WHO and EU strengthen heating and water infrastructure in Ukrainian hospitals

WHO has installed modular heating units and water treatment stations in 11 hospitals in Ukraine during 2025, enhancing their resilience to operate under persistent security pressure.

During the fourth year of the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation, hospitals in frontline and other regions of Ukraine continue to face repeated disruptions in water supply, electricity and heating - disruptions that directly threaten the continuity and quality of care.

With financial support from the European Union (EU) Directorate-General for Enlargement and the Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST), WHO has delivered and installed 6 modular heating units in the Zaporizhzhia and Chernivtsi regions - home to around 1.7 million people, including internally displaced people.

The units are designed to operate autonomously from the centralized municipal grid. WHO has also installed 5 water treatment stations in major hospitals in Kharkiv city and critical health-care facilities across the Kharkiv region, ensuring continuous health-care services for millions of people.

"This project has become a strategic step towards the energy independence, sustainability and security of the hospital, which is especially important in this time of war and unstable energy supply. Thanks to your support, the viability of critical medical infrastructure has been ensured, and the hospital has received a reliable source of heat and confidence in the future," noted a representative of Chernivtsi Emergency Hospital, where a heating station has been installed.

Attacks threaten health care

From the start of the full-scale invasion, WHO has verified 2762 attacks on health care in Ukraine. Frontline and near-frontline regions - including Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and others - suffer from continued attacks on civilian and social infrastructure.

Hospitals depend on reliable utilities to function: electricity for diagnostics and surgery, water for infection prevention and sanitation, and heating to protect patients, staff and medical equipment during the long winter months.

When these systems fail, hospitals are forced to operate at reduced capacity. This can put thousands of lives at immediate risk.

Strengthening resilience

Modular heating systems offer several crucial advantages in wartime: they operate independently from disrupted heating networks, can be rapidly deployed and installed, and they are compatible with multiple types of fuel. They also maintain a consistent indoor temperature, and more importantly, protect patients, staff and medical equipment.

By deploying 6 units across Zaporizhzhia and Chernivtsi regions, WHO has strategically strengthened the resilience of hospitals and communities.

Ensuring a safe water supply

Another WHO priority is access to clean water - a necessity for infection prevention, emergency care, surgery and maternal health services.

Every water treatment station performs several stages of purification, starting with mechanical filtration and disinfection. Additional processes such as iron removal, water softening or reverse osmosis can be applied to achieve the highest level of water purity. This is particularly crucial for surgeries, maternity wards and other critical care units.

Kharkiv is one of the regions in Ukraine most severely affected by the ongoing war, with frequent air strikes affecting infrastructure. Ensuring a reliable water supply is a fundamental requirement for maintaining hospital functionality under such conditions.

WHO and DG ENEST conduct these projects to support medical staff who operate under extreme pressure, preserve health system capacity, including in high-risk regions, and maintain trust in essential services amidst instability.