The European division of the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that it will review a decision next week that it is considering closing a special office of this institution in Moscow due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A special session of WHO Europe was convened on 10 May to review the decision.

Forty-three members of the WHO European region, which includes 53 countries, most of them from Central Asia, sent a letter with such a recommendation to Hans Kluge, the agency’s regional director.

The letter, sent on 28 April, calls for a special session to “examine the state of health in Ukraine and the serious consequences of the war on health problems in the region”, a statement from WHO Europe states.

In the summary, the authors noted that the war had “a devastating impact on the Ukrainian healthcare system” and strongly condemned “Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, including attacks on health centers in that country.”

It also asks Kluge to “explore options” for the European headquarters of the Moscow-based NCD prevention and control workshop, including “possible relocation” outside of Russia.

According to a spokesperson for the body, this does not apply to the WHO’s office in Russia.