NEW YORK, 24 February 2026 - Today marks a grim milestone: four years since the start of the war in Ukraine, with little respite in sight.
Four years of relentless bombing, displacement, family separation and economic uncertainty take their toll on women, girls and young people.
The strain is visible — in mothers hiding in shelters trying to keep their children safe amid bombings and power outages; in midwives delivering babies through repeated air raid sirens; in older people who remain in rural villages, often isolated and alone; and in young people trying to plan their lives with concern over what the future holds.
With a health system under severe strain, healthcare staff on the frontline work extended hours amid chronic staffing and equipment shortages, many of them on the brink of burnout. They support childbirth and respond to complications under constant disruption, including power cuts and shelling. When health systems operate with insufficient personnel, delays multiply, and preventable risks escalate, with serious consequences for pregnant women and newborns.
UNFPA remains committed to the emergency response and to supporting recovery in Ukraine. We continue to support survivors of gender-based violence, provide sexual and reproductive health supplies and equipment, and assist frontline responders so that women can give birth safely.
There is nonetheless an urgent need to ramp up support to Ukraine’s health system, including its hospitals and clinics, its supplies and equipment and, above all, the health workforce that sustains it, so that life-saving services can continue.
On this sombre anniversary, I call for an end to the attacks on civilians and on Ukraine’s health system, and for concrete steps towards a just and lasting peace so that healing and recovery can finally begin.
