Projects

Short Description:

Overall goal

Provide critical life-saving support for children and their families in Ukraine and in neighboring refugee hosting countries.

Expected results

Result 1: 1.5 million children and women access health care

Result 2: 3 million people access a sufficient quantity of safe water

Result 3: 1 million children/caregivers access mental health and psychosocial support

Result 4: 273,250 households are reached with UNICEF funded multipurpose humanitarian cash transfers

Target group / Beneficiaries

In Health and Nutrition

• 1,500,000 million children and women accessing primary health care in UNICEF-supported facilities

In WASH

• 3,000,000 people accessing sufficient quantity of safe water for drinking and domestic needs

In Child protection

• 1,000,000 children and parents/caregivers accessing mental health and psychosocial support

In Education

• 600,000 children accessing formal or non-formal education, including early learning

In Social protection

• 25,000 households reached with cash transfers through an existing government system where UNICEF provided technical assistance and/or funding

• 273,250 households reached with UNICEF funded multipurpose humanitarian cash Transfers

The contribution from the Government of Austria will be used to support reaching the entire programme targets via implementing the activities outlined in the Humanitarian Action for Children Appeal.

Activities

To respond to the increasing humanitarian needs in Ukraine and among refugees in neighboring countries, UNICEF is working to rapidly scale up its multi-sectoral humanitarian response leveraging its presence, experience and established partnerships. UNICEF is working with partners and other UN agencies in Ukraine and in neighboring refugee hosting countries.

Within Ukraine:

• resume child protection services and

• replicate the ‘Blue Dot’ child friendly spaces for critical support to children and families on the move.

• set in place multipurpose cash transfers to support vulnerable households with children, and to meet a broad range of financial needs.

• resume water trucking where infrastructure is damaged, and work with partners to provide WASH supplies, and re-establish water and sanitation facilities in communities and where people are seeking shelter.

• resume learning for displaced children, and children on the move. This will include temporary enrollment of children in local education facilities and within safe learning spaces.

• support resumption of health and nutrition services in local health facilities, including primary healthcare in communities and through mobile health teams.

• provide health supplies and procure and safe delivery of essential vaccines.

• continue to support the ongoing polio outbreak response, increase COVID-19 vaccination rates, and prevention of a measles outbreak.

In neighboring refugee hosting countries:

• reactivate the “Blue Dot” safe spaces that provide crucial support to families on the move.

• scale up health and nutrition support, focusing on the provision of essential services for children and prevention of disease outbreaks.

• provide humanitarian cash transfers to vulnerable households with children, including those who are in transit.

• provide sanitation interventions in shelters, and distribute hygiene kits, and support trainings on infection prevention and control.

• support children’s continued access to education through support for recreational activities, integration of children into the national education system, and provision of education kits for children on the move.

Context

Significant escalation of the armed conflict in Ukraine has resulted in increased humanitarian needs and population displacement within and outside of the country. The situation is rapidly evolving; and hostilities have led to destruction of key infrastructure and disruption of basic social services and economic activity. A number of children have been caught in the crossfire and have been injured and killed, highlighting the extremely vulnerable situation children are in. The conflict in Ukraine poses an immediate and growing threat to the lives and well-being of the country’s 7.5 million children. The operating environment in Ukraine has become extremely complex. Access constraints, clashes, shelling and air strikes and rapidly changing front lines are posing significant challenges to UNICEF and partners in delivering critical life-saving services to vulnerable children and families.

Children are in shock, and desperate for safety. Hundreds of thousands are on the move, the majority being women and children. Displacement places women and children at increased risk of gender-based violence, abuse, psychological trauma, and family separation. The most vulnerable children, including children living outside of their families or in institutional care, unaccompanied and separated children, and children with disabilities, are particularly impacted by deterioration in the availability and quality of support services. Several educational facilities have been damaged over the past week and schools have been closed since 21 February. Centralized and decentralized WASH services and infrastructure, particularly in eastern Ukraine, have been damaged leaving over a million households without water. Displacement is leading to emerging water, sanitation and hygiene needs, especially in communal shelters.

Child and maternal health have been severely impacted with many health facilities running out of supplies, including water. Access to essential immunizations is likely to further deteriorate, exacerbating the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The nutritional status of children is expected to decline as families’ resources are stretched and nutrition services become inaccessible. Further outbreaks of measles and polio are possible, particularly given the number of people on the move and overcrowding in temporary shelters. Significant psychological trauma is likely to impact children’s mental health.

The protracted armed conflict, widespread displacement, and over-stretched national systems and services will leave thousands of children in need of humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian needs are rapidly multiplying; the most pressing needs are emergency medical services, critical medicines, health supplies and equipment, safe water for drinking and hygiene, and shelter and protection for those displaced from their homes. Children in Ukraine and those who have fled to neighboring countries need urgent support.

UNICEF is appealing for $349 million to provide critical life-saving support for children and their families. This includes US$ 276 million to respond to immediate needs within Ukraine and US$ 73 million for humanitarian needs in neighboring countries. This funding will help to support over 3.5 million people, including 2.2 million children.