While rockets fall on Ukrainian hospitals, the WHO extends a hand to the aggressor. On the very same day — June 16 — when russia launched yet another strike on Kyiv, killing dozens of civilians and injuring over a hundred more, WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge was meeting in moscow with the chief mouthpiece of russian war propaganda — Lavrov.
“One of the top representatives of the most authoritative health organization shakes hands with the minister of a state that systematically violates international law, deliberately destroys Ukrainian medical infrastructure, and kills civilians. […] This is not just a diplomatic signal — it’s a blow to the global position of isolating the aggressor state”, – stated on facebook by Mykhailo Radutskyi, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament and Head of the Committee on National Health:
The content of the meeting is chilling: “respect for humanitarian law,” “new European Programme of Work,” “cooperation within BRICS, EAEU, CIS,” “WHO reform,” “pandemic agreement,” and — partnership in HIV prevention. But the dialogue about “access to treatment for vulnerable populations” sounds like a farce: the HIV situation in the country is among the worst in the world. According to 2022–2023 data, over 1.1–1.5 million people live with HIV in russia, yet fewer than half receive antiretroviral therapy. About 60,000 new cases are registered annually, including among children and adolescents. Treatment is often inaccessible even in major cities — due to failed procurement, drug shortages, and sanctions-related disruptions. International funds and organizations that for years ensured testing and therapy have been declared “undesirable” by the Kremlin. All of this is accompanied by repression of vulnerable groups, making prevention nearly impossible.
Can WHO remain neutral when it cooperates with a country that systematically bombs maternity wards and rehabilitation centers? Does the organization have the right to trade away its principles — humanitarianism, independence, and scientific rigor — for a seat at the table with an aggressor?
Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director of the Alliance for Public Health, emphasizes on facebook: “This meeting has nothing to do with health. It is all about politics. It is all about demonstrating politics with russia”
Ukrainian society expects not words, but actions: a halt to all visits to russia, a public assessment of the crimes committed against Ukraine’s healthcare system, and a clear focus on supporting the restoration of medical infrastructure, the development of mobile healthcare, psychosocial rehabilitation, and strengthening partnerships specifically with Ukraine — not with those who destroy and kill. As long as WHO shakes the hand of a minister whose government systematically destroys civilians, it casts doubt on its legitimacy — as the voice of humanity in the field of global health. And if it fails to make a choice — a real one, not rhetorical — it will lose its most vital asset: trust. Not only Ukraine’s. But that of the entire civilized world.