WHO struggles to send generators to Ukraine hospitals

TheWHOsaid Tuesday it was struggling to deliver twogeneratorstohospitalsin the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, fearing the worst for its hard-hit health system.

The World Health Organization said it was trying to pre-position supplies closer to the frontlines to speed up delivery if a window opens.

TheWHOis hoping to deliver 15generatorstohospitalsacrossUkraine, from a base in the western city of Lviv.

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Two were due to head to the eastern city of Kharkiv Tuesday, while another three are destined for the Lugansk and Donetsk regions in the east, which have seen heavy fighting.

Two more were for Mariupol, also in the east,WHOEurope spokesman Bhanu Bhatnagar told reporters in Geneva via videolink from Lviv.

"We will only move thegeneratorsto their final destinations when we can ensure the safety of our personnel and the precious cargo they are transporting," he said.

"Thegeneratorswill help meet the minimum energy needs of medical and surgical units of referralhospitals, where power supply is limited or non-existent".

Mariupol has become a symbol ofUkraine's fierce resistance since Russia invaded on February 24.

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Russia on Tuesday called on Ukrainian forces to lay down arms "immediately" in the city.

"We don't have access to Mariupol at this time but we will position everything so that the minute we can get access, we are able to get the supplies in," Bhatnagar said.

"We fear the worst for the health system in Mariupol."

The UN's World Food Programme pleaded for unimpeded humanitarian access to people trapped in encircled areas ofUkraine.

In Mariupol alone, more than 100,000 people are unable to leave and "are in dire need of food, water and other essential supplies," Jakob Kern, the WFP's emergency coordinator inUkraine, told reporters in Geneva via videolink from Lviv.

"In such circumstances, any illness that can usually be treated with medicine becomes a life-threatening situation."

The WFP estimates that some six million people inUkrainewill need food and cash assistance.

TheWHOsaid it had so far delivered218 metric tonnesof emergency and medical supplies and equipment toUkraine, of which 142 metric tonnes had reached its intended destination, mostly in the north and the east.

Since the Russian invasion, theWHOhas verified 147 attacks on healthcare sites inUkraine, in which at least73 people have died and 52 have been injured.