Perspective of schools of public health on war in Ukraine – reactions to military conflict in Europe and international cooperation

Abstract

Since February 24, 2022, the hybrid war between Russia and Ukraine has been transformed into a very severe and open military conflict, having dramatic humanitarian and public health consequences – first of all, for the Ukrainians, but also for the whole world, in various dimensions. The impacts of this war are complex, multidimensional and multilateral. This paper aims to characterize the selected major impacts of the ongoing war on public health, as well as to characterize the selected reactions of the international academic public health community, including especially the three organizations from Moldova, Poland and France. Several positive responses of the academic community to the unprecedented humanitarian and public health crises caused by the Russo-Ukrainian war have been described. These efforts should be continued, developed and modified to the dynamically changing situation. The already existing international cooperation platforms, networks and alliances should be used for that purpose.