In this paper, the theme of medical neutrality is highlighted, in particular, the definition of the concept and principles are defined, and examples of medical neutrality violation through the prism of armed aggression in Ukraine are given. Medical neutrality is seen as a social agreement that obliges society to protect health workers both in time of war and peacetime, and obliges medical personnel to provide medical care to all, regardless of religion, race, ethnic origin, political affiliation or other characteristics. The internationally coordinated system for the observance of human rights is clarified, attention is focused on the guarantees enshrined in Protocol I regarding the provision of medical care, as well as on the international axioms of the protection of medical workers and guarantees of their professional activity in martial law conditions, defined in Protocol I.

The issue of legal assessment of the professional activity of medical workers in the territories in which the aggressor state has established or is trying to establish an occupation regime is revealed, and a fine line between the essence of the concept of medical neutrality and the professional activities of medical workers in the temporarily occupied territories is stated, which emphasizes the need for clarity and certainty in the presentation of legal norms to prevent human rights violations.

This publication is an analogue of the report on the review of the state of the health care system of Ukraine since the beginning of the war. This report was presented as a part of an international event—a special meeting on the topic “War in Ukraine and public health,” organized on May 22, 2022 by ASPHER (Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region). The speech not only indicated the terrible consequences and the humanitarian crisis due to military aggression by Russia, but also partially considered multiple issues: 1) state of sanitary and epidemic wellbeing of Ukrainian citizens and threats to the health of the population during the war; 2) needs which can be met by organizations such as ASPHER to strengthen human resources for Ukraine in the field of public health; 3) steps which must be taken in the shortest possible time to strengthen the restoration of the Ukrainian healthcare system and ensure the proper state of sanitary and epidemic well-being of the population.

Since the beginning of the Ukrainian War, ASPHER has been mobilized to provide its best contribution to the search for an immediate and long-term response. The reason for this strong mobilization is that the present war represents a risk of the greatest magnitude to European Health and, inherently, to Public Health in the countries covered by ASPHER.

Efforts have been made in providing scientific and technical advice related to Public Health to reinforce closer cooperation between Schools of Public Health, in particular between those in peripheral countries to the theatre of military operations, and theoretical training, given the near absence of an educational offer from Schools of Public Health (SPH) in this area of knowledge. A Public Health War Roadmap is also under construction.

This article is essentially the closing speech of the Gdansk Meeting promoted by ASPHER together with the local School of Public Health, which seeks to express ASPHER’s position on the war in Ukraine and what, in its opinion, should be done by the SPH.

Key words: public health, Schools of Public Health, public health in wartime, Ukrainian war

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.

Public health plays a crucial role in restoring, protecting and promoting health of affected populations in times of war and armed conflict. Even though health effects of war are well explored, the development of competencies to address the public health impact had received little attention in public health curricula. We suggest building upon the WHO-ASPHER Competency Framework originally designed to strengthen Public Health Services in the European Region. It provides an already established framework for Schools of Public Health and additional public health organizations and, at the same time, can be extended to understand and prevent the political, economic, social, and cultural determinants of war.