Risk to 80,000 expectant mothers in Ukraine, says UN

AROUND 80,000 women are due to give birth in Ukraine in the next three months, the United Nations has warned.

Many of them will not be able to receive critical maternal health care and it could make childbirth a life-threatening experience, the UN Population Fund said, while aid agencies spoke of a “crucial need” to protect women and girls suffering in Russia’s invasion.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella group of British charities, has said the majority of the 1.7million people who have fled Ukraine so far are women and children and their displacement puts them at increased risk of sexual and physical abuse.

Suzy Madigan, Care International’s senior humanitarian adviser for gender and protection, said: “If you become reliant on others for the basic needs of survival, exploitation becomes a real threat.”

Care International is among 15 DEC charities working to intensify efforts to meet the growing humanitarian need in what the UN has called the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War.

The DEC – which is providing women and families with food, shelter, clean water, hygiene kits, healthcare and child-friendly spaces as well as psychosocial support – has raised more than £100 million in its Ukraine appeal.

Alexandra Parnebjork, of Plan International, said the majority of maternal deaths in the world occur in humanitarian crises. “In these situations, women and girls know what they want and need. We must work with them to ensure they have access to proper healthcare and protection from sexual and gender-based violence,” she said.