Weekly Update #5
March 28-30

Highlights of UN efforts are summarized below:

• Despite many operational challenges, UN agencies and humanitarian partners have reached around 890,000 people across Ukraine with multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance since 24 February. Assistance has mostly been provided in the east, with over 431,000 people reached in Kharkivska oblast.

• In Kyiv (Kyivska oblast, north) and Kharkiv (Kharviska oblast, east), the World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners have delivered nearly 1,270 tons of food to more than 521,000 affected people.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) is sending around 36 tons of medical supplies to Lviv (Lvivska oblast, west), with an additional 108 tons in the pipeline, while the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) delivered 13 tons of urgently needed reproductive health supplies, medicines and equipment to service providers in four oblasts.

• UN agencies and humanitarian partners are scaling up cash support. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has launched a large-scale cash programme for internally displaced persons (IDPs) that aims to reach around 360,000 people, while the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has rolled out cash-based assistance in several oblasts, planning to reach some 40,000 people in Zakarpatska oblast (west) alone.

• The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster estimates that around 1.4 million people lack access to water in Ukraine, while access remains limited for another 4.6 million people. In Donetska oblast (east), the water situation remains critical, as the current supply from water reservoirs received by schedule is only projected to last till the beginning of April in the cities of Donetsk and Makiivka, and less than three weeks in neighbouring Horlivka.

• According to WHO, as of 25 March, the number of verified incidents of attacks on health-care facilities in Ukraine has risen to 72 – nearly 89 per cent of incidents recorded by WHO between 24 February and 25 March globally – resulting in 71 deaths and 37 injuries. WHO says almost 1,000 health facilities are close to areas experiencing active fighting or with a significant presence of the Russian Federation forces.

• According to Mercy Corps, some of the hardest-hit areas in Ukraine only have enough food to last a few days, while others are becoming increasingly dependent on aid, the delivery of which remains unpredictable due to persistent access and security constraints. Mercy Corps estimates that at least 70 per cent of the population of Kharkiv and Sumy (Sumska oblast, north-east) – home to nearly 1.8 million people prior to the recent escalation – are now completely reliant on aid to meet their most basic needs.

To enable IDPs to cover their immediate basic needs, both UNHCR and IOM have expanded their cash assistance programs.

UNHCR’s multipurpose cash assistance programme is being rolled-out in Lviv region and will be expanded to cover Chernivtsi, Dnipro, Ivano-Frankivska, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Vinnytsia and Zakarpattia.

Since enrolment began in Lviv on 17 March, 657 individuals have been enrolled in UNHCR’s multipurpose cash assistance programme. The first payment is being processed for 152 families, who will be able to collect their cash assistance on 24 March. Daily payments will take place as soon as new families are enrolled. UNHCR aims to reach 360,000 people with multipurpose cash assistance in the first three months.

IOM’s own program IOM’s cash-based programme will cover multiple regions in Ukraine in coordination with local authorities and other humanitarian actors. This assistance has been through initial funding from the UN Central Emergency Fund (CERF), the European Union, Canada, Germany and the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID),.

Zakarpattia Region will be the first area to be covered with the aim of reaching 40,000 people with cash amounts transferred to them via the post office and other financial service providers in Ukraine, in coordination with the Oblast Administration and their Department of Social Policy.

WFP continues to distribute value voucher distribution in Lviv for 1,000 beneficiaries, while another 1,000 people will be assisted with value vouchers in Chernivtsi in the upcoming days. In addition, in the areas where food is available and retail shops are operating normally, WFP has been testing cash or vouchers as a means of support.

SOURCES: UNHCR Ukraine Situational Flash Update No. 4, 18 March 2022

UNHCR Ukraine Situation Flash Update, no. 5, 24 March 2022

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/more-half-ukraines-children-displaced-after-one-month-war

UNHCR is scaling up programmes with NGO partners to provide integrated protection advice and services; at border points, inside and outside of reception centres, targeting IDPs with specific needs, including women at risk of gender-based violence (GBV) and trafficking, older persons, minorities, unaccompanied and separated children, and persons with disabilities.

To date, some 16,000 people have received targeted protection assistance, including 2,615 people at border points, 2,383 people in transit, registration and reception centres, 5,141 people in other places such as train stations, and 5,746 people through hotlines which are being expanded. More than 82,000 people have received information through social media channels.

IOM also flags cases of family separation, unaccompanied and separated children that are on the rise, as well as potential cases of conflict-related sexual violence among protection concerns that are linked to human trafficking. To address the issue, IOM Ukraine has scaled up the work of the National Migrant Advice and Counter-Trafficking Hotline 527, by extending opening hours, doubling the number of advisers and offering reliable and updated information on a wide range of topics. The hotline, which can be accessed from within Ukraine, has already provided over 12,000 consultations to over 2,400 callers received from 24 February to 16 March only, which is 60 per cent more compared to the same period last year. More than half of the people calling are newly displaced persons targeted trafficking prevention information promoting 527 Migrant Advice and Counter-Trafficking Hotline was disseminated through official social media channels of the Ministry of Social Policy and Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, as well as through local authorities.

One month into the war, UNICEF reports 4.3 million children have been displaced, one of the fastest large-scale displacements of children since World War II. Such large displacements could have lasting consequences for generations to come.

UNICEF identified more than 500 unaccompanied children crossing from Ukraine into Romania from 24 February to 17 March. The true number of separated children who have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries is likely much higher. Separated children are especially vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.

One month into the conflict, WFP estimates around 45 percent of the people in Ukraine are worried about finding enough to eat. To date, WFP assisted a total of 770,000 vulnerable people with cash and food assistance throughout Ukraine. Some 1,272 mt of food were distributed through cooperating partners in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhya (5-days Rapid Response, 15-days food basket, and bread). By the end of March, WFP is gearing up its cash and food assistance towards helping around 1 million beneficiaries and up to 2.5 million by the end of April.

WFP will continue to place increasing emphasis on developing partnerships with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to ensure the efficiency of the life-saving assistance delivery. Additional agreements were concluded with nine local partners for cash and food distribution for around 1.8 million beneficiaries, while more are under negotiation.

WFP is building up stocks of rapid response food packages in Dnipro, in the east of Ukraine, and in Vinnytsia and Kropyvnytskyi, in the centre-west of the country for inter-agency crossline convoys to the embattled cities and for pick-up by WFP partners to support the IDPs fleeing encircled cities.

The lack of food is an ongoing concern of WFP. Despite logistical challenges, the agency has ensured that food supplies continue to reach the general population, including:

• 2.2 mt of canned meat for 2,475 beneficiaries in the first United Nations inter-agency convoy, which reached Sumy with 130 metric tons of ready-to-eat meals and canned food, medical supplies and bottled water for 35,000 people.

• A total of 223 mt of HEBs are expected to arrive via rail in Dnipro on 26 March, coming from Katowice, Poland. An additional 16 mt will travel via road to Ukraine.

• Some 132 mt of wheat flour departed by rail from Pervomayskyi arrived in Kyiv on 24 March.

• Some 18.4 mt of infant cereal from Brussels has been dispatched to Rzeszow, Poland, to be further dispatched to Dnipro later next week.

An agreement has been signed with Uber to facilitate last mile delivery in a number of locations in Ukraine. With confirmed funding to date, WFP has enough food until the end of April. Funds are urgently needed to purchase food for May deliveries, with a lead time of four weeks.

Country Activities

MOLDOVA

A second Field Level Agreement (FLA) with the NGO, People in Need (PIN), has been finalized for the delivery of hot meals in refugee accommodation centers, in addition to an FLA signed earlier with ACTED. An additional two FLAs with Helvetas and Solidarite Internationale are under review. Since 21 March, WFP and CPs reached 13,580 individuals with hot meals (3 per day) in 28 different localities/regions and 112 centers.

ROMANIA

To date, 13 WFP trucks carrying 266 metric tons of food reached Ukraine from Romania.

Other key resource links:

UNHCR Data Hub

https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine

ECRE (European Council on Refugees and Exiles

https://mailchi.mp/ecre/ecre-weekly-bulletin-25032022?e=9f55e12512

Operational guidelines to support Member States in applying the Temporary Protection Directive

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_22_1727

New US humanitarian funding announced

Today (March 24), the United States is announcing that we are prepared to provide more than $1 billion in new funding towards humanitarian assistance for those affected by Russia’s war in Ukraine and its severe impacts around the world, including a marked rise in food insecurity, over the coming months. This funding will provide food, shelter, clean water, medical supplies and other forms of assistance. We are also announcing an additional $320 million in democracy and human rights funding to Ukraine and its neighbors.

Fact Sheet: The Biden Administration Announces New Humanitarian, Development, and Democracy Assistance to Ukraine and the Surrounding Region | The White House

The European Parliament has adopted a number of initiatives related to the war in Ukraine and its vast implications:

• Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE)

• More flexible use of funds under the AMIF (Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund) Regulations in light of the war in Ukraine.

• Need for an urgent EU action plan to ensure food security inside and outside the EU in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine:

“8.- Underlines that countries located near the conflict area, those with fragile developing economies and those receiving the majority of Ukrainian refugees will be the most affected by the war in Ukraine; calls on the Commission and the Member States to support these countries and to ensure that enough food supplies are available;”

“10.- (…) the EU should provide humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian people to ensure short-term food security in Ukraine, and to all refugees in the EU through the Cohesion’s Policy’s Action for Refugees in Europe and the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe programmes, as well as by contributing to the FAO Rapid Response Plan for Ukraine, increasing its financial assistance; highlights that additional funding must be found as Cohesion Policy funds play a primary role in ensuring the harmonised development of the EU Member States; calls on the EU to coordinate with UN agencies and all partners on the ground to provide urgent food and livelihood assistance to people affected by the war in Ukraine;”

“48. (…) Urges the Commission to create a mechanism that allows products from private storage to be accessed by non-governmental organisations and other bodies to help ensure food security in Ukraine; believes that this mechanism could also be used through the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived in Member States hosting refugees in order to meet the urgent need to provide additional food;”

On 24 March, too, the European Council has called “for work to be urgently completed on the recent Commission proposals to support Member States so as to ensure that EU funding for refugees and their hosts can be mobilised rapidly and invites the Commission to work on additional proposals to reinforce EU support in this regard. It calls on the Member States, with the support of the Commission, to develop contingency plans to address medium- and long-term needs as well.”

The EU has published a list of “Humanitarian partners present in Ukraine” as well as neighbouring countries (come Catholic organisations included): https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/stronger-europe-world/eu-solidarity-ukraine/eu-assistance-ukraine/eu-stands-ukraine_en#how-you-can-help

A useful infographic on the meaning and practical implication of the EU temporary protection is available here: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/temporary-protection-displaced-persons/