Weekly Update #14
May 31

General security and humanitarian situation. On 24 May, the war in Ukraine entered its fourth month. As hostilities continue unabated in eastern Ukraine and other parts of the country are targeted by airstrikes almost daily, the fears of a prolonged war mount. On 22 May, the Parliament of Ukraine extended the martial law introduced on 24 February for another 90 days. The President of Ukraine also warned that the upcoming few weeks would likely be the most difficult yet. Meanwhile, on 25 May, the President of the Russian Federation signed a decree allowing Ukrainians residing in southern Khersonska and southeastern Zaporizka oblast to receive Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure. The simplified procedure for eastern Donetska and Luhanska oblasts residents has already been in place since 2019.

During the reporting period, heavy fighting continued in eastern Ukraine, mainly in Luhanska and Donetska oblasts, while there were also daily reports of airstrikes, missile strikes and bombardments across Ukraine. Hostilities in Luhanska oblast were concentrated around its administrative centre, Sievierodonetsk, where the shelling of residential buildings on 19 May reportedly resulted in at least 12 people being killed. On the same day, shelling was reported to have destroyed a residential building, house and office in Bakhmut in the Government-controlled-areas (GCA) of Donetska oblast, where the remaining 20,000 residents have also reportedly suffered constant bombardment, and the humanitarian situation has been described as dire. Widespread missile strikes were also reported in 18 settlements in GCA of Donetska oblast on 24-25 May. And there were also damages and casualties reported in non-Government-controlled areas (NGCA) of both Donetska and Luhanska oblasts.

The humanitarian situation has been described as particularly concerning in a number of areas of Ukraine. On 20 May, it was reported that some 15,000 were sheltering in Sievierodonetsk where water and electricity had already been cut off for several days. A city hospital was reported to have suffered repeated attacks and, as a result, is only able to provide limited health-care services – at a time of increasing demand. And on 21 May, a bridge leading to Sievierodonetsk was destroyed, leaving the partially encircled city reachable by only one road. This is expected to further complicate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the city and the evacuation of civilians.

Civilian casualties

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), as of 24 May, the number of civilian casualties stands at 8,628 in the country: 3,974 killed and 4,654 injured, according to OHCHR. More than half (4,872) of all casualties so far verified have been recorded in GCA and NGCA of Donetska and Luhanska oblasts. The civilian toll of the ongoing military offensive continues to grow and has already reached 73 per cent (almost three-quarters) of the total number of civilian casualties due to the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine recorded between 2014 and 2021 (10,982). Meanwhile, the actual number of civilian casualties across Ukraine is likely considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed, and many reports are still pending corroboration.

On 20 May, Donetska oblast Governor wrote that three civilians had been killed that day in the oblast – in the communities of Lyman, Novoselivka and Sosnovo – and that another five people had been injured. He said that, since the start of the invasion on 24 February, about 400 civilians had been killed in Donetska oblast, adding that it is currently still impossible to determine the exact number of civilian casualties in the heavily damaged cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha, which are no longer under the Government’s control. Separately, Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General reported that, as of the morning of 21 May, the war had resulted in at least 662 child casualties, including 232 children killed and another 403 injured.

Damage to civilian infrastructure.

The United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) reported on 19 May that, based on satellite imagery collected on 28 April, almost 6 per cent of the buildings in the city of Chernihiv (Chernihivska oblast, north) had sustained visible damage. The report says that of the total of 974 structures assessed to have sustained damage, 258 are destroyed, 362 severely damaged, 252 moderately damaged and 102 possibly damaged. It adds that, while no complete count of buildings for Chernihiv is available, an open-source dataset which is visibly incomplete indicates at least 17,383 structures in the area. UNOSAT also notes that the analysis was based on marginally degraded satellite imagery affected by light clouds and other limiting factors, that it is a preliminary analysis and has not yet been validated in the field. Chernihiv and Chernihivska oblast experienced heavy fighting, particularly in the first weeks of the war.

Concerning Luhanska oblast, on 20 May, Governor Serhii Haidai said that over 11,000 buildings in GCA of the oblast, including more than 3,200 high-rise buildings, had been destroyed in the fighting so far. Separately, he reported that the destroyed buildings include 104 secondary schools, 49 preschools and 16 higher education facilities. And he added that more than 3,400 companies, including almost 500 manufacturers, had suspended operations. The oblast has launched an online tool for property owners to register damage and attach photo and video evidence – adding that, so far, over 3,500 submitted applications have been processed.

On 24 May, the Governor reported critical electricity and water infrastructure in GCA of Luhanska oblast had been heavily damaged. Further, Haidai reported on 23 May that as the result of damage to the main gas line running between Lysychansk in Luhanska oblast and Bakhmut in Donetska oblast, there is only a residual amount of gas currently available and that, without repairs, the gas supply to both oblasts could be halted. Then on 25 May, the Governor updated that the last gas distribution station in the oblast had been shut down because of the hostilities and shelling damage, which he said also injured a gas worker. As of 25 May, the GCA of Luhanska oblast is cut off from water, electricity and gas supplies, according to the oblast Governor. The repair works are reportedly impossible to carry out until hostilities subside.

Impacts on health care

On 21 May, Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Liashko reported that 235 state medical institutions and more than 200 emergency medical teams are working in new NGCA, mainly in Khersonska oblast. He said the Ministry and Ukrainian authorities continue to support them by, for example, paying their salaries and providing management with recommendations for working under such conditions where possible. Minister Liashko added that, currently, the biggest challenge is the provision of medicines and medical equipment to facilities and teams in NGCA. He said that the supply of medicines from GCA had been blocked for more than a week already and that the fuel shortage crisis caused by the war has only added to the difficulties of resupply. The Minister also cited the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, stressing the importance of health-care facilities being able to operate, provide necessary services to patients, take measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and for civilians to have uninterrupted access to medicines and health care.

Separately, the NGO Crimea SOS reported on 24 May that some 90 per cent of the pharmacies in Khersonska oblast are currently not working – at least in part because of the interruption in normal medicine supply. Crimea SOS further notes that the prices have increased three to five times and that there is an acute shortage of medicines and medical supplies for patients with heart and blood pressure conditions, pregnant women and children. There have also been reports about the lack of medication for treating people with tuberculosis and managing HIV/AIDS in the NGCA of Luhanska oblast partially related to the partial suspension of humanitarian organizations’ humanitarian activities in NGCA in March.

Impact on gender-based violence

In the report Ukraine: Gender-Based Violence: Secondary Data Review, 27 April 2022 (GBV REPORT_sdr_27_apr_2022.pdf) posted on 18 May, the Protection Cluster, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) describe how the war caused significant risks for the affected population, including the risk of GBV. The report notes that the Ukrainian authorities have reported cases of rape and sexual violence in non-government controlled areas (NGCA) of the country, that Human Rights Watch has also documented alleged war crimes, including rape in NGCA, and that the UN Secretary-General and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights have called for an independent investigation of these reports. The report also notes how, while Ukraine had made progress on women’s rights in recent years despite the conflict in the east of the country, the current crisis, featuring mass displacement, will add to that complex situation and put pressure on any gains that have been made. The report says that multiple forms of GBV are being reported, with particularly high insecurity and risk for women and girls on the move, at border crossing points and transit/collective centres, and in bomb shelters – and including reports of intimate partner violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, sexual violence (including conflict-related sexual violence), and economic abuse. The report highlights a high risk of trafficking for sexual exploitation at borders, and it describes the overall crisis as “profoundly gendered and intersectional.”

Food security.

The World Food Programme (WFP) on 20 May renewed its call to open Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea amid fears of global hunger as a result of the war. WFP Executive Director David Beasley urged dialogue and a political solution to open ports in Odeska oblast and allow for the shipment of stored food, including wheat and other grains. He said that, otherwise, some 276 million people around the world would also be directly impacted by the war, face starvation, and that further crises would follow. WFP previously reported that, before the war, most of the food produced by Ukraine – enough to feed 400 million people – was exported through the country’s seven Black Sea ports. On 21 May, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced that two alternative land routes for food exports had been established. The negotiations on reopening Ukraine’s seaports are currently ongoing.

According to an International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) report issued on 23 May (IFRC OPERATIONAL STRATEGY_UKRAINE.pdf) the shortage of agricultural labourers and inputs, destruction of food systems assets and infrastructure, and the reduced access to arable land will likely limit domestic production and food availability in Ukraine markets over the coming few months. Although 2021 food stocks are available in Ukraine, supply chains have collapsed, while fuel costs have increased prices, reducing food availability in the market. Loss of employment and income has reduced the ability of many to afford staple foods when available. Some 35 per cent of the harvest will be missed this year due to agricultural land affected by the ongoing war, and access to seed also remains a major concern, IFRC notes.

Displacement

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on 23 May reported that the total number of people displaced worldwide, including because of the conflict in Ukraine, has now passed 100 million. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a statement described this total as “a stark figure – sobering and alarming in equal measure – it’s a record that should never have been set.” The UN Refugee Chief added that the milestone must serve as “a wake-up call to resolve and prevent destructive conflicts, end persecution, and address the underlying causes that force innocent people to flee their homes.”UNHCR reports the war in Ukraine has displaced 8 million people within the country while more than 6.6 million Ukrainians have fled abroad. UNHCR will release its annual Global Trends Report on 16 June, outlining a full set of global, regional and national data on forced displacement for 2021.

The ongoing intensifying hostilities in Donetska and Luhanska oblasts continue to make the need for safe passage for civilians more necessary while simultaneously more dangerous and, at times, impossible. Ukrainian Ombudsperson Lyudmyla Denisova reported that, on 24 May, a bus evacuating 18 civilians from the Luhanska oblast settlement of Vrubivka came under fire. During the reporting period, only approximately 140 civilians were reported to have been evacuated from the GCA of Luhanska oblast. The UN does not have the means to verify the number of evacuated people. Elsewhere in the country, it was reported on 18 May that vehicles carrying civilians trying to evacuate from NGCA of Khersonska oblast came under shelling, with six people injured. On 19 May, the authorities in Zaporizka oblast reported that at least 1,000 vehicles carrying civilians trying to evacuate to GCA of the oblast were lined up and not being allowed to leave NGCA.

The Ukrainian think tank Razumkov Centre has published the report Attitudes and Assessments of Ukrainian Refugees Who Return Home (April–May 2022) based on a survey of 105 people in western Zakarpatska oblast between 11 April and 6 May.The results include that, among those who said they had returned to Ukraine, the vast majority (69 per cent) are residents of central and northern Ukraine – mostly residents of Kyiv city (35 per cent) and northern Kyivska oblast (17 per cent) – while 12 per cent of the returnees were residents of eastern Ukraine, 10.5 per cent of western Ukraine and 9 per cent of southern Ukraine. Further, 73 per cent of respondents said, now that they had returned to Ukraine, they planned to settle in the same area where they lived before the war, while 26 per cent – mainly residents of eastern Ukraine – said they planned to settle elsewhere.

THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

Disrupted education

Hostilities are impacting 3.6 million children as a result of the nationwide closure of schools and educational facilities ( https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/). The ability to learn is severely affected by acute and ongoing exposure to conflict-related trauma and psychological stress leading to a risk of school dropout and negative coping mechanisms.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science reports that 1,665 education facilities have been damaged and 172 destroyed.

Food and nutrition insecurity

Some 10.2 million people across Ukraine are estimated to be in need of food and livelihood assistance between March and August 2022 (https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/).

According to WFP, over one-third of Ukraine’s population is food insecure. Oblasts in the eastern and southern parts of the country recorded the highest levels of food insecurity, with one in every two households being food insecure. Households that are displaced or those separated from each other were found to be the most impacted, with around one in every two such households food insecure. Luhanska stands out as the worst-off oblast in food security terms and also has significant access challenges, which may play a large part in the food security situation.

According to oblast authorities, at least 1.9 million food packages are needed in Kharkivska oblast. Some 600,000 people in Ukraine are estimated to need nutrition support between March and August 2022.

Ukraine’s protracted conflict undermines the food security and wellbeing of many people inside the country in diverse ways as crops, livestock and agricultural infrastructure are destroyed and markets are disrupted, creating fear and uncertainty over fulfilling future needs file:///Volumes/Untitled/WFP EXTERNAL SIT. REPORT 25 May.pdf( https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/). Insecurity deprives civilians of access to food, water, medical care, fuel, and livelihoods. Normal food supply chains are interrupted from production and harvesting to processing and transport, preventing the movement of goods and people. The lack of fuel and disruption in commercial transportation, limit the farmers ability to deliver their produce to markets. Hence, people, unable to find improved livelihood prospects, resort to coping strategies to feed themselves.

The conflict is also exacerbating vulnerabilities to hunger for large segments of populations in protracted crises situations who have been wrestling with either crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity. It hinders humanitarian efforts to reach those in need and eradicate food insecurity and malnutrition worldwide, in an already challenged global food system.

Lack of access to healthcare

Some 12.1 million people in Ukraine are estimated to need health assistance between March and August 2022 (https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/).

In a phone survey cited by WFP (in a 12 May report), respondents named their most essential needs. Among the most frequently mentioned were health and medicine (19 per cent). Around 40 per cent of respondents in Chernihivska, Donetska, Khersonska and Luhanska oblasts reported not having access to health care when needed in the previous two weeks.

A WHO household-level assessment (https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/emergency-ukraine-external-situation-report-12 published-19-may-2022) conducted between 11 April and 16 May, found that one in three respondents reported that at least one member of their household had sought health care since 24 February. Of those, one-third (10 per cent of all respondents) experienced serious problems with accessing health care, mainly due to security concerns and poor availability.Approximately 41 per cent of community-/shelter-level survey respondents reported serious problems with access to health care, cost of medicines (67 per cent) and transport (48 per cent).

According to WHO, some 300 health facilities (https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/who-emergency-appeal-ukraine-refugee-receiving-and-hosting-countries-may-2022-update-enru) are located in areas of active hostilities, and 1,000 health facilities are in changed areas of control, leaving the health system vulnerable to infrastructural damage and severe disruptions. There is limited/no access to medicines, health facilities, or health-care workers in some areas. Nearly 50 per cent of Ukraine’s pharmacies are presumed closed, and many health workers are either displaced or unable to work. Shortages of medical supplies create further challenges for the population and the ability of the health system to provide proper care.

WHO further notes (https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/emergency-ukraine-external-situation-report-12-published-19-may-2022) that priority public health concerns in Ukraine include conflict-related trauma and injuries; maternal and newborn health; management of chronic diseases and non-communicable diseases; risk of emergence and spread of infectious diseases; mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS); technological hazards and health risks, as well as protection issues including risk of human trafficking and escalated risk of sexual and gender-based violence, food security and nutrition.

Health Cluster Rapid Needs Assessments conducted across 11 oblasts from 18 to 22 April found that approximately 53 per cent of respondents had a household member with a long-term health problem (other than mental health problems), 63 per cent reported someone in their community/shelter had a serious problem accessing medication, with cardiovascular medications (i.e., heart or blood pressure medicines) the most commonly cited, and 80 per cent reported cost and 65 per cent lack of pharmacy stock as being the greatest barriers to access.

According to WHO, access to health care ( https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Emergency%20in%20Ukraine%20-%20External%20Situation%20Report%20%2311%2C%20published%2012%20May%202022.pdf) is severely impacted due to security concerns, restricted mobility, broken supply chains and mass displacement. Health care continues to come under attack (including attacks against health facilities, transport, personnel, patients, supplies and warehouses), with 253 attacks on health care verified by WHO, resulting in 59 injuries and 75 deaths between 24 February and 25 May. Reaching some of the hardest-hit areas in the east, where health systems have been severely disrupted, remains a challenge. Fuel shortages and access problems continue to pose challenges to the delivery and distribution of medical supplies.

The risk of disease outbreaks ( https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/WHO-EURO-2022-5152-44915-64303-eng.pdf) such as cholera, measles, diphtheria or COVID-19, has been exacerbated due to the lack of access to water, sanitation and hygiene, crowded conditions in bomb shelters and collective centres, and suboptimal coverage for routine and childhood immunizations.

Inadequate shelter, non-food items, and water, sanitation and hygiene

Some 6.2 million people are estimated to be in need of shelter and NFIs between March and August 2022 (https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/).

According to the Shelter Cluster, as of 13 May, housing needs remain high among IDPs, according to IOM’s third round of a rapid representative assessment of the general population in Ukraine: 12 per cent reported the need for accommodation; 4 per cent of IDPs indicate that accommodation was their most pressing need; 8 per cent of all respondents indicated that their home (primary residence before the war) was damaged.Lack of housing was reported as a concern in 30 per cent of assessed settlements in southern oblasts, including Voznesensk (Mykolaivska oblast), Izmail and Odesa (Odeska oblast), and 40 per cent of the settlements in northern oblasts, including Chernihiv (Chernihivska oblast), Irpin (Kyivska oblast) and Okhtyrka (Sumska oblast) reported damage to residential buildings since 24 February. The highest proportion of damaged dwellings was reported in Irpin (over 50 per cent).

In addition, some 13 million people in Ukraine are in need of water, sanitation and hygiene assistance between March and August 2022. Over 1.1 million people will need safe access to multisectoral services at the site level between March and August 2022.

THE UN RESPONSE

As of 19 May, the UN and humanitarian partners have reached (OCHA_People_Reached_20220513_A4_P1_P3 (3).pdf) nearly 6.9 million people across Ukraine, a 7 per cent increase compared with 12 May (https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/). The majority of people reached currently reside in Kharkivska (1.58 million), Poltavska (507,300) and Kyivska (459,500) oblasts. Over 6 million people have received food and livelihood assistance, an increase of 300,000 people over the previous week, and over 2 million have benefitted from health interventions or supplies provided by humanitarian partners, more than 500,000 people more week-over-week.

UNHCR RESPONSE IN UKRAINE

UNHCR_SITUATION REPORT_25 May.pdf

Key figures - UKRAINE - a total of 1.01 million people reached with assistance to date

As of 23 May:

- 450,025 people reached with essential food and non-food items, winter clothes and shelter materials
- 196,769 people received protection assistance, advice and referrals at border crossing points, transit and reception centres and through hotlines
- 362,060 people enrolled for multipurpose cash assistance. 166,630 have received their first payment.
- 68,204 people received assistance through humanitarian convoys delivered to hard-hit areas
- 51,565 sleeping spaces created / improved in 174 reception centres and collective centres

UNHCR RESPONSE IN UKRAINE

Protection

196,769 people have received targeted protection assistance at border crossing points, online and in locations where people have fled.
This includes protection counselling and services, including psychosocial support and legal aid. The overall figure includes some 83,260 people who received protection information, support or counselling; over 64,100 people who received information and counselling through hotlines; over 20,900 people who received legal counselling or assistance; over 18,600 people who received psychosocial support or psychological first aid; more than 5,800 who received social support. This is in addition to some 2,460 protection monitoring missions.
UNHCR protection partners Proliska and R2P are providing protection information and legal advice to persons evacuated from Mariupol and the Azovstal Steel Plant currently accommodated in reception and transit centres in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
UNHCR Partner NEHEMIA continues classes for displaced children and youth in seven temporary accommodation centres in Uzhhorod, with some 140 to 320 displaced children and youth participating each week.
UNHCR also provides protection information and counselling, and replies to individual inquiries by email and telephone, responding to some 250 emails and 100 calls a day.

Multipurpose Cash Assistance

Since the beginning of cash enrolment in Ukraine on 17 March, 362,060 people have been enrolled by UNHCR to receive cash assistance and 166,630 of them have received their first payments.
UNHCR is scaling up the cash assistance programme in eastern and central Ukraine with higher numbers of internally displaces persons (IDPs) and new arrivals. Enrolment sites are now operating in five cities in Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts and one mobile enrolment office in Zaporizhzhia.
An interactive Cash Working Group dashboard showing overall progress can be accessed here. A cumulative 704,000 people have received cash assistance through all 16 Cash Working Group partners.

Core Relief Items

To date, 450,025 people have benefitted from core relief items and food assistance across eastern, central and western Ukraine. This includes some 91,500 people who received food assistance and 24,150 who received emergency shelter assistance; the remaining 334,500 people received core relief items.
UNHCR, as part of inter-agency humanitarian convoys, has reached some 68,200 people in the hardest hit areas with life-saving assistance since the beginning of the war. Access to the hardest hit areas remains extremely challenging with continuing security risks, both for affected civilians as well as humanitarian actors.
UNHCR continues to make all efforts to deliver assistance to the hardest-hit areas through humanitarian convoys. Last week, UNHCR delivered relief items such as beds and blankets to 1,000 people in Kharkiv. UNHCR also delivered emergency shelter kits, including wood and tarpaulin to help people with basic home repairs, as well as household items like mattresses and blankets to over 1,000 families in Hostomel, one of the hardest hit areas.
So far, UNHCR has supported 174 reception centres and collective centres run by the Government to increase their capacity to host IDPs. A total of 51,565 additional sleeping spaces at these centres have so far been created.

REGIONAL UNHCR KEY FIGURES

173,145 people enrolled for cash assistance in Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia as of 24 May
33 Blue Dots established with UNICEF in Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia
Some 75,000 people received protection assistance, advice and referrals at border crossing points, transit and reception centres and through hotlines
Over 2.1 million page visits to UNHCR Help websites in Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia
4 million people reached online through UNHCR’s ‘Stay Safe’ campaign

Hungary

Over 9,400 people provided with protection support by UNHCR and partners, including legal information provision, counselling and psychosocial support (since 21 March)
1 Blue Dot operational in Záhony
1,354 people trained on protection, child protection, GBV, safe disclosure and referrals, and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA)
Over 58,000 visits to the UNHCR Hungary Help pag

Protection

Last week, UNHCR conducted a training for 15 volunteers and humanitarian actors providing assistance at Záhony train station on temporary protection and the overarching legal framework. The training is part of a series targeting service providers to enhance their capacity to provide basic information and to ensure they know how to refer cases to UNHCR and partners. The training complemented others provided by UNHCR to ensure basic standards for all service providers working with refugees at Záhony train station.
The Blue Dot continues to operate at Záhony train station, providing information, legal and social counselling, referral to specialized services for persons with vulnerabilities, as well as a safe space for families travelling with children who recently arrived in Hungary.
Last week, UNHCR conducted a Blue Dot assessment mission to the Hungary–Ukraine border to assess the five primary border crossing and help points (Záhony, Lonya, Barabas, Beregsurany, Tiszabecs), with an aim to operationalize two additional Blue Dots at the border in the near term, in addition to the one operating at Záhony.
The UNHCR Hungary Help page has received over 58,000 visits since the onset of the crisis. UNHCR continues to develop information materials to share at key locations and through existing partners and actors. The Help site is updated with the latest services and information on temporary protection with links to the site shared via posters, leaflets and Facebook groups active in Hungary. A page with dedicated information on GBV has been published, while a second page dedicated to child protection will be published shortly.
UNHCR has also developed a WhatsApp chatbot in Ukrainian, Russian, Hungarian and English which will launch soon. This will aim to answer the most common questions and signpost to services.
UNHCR has disseminated GBV referral pathways to all partners for their use and further dissemination, to improve awareness and access to relevant services for GBV survivors. Similar referral pathways for child protection are currently under development and will be circulated shortly.
UNHCR is also referring cases of new-born infants to partner Hungarian Helsinki Committee to ensure their births can be properly documented and their nationality confirmed.
Efforts continue to disseminate information on anti- trafficking awareness, while material from the ‘Stay Safe’ campaign has been developed, translated and distributed.
UNHCR Hungary continues to expand partnerships to enhance access to protection and support services for refugees. UNHCR now has a total of eight partners working on a range of protection issues including legal aid, housing and shelter support, social employment and counselling, child protection, psychological first aid, skill development, GBV, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) and integration more broadly. Four additional partnerships are currently being finalized.
UNHCR continues to monitor reception conditions across reception centres where refugees are arriving. To date, more than 47 monitoring visits and assessments have been carried out in order to inform planning for the provision of support.

Core Relief Items

1,400 people have been provided with warm meals and essential core relief items by UNHCR partner since 28 March.
Last week, UNHCR donated equipment to a school for some 50 refugee children currently operated by refugee-led NGO Unity in Budapest with mainly refugee volunteer teachers from Ukraine. The items included laptops, speakers, a projector, printer and laminator to help ensure a continuous learning environment.
UNHCR has requested a list of furniture and other items required for eight informal schools and shelters in Budapest where refugees from Ukraine are currently staying. IKEA is reviewing the lists, with delivery of the items expected in the coming week.

Moldova

52,644 people have received multipurpose cash assistance as of 23 May from a target of 150,000 people
1,616 refugees departed to Austria, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Spain and Switzerland as part of the EU Solidarity Platform
7 Blue Dots operational, 9,377 refugees have been supported at the Blue Dots so far
27,500 refugees received protection information or counselling through UNHCR and partners
11,450 refugees received protection support via UNHCR-managed Green Line helpline
Over 154,000 visits to the UNHCR Moldova Help page

Protection

There are currently seven Blue Dots operational in Moldova. Some 9,377 people (more than 50 per cent children) received support provided by UNHCR, UNICEF and partners at Blue Dot centres. Blue Dots are currently operating in the following locations: one in Otaci in the north, one in Palanca in the south, one in Tirasapol, two at the MoldExpo Refugees Accommodation Centre in Chisinau, and two at the border with Romania, at Leuseni and Sculeni. Plans are underway to scale up to further locations.
To date, some 370 people have been trained on protection issues. This includes over 200 frontline partners, government and NGO staff who have been trained on GBV safe disclosure and referral, in order to support the operationalization of referral pathways, as well as some 150 people who have been trained on the identification and referral of children at risk.
An Anti-Trafficking Taskforce is being established under the Protection Working Group to coordinate anti-trafficking activities. The taskforce is co-chaired by UNHCR and IOM. Terms of Reference are being developed and the first meeting is expected shortly.
In order to ensure access to information, UNHCR partner ACTED continues to distribute SIM cards to new arrivals at border crossing points and refugee accommodation centres. To date, some 3,374 refugees have received SIM cards. ACTED is also installing WIFI at key locations. WIFI is already operational at Criuleni, Edinet and Floresti, while 17 new locations have been identified for installation of network equipment.
UNHCR now manages the Green Line – a free helpline (0800 800 11) to strengthen the two-way communication channel to address refugees’ and host community’s questions, needs and concerns. Since mid-April, some 11,450 calls were received.
UNHCR partners Law Centre for Advocates (LCA), ACTED and INTERSOS are stationed at border crossing points and refugee accommodation centres to provide transportation, protection monitoring, vulnerability screening and counselling. The strengthening of the referral mechanism is currently underway. A total of 48 refugee accommodation centres are regularly monitored.
UNHCR partners LCA and INTERSOS continue to roll out protection monitoring activities, with 131 surveys submitted so far. Related information materials including a protection monitoring dashboard and fact sheet will be developed this month for Moldova. Furthermore, the pilot roll-out of a joint UNHCR-UNICEF child protection monitoring framework commenced this week.
Many people arriving are suffering from trauma and require mental health and psychosocial support. From 9 March to 16 May, UNHCR partner INTERSOS provided psychosocial support to some 943 refugees.
So far in the context of the Solidarity Platform, 12 Member States - including Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain - as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland have made pledges to transfer 19,870 refugees from Moldova. So far, a total of 1,616 persons were transferred from Moldova, including to Austria, France, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Spain and Switzerland by air and to Lithuania by bus. UNHCR provided support to the vulnerability screening process and collaborated with IOM on assistance for departure procedures, including through counselling refugees.

Multipurpose Cash Assistance

Some 50,012 refugees have been enrolled and issued bank cards for multipurpose cash assistance in Moldova since 25 March. Some 92 per cent of those receiving cash assistance are female-headed households. So far, eight enrolment centres are operational, with mobile teams covering other locations or reaching those with specific needs.
In preparation for the second round of cash disbursements, UNHCR registration team conducted a three-day training for 45 partner staff that included components on data quality, beneficiary verification and a cash enrolment refresher.

Core Relief Items

Pre-positioned stock in warehouses in Moldova currently includes:

106,674 blankets
29,400 bed sets
19,992 solar lamps
17,600 jerry cans
12,000 mattresses
9,208 kitchen sets
7,110 quilts
4,852 sleeping bags
4,655 tents
3,144 winterization kits
3,050 tarpaulins

UNHCR has also provided significant material assistance to the Government of Moldova to increase capacities in the form of vehicles, laptops, generators and other office equipment.

Poland

115,315 refugees enrolled for multipurpose cash assistance as of 24 May from a target of 360,000 people
12 Blue Dots operating with 11,000 refugees supported at the Blue Dots as of 25 May
1.8 million visits and some 4 million views of the UNHCR Poland Help Page as of 25 May
More than 200 people trained on protection issues, including anti-trafficking, PSEA, protection principles.

Protection

In the past week, the number of Blue Dots operating in Poland has increased significantly to a total of 12 Blue Dots. This includes Blue Dots in Warsaw (3), Poznan, Gydynia, Krakow Tauron and Wroclaw, Korczowa as well as 4 in Krakow train station, Medyka, Hala Kijowska and Przemysl.
Some 11,000 people have been counselled through the Blue Dots as of 25 May. Protection teams provided 5,890 interventions and over 1,947 referrals at the Blue Dots. The largest number of queries and referrals were related to transport, medical services, protection and social services, child protection services and MHPSS.
UNHCR has been present at border crossing points, reception centres and transit points since the onset of the crisis. Field teams have conducted some 99 field monitoring visits to identify issues and provide support as needed.
UNHCR continued to ensure daily presence at the Medyka pedestrian crossing point, and monitored the Budomierz, Korczowa, Kroscienko and Przemysl train station border points as well as Dorhusk border crossing point.
More than 200 people have so far been trained across the country on protection issues, including counter-trafficking, PSEA, code of conduct, and protection principles. Those trained so far include volunteers, NGO staff, local authorities and army officers. Training plans for government officials at sub- offices are currently being rolled out to address GBV, MHPSS, child protection and PSEA.
Trainings have taken place in Krakow, Maedyka, Przemysl, Rzeszow and Warsaw as well as for volunteers at the TESCO reception facilities. Furthermore, an anti-trafficking session was also led by the Regional Police Trafficking Prevention and Crime response units in Rzeszow for 35 civil servants and 5 NGO staff.
To date, more than 1.1 million refugees have applied for temporary protection in Poland. Efforts are underway to ensure inclusion efforts for refugees in Poland. Some 130,000 people have now been employed, while some 200,000 children have been enrolled in schools.
Meetings have taken place with the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs to discuss childcare needs, economic inclusion and access to the labour market, enabling UNHCR to align its response to the strategy of the Government and identify gaps/needs where complementary support is needed.
The UNHCR Poland Help page continues to be the most visited UNHCR country Help site globally. It has surpassed 1.8 million visits and has almost reached some 4 million views. The Help site has been updated with additional health and MHPSS-related content and contacts and key GBV referral numbers and services. UNHCR also recently launched its child-friendly page on the Help page.
UNHCR Poland continues to expand its presence to reach those most in need, and to develop new partnerships to expand access to information and to services. Since the onset of the crisis, six new partnerships have been developed with NGOs in Poland. Three new UNHCR offices have also been established in Krakow, Lublin and Rzeszow, as well as two new warehouses in Grabica and Rzeszow.
The Protection and Information Management Working Groups have published a Protection Analysis for Poland for May 2022.

Multipurpose Cash Assistance

As of 24 May, 115,315 persons (55,099 families) have been enrolled for cash assistance in Poland (this represents some 32 per cent of the overall target of 360,000 people) through eight cash enrolment centres. Preparation for launching additional centres also continues.
Coordination with the Blue Dot teams continues to ensure protection presence at cash enrolment sites and integrated referral processes for identified persons with specific needs.

Core Relief Items

Pre-positioned stock in warehouses in Poland currently includes:
- 63,300 bed sets
- 62,440 blankets
- 57,706 hygiene kits
- 9,550 mattresses
- 4,000 tarpaulins
- 2,790 winter jackets
- 2,400 quilts

- 139 trucks have travelled from the logistics hub in Rzeszów, Poland, to Ukraine to dispatch hundreds of thousands of core relief items to warehouses in Ukraine for distribution to IDPs in need.

Romania

Over 4,000 refugees enrolled for cash assistance as of 21 May from a target of 80,000 people
Some 16,400 refugees provided with information and counselling in person or over the phone
7 Blue Dots operating in Romania
Over 10,717 people supported to travel to Romania from Moldova through fast-track transders
Over 150 officials and NGO personnel trained on refugee protection, GBV, Acctountability to Affected People (AAP) and PSEA
GBV Referral pathways finalized with 21 NGOs, 3 governmental instituttions and UN agencies
Over 43,000 visits to the UNHCR Romania Help page.

Protection

UNHCR continues to provide protection information and counselling in person as well as through hotlines. As of 15 May, over 16,400 people have received protection support, advice, referrals and information in person or remotely through helplines. This includes some 7,400 people who were supported in person and more than 9,000 people who received support through helplines.
Over 150 humanitarian workers, government officials and volunteers have so far been trained on refugee protection, GBV, AAP and PSEA in Romania. This includes a comprehensive protection training in Maramures and Satu Mare counties last week attended by some 105 participants from Government authorities, NGO partners and volunteers working at Siret and Sighet border areas. This follows on from a similar training on 13 May for 46 participants in Suceava. The same training will be conducted in Iași and Galați in the near future.
The UNHCR Romania Help page has been visited over 43,500 times. Furthermore, UNHCR Romania has helped create and is consistently updating the national information platform available at www.dopomoha.ro. The platform is run in collaboration with the Romanian authorities, IOM and national NGOs and provides a space for reliable information on legal status, rights and access to services. UNHCR and partner CNRR are scaling up distribution of information leaflets at border crossing points.
UNHCR and partners continue to be present and working at the eight border crossing points to provide information and counselling to new arrivals. Information requested largely focuses on legal status, notably temporary protection, cash assistance, transportation to other EU countries, long-term accommodation and food, employment, education and access to medical services.
There are currently seven Blue Dots operating in Romania. This includes four Blue Dots at Brasov, Husi, Sighet and Siret, and three Light Blue Dots at Albita, Bucharest and Isaccea. An additional Blue Dot is being set up for Bucharest, as well as Light Blue Dots for Sculeni, Galleti and Constanta and mobile Blue Dots which are under discussion.
Last week, UNHCR met with UNICEF and the social assistance and child protection authority (DGASPC) in Iasi to discuss the roll-out of the new Light Blue Dot in Sculeni. DGASPC has identified social workers who will be trained for deployment to Sculeni.
IOM, in coordination with UNHCR, national authorities and the ProTect platform, are in the process of establishing an Anti-Trafficking Task Force in order to strengthen efforts to protect vulnerable refugees from the threat to trafficking and exploitation.
GBV Referral pathways, including some 21 NGOs and three governmental institutions, have been finalized and shared with all protection actors to enhance access to information and protection services including psychosocial support for those in need of GBV services and support. Additional services and actors working specifically on child protection are being identified by the Child Protection Sub-Working group for inclusion in child protection-specific referral pathways.
UNHCR and IOM continue to jointly facilitate fast- track transfers from Palanca border crossing point with Ukraine in Moldova, to Huși, Romania. As of 24 May, over 10,779 people had been transported to Romania through this mechanism.

Multipurpose Cash Assistance

As of 21 May, over 4,400 persons have been enrolled to receive multipurpose cash assistance, of whom over 90 per cent are women and children. More than 3,700 refugees have already received their first payment. The programme continues to be scaled up intending to reach a 80,000 people overall. UNHCR will open additional enrolment sites in Bucharest, Brasov, Galati, Iasi and Suceava.

Core Relief Items

Pre-positioned stock in warehouses in Romania currently includes:

55,050 bed sets
47,148 quilts
42,336 blankets
24,803 mattresses
22,540 solar lamps
17,842 hygiene kits
17,440 jerry cans
7,200 sleeping bags
3,710 tarpaulins
2,281 kitchen sets
2,115 tents
UNHCR is renting a building in Romexpo from May to November 2022, for distribution, by the Municipality of Bucharest, of food and noon-food items, including clothes and child care products which are mostly donated by volunteers and some NGOs.
UNHCR and partners continue to assess reception centres in order to prepare additional support to enhance reception capacities. To date, 21 locations have been assessed by UNHCR partner REACH during the Site Monitoring Exercise.

Slovakia

1,766 refugeees enrolled for cash assistance as of 23 May from an enrolment target of 57,500 people, of which UNHCR will support 34,500 people
1 Blue Dot operating in Slovakia
Over 330 people trained, including frontline humanitarian workers, cash enumerators, and police trained on protection, including GBV, safe disclosures, PSEA and AAP
Over 45,000 visits to the UNHCR Slovakia Help page

Protection

To date, UNHCR has trained more than 330 frontline humanitarian workers, partner staff, cash enumerators, staff members, police officers and government officials on protection-related topics. Training has focused on several areas including refugee protection, GBV and safe referrals, PSEA, child protection and AAP.
UNHCR continues rolling out a Training of Trainers (ToTs) series for partner managers and key staff to improve the protection response at border crossing points and other locations. Some 35 people have benefitted from these ToTs so far, while efforts are ongoing to scale up trainings across the country.
UNHCR continues protection monitoring at border crossing points and at registration centres, including Ubľa, Vyšné Nemecké and Velke Slemence border crossing points, at Košice railway station and at registration centres in Humenne and Michalovce. Key locations are visited three times per week to monitor access and reception conditions. To date, some 26 monitoring visits and assessments have been conducted. UNHCR partners are present at all these key locations to provide assistance and information as well as for the identification of vulnerabilities and referral to relevant services.
There is currently one Blue Dot operating at the registration centre at Bottova in Bratislava. The second ‘Light’ Blue Dot in Gabčíkovo has been suspended pending further assessments, however, a Protection Desk has been maintained at the site. Protection Help Desks provide information for self- referrals and, in case of medical needs, manage referrals through UNHCR partners. UNHCR partners Slovak Humanitarian Council and Human Rights League are operating at the Blue Dot. Nitra in western Slovakia with the aim of establishing additional Blue Dots.
There is a limited capacity to provide specialized support to refugees wit disabilities. Several NGOs provide assistance to Ukrainian refugees while UNHCR has engaged with the Slovak Disability Council to find solutions.
As part of service-mapping and expansion of referral pathways, UNHCR collated national helplines relating to GBV/Child protection and related services. Ten national helplines were identified and included as part of referral pathways which are currently being expanded to included service providers across the country. Service providers identified to date include those providing services related to MHPSS, safety, legal counselling, and anti-trafficking.
Lack of access to reliable information is a continuing challenge. The UNHCR Slovakia Help page has so far received over 45,000 visits. In an effort to strengthen access to GBV information and ensure further dissemination, UNHCR translated the anti-trafficking ‘Stay Safe’ messaging for the Help page.
UNHCR is in the process of finalizing new partnerships with three organizations, while four additional partnerships are being developed. These expanded partnerships will enable UNHCR to scale up protection and other activities across the country.

Multipurpose Cash Assistance

As of 23 May, 1,766 people have been enrolled for cash assistance since cash enrolment began on 2 May. It is ongoing at four registration centres (Bratislava, Michalovce, Nitra and Žilina). Of the enrolment target of 57,500, UNHCR will support payments for 34,500 people and UNICEF will support payments for the other 23,000 people.
Cash enrolment is helping to improve data collection for persons with specific needs, while over 17 per cent of those enrolled had identifiable special needs. UNHCR is working with partners to strengthen referral pathways and providing additional training to data entry clerks on identification of persons with specific needs, including 10 partner staff who were trained on PSEA, protection and cash assistance to support cash enrolment last week.
Some 2,300 online appointment requests for cash enrolment are currently being processed. The appointments will be processed at the sites and by a mobile team. Discussions are ongoing on scale up of the sites and mobile team capacity.

Bulgaria. Refugees receive services at the crisis centre for refugees from Ukraine in Black Sea city of Burgas04 Mayo, 2022 © UNHCR/Igor Karpenko

IOM

Link: IOM_regional-ukraine-response-external-sitrep-26 May.pdf

Alongside the unfolding grain shortage, as of 24 May, a total of 708 settlements in Ukraine remain without electricity due to damage caused by the war. In total, approximately 639,200 consumers have been cut off from electricity. Regions particularly affected have been Donetsk region (330,700 consumers), Luhansk region (128,200), and Kharkiv region (90,200), leaving most communities in Donetsk and Luhansk regions disconnected. The war in Ukraine has also caused a significant fuel shortage within the country that continues to effect the operations of humanitarian actors, especially in hard to reach areas.

Shelter and non-food items

In Ukraine, IOM and its implementing partners have delivered items such as solar lamps, kitchen sets, winterization kits, mattresses, blankets, jerry cans, hygiene kits and clothing sets to over 300,000 people and have improved the shelters of 1,050 people.

In Romania, during the reporting period, IOM accommodated 45 persons in accommodation provided by Airbnb. Since the Airbnb partnership began, the mission has provided a total of 193 people with accommodations in the Bucharest, Lasi, Cluj- Napoca, Târgu Mureș, Sibiu, Baia Mare, Brasov, Bacău, Otopeni, Craiova, Suceava, Constanta, Ploiesti, and Braila. Alongside shelter activities, IOM distributed 420 hygiene products to the Social Assistance and Child Protection Directorate in Bucharest (district 3) on 19 May.

Water, sanitation and hygiene

In Ukraine, IOM has installed a total of three water treatment units in three collective centres in Vinnytsia. The units have benefited an estimated 700 internally displaced persons thus far. The mission plans to install an additional 27 units and 50 smaller units in the upcoming month.

IOM Ukraine and its implementing partner install a water treatment unit in a collective centre in Vinnytsia. © IOM 2022

Health

In Ukraine, IOM continues to expand its health support for conflict-affected persons in Ukraine. Four mobile medical clinics have been providing primary health care services to internally displaced persons and host communities in Lviv oblast. During the reporting period, the mobile clinics provided 533 primary health care services and 407 mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) consultations, visiting 11 different locations across Lviv.

In Moldova, IOM continues to conduct pre-embarkation healthchecks (PECs) for persons transiting the Green Corridor to Romania and those taking humanitarian charter flights. During the reporting period, the mission provided PECs for 176 passengers traveling through the Green Corridor from Palanca to Husi, with 19 passengers receiving medical treatment before departure. In addition, IOM provided PECs for 179 passengers who departed to Germany, among them 20

wheelchair users.

In Poland, three Psychosocial Mobile Teams working in seven long term stay centres in Warsaw have been providing direct assistance. During the reporting period, IOM provided individual psychosocial counselling to 52 adults and 17 children and group sessions to 79 adults and two children. Meanwhile, the mission provided social counselling to 101 adults and 11 children and community engagement activities for 105 adults and 121 children (e.g., artistic, sport, and cultural activities). The mission has established a fourth Psychosocial Mobile Team that will begin operations this week.

Cash-based interventions

In Ukraine, IOM continues to provide support to conflict- affected persons to meet their immediate basic needs through multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA). As of 23 May, the mission has assisted 72,490 people, including internally displaced people and host community Additionally, this week, IOM completed 8,637 registrations for planned cash-assistance.

Humanitarian transport

In Moldova, IOM continues to support the humanitarian Green Corridor between Palanca, Moldova and Husi, Romania to alleviate traffic at border control points. Between May 18- 24, the mission transported 137 people on seven buses through the corridor. The mission also organizes and provides assistance to charter flights from Moldova for vulnerable refugees and third country nationals. Between 18-24 May, IOM supported the transfer of 226 refugees to European countries, including Austria (31), Switzerland (2), Norway (14), and Germany (179). To date, the mission has also provided over 450 third country nationals with return assistance to their countries of origin after displacement due to the war in Ukraine.

Protection

In Slovakia, IOM staff have been present at information points in Vyšné Nemecké, Ubľa, VKC Michalovce, VKC Humenné and Hot Spot Košice to assist displaced refugees and third country nationals. From 18-25 May, IOM provided direct legal assistance, referrals, and information to 156 beneficiaries through strategically located information points. From 24 February to 25 May, IOM provided information and legal counselling to 3,303 beneficiaries through its Migration Information Centre, including 1,810 Ukrainian refugees and1,493 third country nationals. In total, the MIC website recorded 259,475 users and 690,961 page views.

In Hungary, IOM provides rapid vulnerability screening assessments in Szatmar county as well as in shelters provided by local municipalities and at the Budapest information point. The mission raises awareness of protection risks and refers vulnerable persons for in-depth screening and tailored assistance. From 17-24 May, IOM provided vulnerability screenings for 18 persons and counselling and information to 259 persons, while 11 third country nationals received individual counselling on voluntary return and available migration pathways.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, IOM in Hungary has assisted 2,950 persons through information provision and referral.

Livelihoods and food security

In Romania, on 19 May, IOM organized information sessions in two reception centres in Bucharest (Carusel Shelter and Technical University of Civil Engineering Campus), with a total of 67 people in attendance. The main topics were temporary protection (procedures, registration, responsible authorities), access to education, access to social benefits, and access to the labour market.

Displacement tracking

In Poland, as of 18 May, IOM has conducted a total of 5,710 surveys in eight locations. Among the roughly 1,500 respondents in registration centres and collective shelters, 42 per cent were children and 10 per cent were older persons. Eighty-two per cent said they intended to stay in their current location in Poland. By contrast, among 3,000 respondents surveyed specifically at points of entry, only 43 per cent expressed the intention to remain in Poland while 79 per cent indicated the desire to return to Ukraine when safe to do so.

Humanitarian border management

In Moldova, on 20 May, IOM delivered 21 mobile registration workstations to the Moldovan Border Police to assist with ongoing efforts to enhance preparedness for the implementation of accelerated border management processes in the event of an escalation in displacement. In addition, the mission delivered a second batch of over 27,000 leaflets and brochures to the Border Police, to distribute to persons transiting the border. The materials outline relevant information for refugees, guiding them on the options available during their stay in Moldova, or guidance on options and assistance for further onward movement.

In Ireland, IOM continues to provide assistance and support to refugees and TCNs entering Ireland through the Dublin Airport reception centre, Rosslare Europort (boats arriving from France), Limerick and Shannon Airport reception centres, and in Cork. The mission assists refugees in completing social security forms and provides interpretation and referrals for national child protection services (TULSA) and the Health Service Executive. From 16-23 May, IOM supported 1,158 refugees and 18 third country nationals through the Dublin Airport reception centre. Since the establishment of the Dublin Airport reception centre on 9 March, IOM has provided support to 26,415 Ukrainians and third country nationals passing through the facility.

Site management

In Moldova, on 18 May, IOM provided a one-day site planning training to 25 staff from the Inspectorate General for Emergency Situations (IGSU). The training introduced humanitarian standards to the government civil protection department with practical sessions of site planning exercises.

In Moldova, IOM delivered the first batch of 21 mobile document verification workstations, as part of a larger set of border management equipment, to the Moldovan Border Police on 20 May.

In Slovakia, from 18-25 May, the Supply Chain Unit received nine trucks, totalling 140 metric tons of goods. From this and pre-existing supplies in the IOM Kosice Supply Chain Hub (KSCH), IOM shipped 27 trucks of goods to Ukraine, totalling 432 metric tons of goods.

In Ukraine, one mobile storage unit has been constructed at one of IOM’s Lviv warehouses, offering another 240 square meters of storage space.

IOM SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

USD 4.9 million

IN-KIND DONATIONS RECEIVED

USD 45 million

OF PLANNED AND SIGNED ORDERS

15 warehouses

OPERATING ACROSS THE REGION, INCLUDING 3 LOGISTICS CLUSTER WAREHOUSES

31 partners

CONTRACTED FOR DISTRIBUTIONS

WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME

Detailed information may be found in: WFP EXTERNAL SITUATION REPORT_25 May.pdf

In May to date, WFP has assisted over 1.7 million conflict- affected and displaced people with food and cash across all the oblasts of Ukraine. In this regard, WFP reached a cumulative five million beneficiaries in the country since the eruption of the crisis.

This month, almost 36 percent of WFP assistance has been delivered in the most conflict-affected east and south oblasts of Ukraine, recording the highest levels of food insecurity as per WFP latest assessment. Namely, Poltavaska, Kharkivska and Dnipropetrovska oblasts received the biggest share of WFP aid, where around 500,000 vulnerable people were supported with food and cash. Over 40 percent of WFP distribution is taking place in the north and centre of Ukraine, in oblasts that were previously the site of active fighting. These areas currently host around 36 percent of the country’s IDPs.

Food and Nutrition Support

WFP continues to ensure the availability of bread for crisis- affected people through its support to bakeries, reaching over 500,000 people across eight cities in Ukraine during the month of May (Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipro, Poltava, Chernihiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv). Using wheat sourced locally, more than 5 million loaves of bread have been distributed across these cities since the beginning of the conflict, equivalent to almost 2,500. mt. Daily bread distribution has also been supplemented with the provision of canned meat in Kharkiv and Dnipro.

Rapid response rations (RRRs) were delivered to over 200,000 vulnerable displaced persons living in areas where markets are constrained, mainly in Kharkiv and Poltava, to support their immediate food needs. General Food Distribution (GFD) has been also provided to more than 200,000 conflict-affected people to support their food needs for up to 30 days in oblasts where supply chains are disrupted but commercial transport is still functional.

In May, WFP distributed nutrition commodities to around 17,000 children aged 6 to 23 months in Odesa, Poltava and Zaporizhzhia, through an integrated approach, along GFD and RRRs, to support their growth and development. Overall, around 23,500 children in Ukraine benefitted from WFP nutrition assistance throughout the last three months while the agency aims to extend its nutrition support to close to 100,000 children monthly throughout August.

Multipurpose cash assistance

In Ukraine, WFP continues to rollout cash assistance to empower food insecure people with choice to address their essential needs, beyond food consumption, while also boosting local markets. In a new record, WFP succeeded to increase its cash transfers six-fold this month, by handing around USD 59 million multipurpose cash transfers (MPC) to over 800,000 displaced and vulnerable residents throughout Ukraine oblasts to support their food security and wellbeing.

Building on WFP advanced technology and data protection measures in place, this cash assistance scale-up was achieved few days after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Ukraine’s ministry of Social Policy and receiving the Government’s list of eligible IDPs. People receive between USD 75 and USD 225 per month, depending on family size. Every dollar spent by a family in Ukraine is directly injected into the local economy. As such, WFP transferred USD 68 million to up to one million vulnerable IDPs since April 2022 and intends to assist 1.1 million displaced persons with cash transfers over the coming three months.

Protection & Accountability to Affected Populations

As part of WFP’s accountability to affected population (AAP), WFP is designing the Community Feedback Mechanism (CFM) to ensure that safe and accessible complaints and feedback mechanisms are functioning and accessible to all in Ukraine. To date, the team has already responded to around 27,000 feedbacks received through WFP’s online feedback form via SMS or email. In addition, WFP continues to advocate for strengthening existing systems for CFM at the inter-agency AAP task force.

As crises impact the lives of women and men, girls and boys in different ways, gender considerations are taken into account in WFP emergency response in Ukraine to leave no one behind. In Vinnytsia, WFP engaged with IDPs and local authorities to understand protection risks related to WFP’s humanitarian assistance. The findings should help WFP to further strengthen protection approaches in its programming. WFP also contributed to an assessment of gender-based violence risks for the CWG.

Support to neighboring countries

WFP Moldova delivered 376,350 hot meals (three meals per day) to Ukrainian refugees in 97 centres across 31 different localities in Moldova through cooperating partners (CPs). These meals reached an average of 1,974 people per day.

Under the cash assistance for host communities programme, almost 11,000 eligible households have been registered for assistance (self-registered or through the Government) and almost 95 percent of the households have received their cash transfers (valued at USD 190) via Western Union. The WFP hotline is operational, and more than 2009 calls were received as of 23 May. Callers remain predominantly women (75 percent), living in Chisinau. Most of the calls (86 percent) pertain to requests for information on registration for assistance.

Supply Chain

In May, WFP handed over 6,000 mt of food commodities to its cooperating partners in Ukraine, reaching almost 13,000 mt of food delivered in the country since March. A further 100,200 mt of food commodities are in the pipeline (15,300 mt of food in storage, 5,500 mt of food in transit, and 79,400 mt of food pending supplier delivery).

The fourth WFP Roll-On-Roll-Off vessel voyage of Ukraine operation successfully arrived in Constanța (Romania) on 24 May 2022, loaded with 84 trailers containing a total of 1,831 mt of food. The vessel's operation was extended to the month of June, which will guarantee four more rotations from Turkey to Romania and onward to Ukraine. Additionally, a total of 117 trailers carrying over 2,000 mt of pasta, rice, canned beans, and canned meat were dispatched from Turkey, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria to Ukraine over the past week.

From 19 to 22 May, WFP Moldova managed eleven shipments delivering 26 pallets of assorted humanitarian cargo to Refugee Accommodation Centres (RACs) and municipalities on behalf of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (MLSP). Logistics operations will be phased out by end of May following the handover of the management and transport services at Vatra warehouse to ACTED (Agency for Technical Cooperation & Development).

Food security and livelihoods

Since the onset of Ukraine crisis, FSLC partners have reached a cumulative six million people throughout Ukraine with food and cash for food assistance. The FSLC includes 38 cooperating partners, working across all 24 Oblasts on the food assistance response, of which twenty percent are national Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The map of FSLC partners’ presence - food assistance dashboard as of 4 May can be found here

Logistics

As of 22 May, the Logistics Cluster has handled (i.e., stored and/or transported) 11,525 m3 of humanitarian cargo on behalf of 23 partner organisations, including relief items from multiple sectors such as general programs and operations, food security, health, nutrition, shelter, and WASH.

Fuel shortages across the country are impacting the operational capacity of humanitarian organisations. The Logistics Cluster is liaising with WFP’s experts to support the planning of humanitarian partners. Preliminary survey results on organisational fuel requirements show that the needs are greatest in the country’s eastern areas.

There are reports of congestion at border crossing points in both Poland and Romania, with more frequent reports of congestion outgoing from Ukraine. The Logistics Cluster is monitoring the situation and working with partners to gather additional information and devise viable solutions.

Telecommunications

As of 22 May, the ETC is providing secure internet connectivity services to 136 staff from ten humanitarian organisations including UN agencies and international NGOs in two humanitarian interagency workspaces in Dnipro and Lviv.

In Mukachevo, the ETC team is conducting a mission in support of setting up a security communications system, as well as providing training on the use of telecommunications equipment for the United Nations Department of Safety and Security Operations Centre (UNDSS).

WFP UKRAINE May Assistance Overview

UNICEF

Link: UNICEF_Ukraine Humanitarian Situation Report No.13, 17 May 2022.pdf

Health and Nutrition

During the reporting period, 27 healthcare professionals from five regions (Lviv, Zakarpattia, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi) received online training on vaccine communication and vaccination practices (routine, COVID-19 and recommended vaccines). The trained professionals will visit collective centres for internally displaced people in their respective areas, provide counselling on vaccination and mobilize demand for vaccination through mobile brigades or at nearby health care facilities.

UNICEF cooperated with the Zhytomyr region to develop a regional/oblast-level humanitarian response plan including support to health care. As per this decentralised planning process, priority health interventions will focus on improving women and children’s access to health care at UNICEF-supported facilities and measles vaccination for children.

Over 100,000 people were reached on Facebook with five online capacity building events on the policies and actions of the Ministry of Health/Public Health Centre, vaccination, perinatal care, and eHealth, among other topics related to the current war context, also reaching 3,000 views on YouTube. An educational video on breastfeeding at times of war was aired, reaching 20,000 people on Facebook and receiving 550 views on YouTube.

Child Protection

Since 24 February, UNICEF and partners have reached 491,1256 children and caregivers with community-based mental health and psychosocial support (MPHSS) to help them cope with the distressing effects of conflict and regain a sense of normalcy. A total of 46,364 children have benefited from specialized services through case management and referral to support services and 14,684 women and children have so far have been reached by UNICEF-supported gender-based violence response services.

Over the reporting period, the training of 938 professionals in psychological first aid and community-based MHPSS helped to reach 9,380 conflict-affected children and their caregivers. Additionally, over 100,000 parents and caregivers were able to support children in psychosocial distress through online information and MHPSS guidance developed by UNICEF and partners.

Support to children with disabilities continued, with 1,342 children, of whom 1,010 with disabilities, assisted with MHPSS services and humanitarian supplies. In addition, 348 other children, including 299 with disabilities, were reached through case management services and referral to specialized support services.

Multidisciplinary mobile teams, now numbering 59, continued to provide case management and outreach support to conflict-affected children and their families, with 7,616 children receiving integrated support in the reporting period.

The UNICEF-supported national toll-free child helpline provided online consultations and gender-based violence response services to 2,523 children (including 676 boys). At least 1,847 children received basic case management through referral to specialized support services. Additionally, 2,322 individuals, including 1,547 children, received individual counselling and access to information on humanitarian services through the social helpline ‘Spilno’.

In war-hit Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, UNICEF-supported MHPSS activities reached 466 individuals, including 306 children. At least 104 families were reached with humanitarian supplies in Starobilsk, Rubijne, Soledar Severodonetsk of Luhansk and Donetsk regions through an NGO partner. Furthermore, 66 children and caregivers benefited from case management and referral to support services.

Education

During the reporting period, UNICEF distributed 15 early childhood education (ECD) kits, 45 recreation kits, and 31 school-in-a-box kits to support access to learning for more than 11,000 children in Vinnytsia and Kirovohrad oblasts.

UNICEF and a partner conducted non-formal learning activities for more than 2,700 children in 86 locations, including in 15 Spilno Child Spots, across Lviv, Ternopil, and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts.

Under the LEGO Foundation project, UNICEF and a partner trained 42 teachers from 31 preschools in Bucha (Kyiv oblast), Trostyanets (Sumy oblast), and Chernihiv to provide learning through play and PSS to children. During the reporting period, the trained teachers reached around 960 children with learning activities in a blended format.

Water sanitation and hygiene

During the reporting period, UNICEF supported10 Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rig, Mykolaiv, Avdiivka and Selydove vodokanals (water utilities) with chlorine, coagulant, generators, and valves and fittings, providing safe water to nearly 59,000 people in areas with ongoing hostilities. Water trucking continued in Kharkiv (21,600 litres provided) and Avdiivka (12,000 litres provided), sustaining safe water supply for 3,140 people.

Hygiene supplies were distributed in shelters for internally displaced people in Dnipro and Kropyvnytskyi, including 1,300 family hygiene kits, 60 baby kits, 50 kits for people with special needs, and 700 packs of sanitary pads.

UNICEF continued to support stricken families in some of the most war-affected areas in eastern Ukraine, including Volnovakha, Mariupol, Donetsk, Makiivka and other settlements, with hygiene supplies, diapers and personal protection equipment. In addition, UNICEF provided safe water to the maternity ward of City Hospital №2 in Mariupol. Overall, 3,500 people benefitted from UNICEF support in these areas.

Social protection

During the reporting period, 4,162 individuals in 870 households from different regions received humanitarian cash assistance. In-person registration for cash assistance was piloted in Zhytomyr oblast, to enhance the quality of applications and to expedite the payment process. In addition, cash assistance requests for 23,588 individuals were prepared and submitted to the bank.

Influencing Social Behaviour

In the reporting period, a social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) campaign on protection risks faced by unaccompanied and separated children was rolled out to prevent illegal adoption, trafficking and exploitation of children affected by the war in Ukraine. Using social media and broadcasting radio spots on Ukraine’s top seven radio stations, the large-scale digital campaign reached 2 million people in its first week. Other SBCC content reached over 6 million social media users with key messages on protection, health, education, social services.

In the framework of the #важливоякніколи digital campaign, experts held two public live sessions with social media influencers, coupled with thematic content series, on MHPSS during the war. In addition, 141 online physical education lessons have been delivered to 3,600 children across Ukraine, as part of the Move More project designed to promote healthy behaviour and provide PSS to school students.

In addition, the Ukrainian version of the mobile application on parenting Bebbo was launched, with the app’s promotion reaching 400,000 people on social media and resulting in 5,000 downloads. Ukraine’s First Lady joined in sharing the Bebbo app and featured it on her official digital channels.

A new Spilno Child Spot was opened in Poltava, providing integrated PSS, health, and education services to approximately 1,500 children and caregivers daily and connecting internally displaced people to local services.

During the reporting period, in the framework of Accountability to Affected Populations, 17,921 people were consulted on the cash assistance programme through the UNICEF-supported hotline.

Supply & Logistics

The total value of purchase orders placed since 24 February increased to US$74 million out of which US$15 million worth of supplies have arrived in Ukraine. Medical kits and WASH/hygiene kits are the two items with the highest purchase order values at US$34 million and US$24 million, respectively. A total of US$12.67 million worth of dispatches have been made from UNICEF Ukraine’s warehouses to implementing partners or for prepositioning to other warehouses in the country. Over US$1.3 million worth of supplies are in transit to Ukraine from Turkey, the Supply Division in Copenhagen and UNICEF suppliers.

FAITH AND INTERNATIONAL

COMMUNITY RESPONSE

https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/

The American Red Cross reported (https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-crisis-red-cross-provides-safe-passage-continues-support) on 19 May that since 24 February, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society with their support has, among other activities, distributed more than 2 tons of emergency aid, including food, bedding, tents, water and hygiene items to more than 400,000 people across Ukraine; supported the evacuation of over 79,000 people from Kharkivska, Khersonska, Kyivska, Sumska and Zaporizka oblasts; provided first-aid training to more than 46,000 people; distributed medical supplies, including 2.5 tons of insulin, and supported logistics pipelines into Ukraine to ensure critical items can be delivered.

CR4U NETWORK INFORMATION SHARING

From: Jose Luis Bazan

Date: Monday, May 23, 2022

I would like to share with you some recent developments on the response of the EU to the Ukrainian refugee crisis.

1.- Recognition of qualifications

On 5 April, the Commission adopted the Recommendation on the recognition of qualifications for people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At a meeting with the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) on Tuesday 17 May, it was highlighted that one of the major difficulties, he reported, is that many refugees do not have the necessary documents to prove their level of qualification. Fortunately, he added, Ukraine has a centralised database of diplomas that facilitates the assessment of skills. A working group has been set up by the European Commission to help implement the recommendation

2.- Emergency placement in private accommodation

The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) has just published practical recommendations on the provision of emergency placement in private accommodation for persons displaced by the war in Ukraine. the EUAA notably recommends that authorities:

Put in place a mechanism to check whether the person offering accommodation has the right profile (no criminal records should be considered, and particular attention to prevent trafficking in human beings).
Establish a list of minimum criteria, together with other key services both for the housing itself, but also for the profiles of potential hosts.
Design a mechanism to allow both parties to raise confidential complaints related to the arrangement at any time, ensuring that any emerging or urgent needs can be addressed swiftly.

3.- Opening a bank account

All Ukrainian refugees considered temporary residents in the EU have the right to open a bank account.

4.- Integration of Ukrainian refugees

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the social and economic consequences for the EU of the Russian war in Ukraine – reinforcing the EU’s capacity to act (19 May 2022), that includes some paragraphs (17-22) about integration of people temporarily displaced from Ukraine.

5.- Financial support

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a €4 billion credit line (or programme loan) to help national authorities, cities, regions and local communities in all EU Member States address urgent investment needs and help welcome and integrate people fleeing the war against Ukraine.

6.- Further information

Analysis on Asylum and Temporary Protection in the EU+ in the Context of the Ukraine Crisis Week, 18 May 2022