It’s difficult to enjoy the heartbreaking illustrations or photos from Ukraine and not experience a deep sense of loss for the proud folks defending their homeland from this unprovoked attack by the Russian navy. And the lengthier this war unfolds, the extra dire it gets to be for civilians and for courageous physicians and well being care staff flocking to the region to preserve lives.
This aggression, layered atop the continue to dangerous COVID-19 pandemic, has designed an enormous humanitarian disaster in Ukraine that our world group of physicians cannot overlook.
In addition to extra than 3,000 civilian casualties in the to start with six months of the campaign, the Earth Overall health Firm (WHO) Surveillance System for Attacks on Wellness Care claimed that more than 60 healthcare personnel and their sufferers have been killed or injured in Ukraine given that early March. Russia’s aggression has also destroyed very important wellbeing infrastructure, such as hospitals and clinics, in and about Ukraine’s greatest cities, producing it unachievable for 1000’s of persons to accessibility wellness care in a time of desperate need.
Doctors and wellness personnel on the ground in Ukraine have movingly described their experiences managing individuals irrespective of severe shortages of materials and medicine, urgent evacuation warnings, and beneath a continuous menace of attack. A recent JAMA article, “Doctors in Ukraine: Caring for Clients in the Middle of a War,” as properly as a JN Understanding™ podcast on the AMA Ed Hub™ on line system, “Ukrainian Medical doctors Share Existing Encounters,” present a nearer appear at the horrors unfolding in Ukraine via the eyes of Ukrainian physicians.
The AMA is outraged by the brutal assault of the Russian army in Ukraine, and we stand with the Planet Medical Affiliation and our other international companions in contacting for an fast ceasefire and an conclusion to all attacks on wellness treatment personnel and services. And for nonetheless extensive this conflict carries on, it is essential that intercontinental humanitarian and human rights rules are upheld and that we shield civilians and health-related personnel at all costs.
As a physician and a 30-calendar year veteran of the U.S. Air Force who proudly served our place in the medical arena in the worldwide war on terror and abroad functions after 9/11, I have professional the powerful environment that doctors and medical personnel come upon in a war zone.