More than two years since the war in Ukraine escalated, ongoing attacks continue to take a staggering toll on children and their families. Millions of children are living in constant fear as they endure relentless hostilities, prolonged displacement and severe shortages of essential resources including safe water, electricity, and other necessities.
For many children inside and outside Ukraine, the war has wiped out more than two years of schooling, playtime with friends, and moments spent with loved ones, robbing them of their education and happiness, wreaking havoc on their mental state.
we where in Ukraine before the war escalated and has since increased its reach, staying to deliver for children. We stand with the children of Ukraine and will continue working with partners to support them through the war and beyond.
What’s happening in Ukraine?
Ukraine’s children are paying an extraordinary price in lives lost and upended. The war has resulted in death, injuries and mass displacement, with millions of people forced to flee their homes. Children are being robbed of their childhoods, of time with friends and family, of a peaceful life. They bear invisible scars and trauma that may take a lifetime to heal.
The war has caused significant damage to vital infrastructure, severely impacting access to electricity, heating, water and telecommunications. Families’ incomes and access to services have been decimated. Pre-schools, primary and secondary schools have been damaged or destroyed by bombing and shelling, disrupting the education of Ukraine’s children, with potentially lifelong consequences. The upheaval of war has created a particularly challenging situation for displaced children, those living in institutions, and children with disabilities.
How are we helping children and families?
We were in Ukraine before the conflict broke out, and since its escalation more than two years ago has stayed and delivered. In countries hosting refugees, we work with national and local authorities, as well as civil society organizations, to deliver emergency assistance and support services to families fleeing war in Ukraine.
Inside Ukraine, this includes:
Reaching vulnerable households inside Ukraine with multi-purpose cash assistance.
- Continuing to work to ensure the functionality of heating infrastructure and providing winter clothing and blankets to keep children warm.
- Providing learning supplies to children and engaging children in formal and non-formal education.
- Reaching children and caregivers with mental health and psychosocial support including through gender-based violence response services.
- Enabling access to safe water for people living in areas where water supply networks have been damaged or destroyed, and providing sanitation and hygiene supplies.
- Enabling people to access healthcare with supplies distributed in war-affected areas.
In neighboring countries, we support includes:
- Reaching households with cash transfers.
- Working with local governments and refugee-hosting municipalities to provide access to formal and non-formal education for refugee children.
- Enabling access to safe water for drinking and domestic needs.
- Supporting ministries of health in neighboring countries to provide access to primary health services to refugee women and children.