi Rih and Mykolaiv, which are experiencing water shortages.
'Emergency within the emergency'
The WHO representative described the mental health toll of the devastation on the population as "significant", explaining that the Dnipro River was very frequented by locals in the summer and that the humanitarian disaster in the area "ruptured people's memories".
The situation has compounded the population's distress following months of attacks on civilian infrastructure and a "dark and cold winter" amid power cuts, Dr. Habicht said.
Overall, there were more than 10 million people in the country with mental health needs. "It is an emergency within the emergency," he stressed.
