The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that it will expand the scope of its mission in Ukraine to provide the country's residents with medical services in need, Voice of America reports..

In addition to the seven centers that are already operating in different cities of Ukraine, one more will be opened in Odessa.

Dr. Dorit Nitzan, head of the WHO program to combat the crisis in Ukraine, who arrived in Odessa, said that various medical specialists, including psychologists, would provide assistance to those Ukrainians who developed physical and mental illness during the war with Russia..

According to Nitzan, millions of Ukrainians now suffer from chronic diseases and do not have the opportunity to receive qualified assistance.. Among them are cancer patients whose cancerous tumors have moved to a more dangerous stage because they were not diagnosed in time due to military conditions..

The condition of many people with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and many other diseases has also worsened..

“Because of the war, people get all sorts of ailments,” said Dorit Nitzan, “Mines laid on the roads cause limb amputation. And, of course, all this leads to a feeling of fear, grief and uncertainty, which negatively affects mental health..

At the same time, she notes, there is a severe shortage of medical personnel throughout the country.. Many doctors and nurses died, others left the country. Those who have become internally displaced within Ukraine are helping, as best they can, to treat people in the places where they ended up.

Another problem, the WHO spokesman says, is that many patients in the war zone are simply impossible to reach..

“We do not have access to all districts. Many areas under fire. If we can't reach people, then we can't do our job.. Therefore, we ask [to create] humanitarian corridors that will allow us to take care of those who need help.”.

Recall that the head doctor of the country Viktor Lyashko predicted that after the war in Ukraine there will be a boom in oncological and infectious diseases..