Ukraine and its front-line allies unleashed a storm of criticism over Russia’s relentless attacks on Ukraine’s energy and health infrastructure in WHO’s Executive Board meeting Wednesday – condemning the Russian Federation for “weaponizing winter to make cities go dark, hospitals fail and civilians suffer.”

“Russia is systematically attacking healthcare and the civilian lifelines it depends on,” said Ukraine’s delegate to the EB. 

“….But hospitals are no target, and a maternity ward is not a battlefield,” he added, noting that as of January 2026, more than 2500 attacks on health care workers and facilities had been verified in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022. 

Ukraine’s remarks were echoed in another joint statement by 40 other allied nations, led by Bulgaria and other European front-line states but also including Canada, Australia and Japan. Together, as well as individually, a long list of member states denounced the prolonged crisis in Ukraine, and its impacts on public health, mental health and women’s health services, in particular. 

“While Ukraine continues to tirelessly work for peace, Russia continues its aggression and is even intensifying its deliberate attacks on the civilian population and infrastructure, violating international law,” said Bulgaria in its joint statement.

“We commend WHO’s efforts in maintaining and strengthening the health system in Ukraine under these extremely challenging and dangerous circumstances.” 

Russia – debate is a ‘negative backdrop’ to peace talks

Russia, meanwhile, said that the bitter criticism  provided a ‘negative backdrop’ to the second round of US-brokered negotiations that began Wednesday in Abu Dhabi between the warring nations.

“A few hours ago in Abu Dhabi, once again, we saw trilateral negotiations that began. They involved Russia, the US and Ukraine. But the EB discussions create “a very negative backdrop to those negotiations,” the Russian Federation delegate charged. “This clearly demonstrates that there is a wish on the part of some to drag out this war.”

Russia also protested the annual Member State practice of producing a separate WHO report devoted to the Ukraine conflict since the war began in 2022. That’s distinct from the combined treatment of most other health emergencies, Russia noted.

“It is not clear what criteria were used to cluster all health emergencies the world into a single group, whereas item 20 [the war in Ukraine] is worthy of a standalone discussion,” said the Russian delegate.  “The regular specific discussion on this should take place on the basis of the work of the WHO standing committee on health emergencies.”  His remarks made no reference to the other exception – the occupied Palestinian territories – which has been the focus of two annual WHO reports to member states, since the Israel-Hamas war began in 2023.

Iran conflict another political subtext 

In a discussion officially focused on Ukraine, debate also veered into other geopolitical fracture points, including the Gaza humanitarian crisis, Taiwan and the recent Iranian civil uprising – triggering fierce exchanges between Iran, Pakistan and Israel, as well as between China and allies of Taiwan. 

At the outset of Wednesday’s discussions, Israel’s EB delegate called for the WHO to produce a detailed report for the May World Health Assembly on the bloody protests in Iran, and specifically “the organization’s activities in support of medical care for those affected by the recent events – including access to emergency health services and treatment of the injured.”   

According to Iranian opposition accounts, regime members invaded hospitals to arrest or execute injured protestors. And some three dozen medical professionals who treated protestors have reportedly been detained.  Iranian opposition media has put the overall death toll from the January protests at over 36,000 people, ten times the 3,117 fatalities reported by the regime. A recent Wall Street Journal article, meanwhile, cited a death toll of at least 10,000. 

Last week, WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued his first social media message on the disturbances – although that came several weeks after the protests had peaked. 

I am deeply concerned by multiple reports of health personnel and medical facilities in Iran being impacted by the recent insecurity, and prevented from delivering their essential services to people requiring care.

In recent days, there have been reports of health workers…

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) January 29, 2026

Pakistan – standing “in solidarity with Iran”

Iran’s humanitarian crisis, however, has also become entangled by the broader geopolitical situation in the region – with critics and allies of the regime lined up accordingly. And the debate at the EB was no exception. 

Israel’s call to WHO for a report was therefore immediately reubuffed by Pakistan and others in the region as a political maneuver aiming to deflect attention from Israel’s record in Gaza –  where where two years of war have reduced the enclave to rubble and intermittent attacks continue despite a cease-fire declared last October. 

“This is a clear attempt to abuse this forum for political point scoring and to divert attention from the catastrophic consequences of Israel’s own conduct in the occupied Palestinian territory and across the Arab region,” said Pakistan,  speaking on behalf of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

“The OIC stands in solidarity with Iran against these politicized accusations and calls on who to reject Israel’s malicious proposal and any attempt to instrumentalize the organization for narrow political purposes.” 

Added Egypt, asking WHO to detail its response to Iran’s recent civil uprising would not be “in line with the technical aspect of the [WHO] reports. We must adopt unified criteria that are applicable to all. Therefore, we would like to ask the secretary to make sure that the reports are purely technical.” 

In just the past 24 hours Israeli airstrikes and shelling of alleged Hamas targets have led to the deaths of some 21 Gazans, including several children, added Palestine’s representative to the EB, citing media reports.

Meanwhile, European member states that have recently been critical of Iran’s human rights abuses, as well as of Israel’s, remained largely aloof.

Africa and other developing regions appeal for more attention to health emergencies in their corner

But the headline-grabbing flashpoints in Europe and the Middle East, should not be allowed to obscure health emergencies elsewhere in the world, other member states emphasized, a theme underlined by WHO’s broader reporting on health emergencies. 

Africa, for instance, faces crises including infectious disease outbreaks such as mpox, climate-linked drought, foods and food insecurity, and conflicts that have displaced millions of people, driving disease, hunger and sexual abuse. Long-burning conflicts include the Sudan crisis, driven by UAE-backed RSF rebels, and a civil war in eastern DR Congo, led by Rwanda-backed M-23 fighters, who have taken over the regional capital of Goma.  

“The African region knows through experience that humanitarian crises as well as the massive displacement of populations weaken health care systems,” said the delegate from Comoros, speaking on behalf of 47 African member states.  “They worsen inequalities and threaten the progress that has been made towards universal health coverage.

Even so, “health crises that are linked to conflicts that should not draw attention away from other global health emergencies, especially such as those in Africa, recurring epidemics, climate change as well as food insecurity,” she stressed.

But against the backdrop of the United States’ withdrawal from the global health agency  “the African region would like to rereaffirm its commitment to work with the WHO, as well as all member states, to make sure that health remains a fundamental right that is protected everywhere at all times,” the Comoros delegate added.

“We call on reinforced international cooperation. We call on unwavering solidarity as well as concerted action so that no one is left behind.”