5 Things You May Not Know About UNICEF's Humanitarian Response in Ukraine
Learn more about how UNICEF programs are meeting the needs of children and families in Ukraine, and laying the groundwork for a better future.
UNICEF and its partners work even in the most dangerous, hard-to-reach places, delivering lifesaving assistance and protecting children. From the start of the war, UNICEF has been on the ground, working to help children in Ukraine and lay the foundation for the country’s recovery.
1. UNICEF is keeping water safe in Ukraine
Water systems in many communities across Ukraine have been damaged by attacks. UNICEF teams work with water utilities companies to keep clean water running, delivering purification chemicals, repair infrastructure, and, when all else fails, trucking in safe water to families.
"We do our best to ensure a round-the-clock water supply," says Oleksandr Khaliava, the head of the emergency department at the Kramatorsk Water Utility. “If there’s an accident, no one leaves work until the water supply is restored. UNICEF and other donors provide significant assistance to our water utility — materials, generators, equipment. This is crucial during wartime.”
Learn more: UNICEF Impact in Ukraine
2. UNICEF helps Ukrainian families make it through the winter
Children and families in Ukraine are bracing for a fourth winter amid full-scale war, with civilian infrastructure under severe strain and household coping capacities stretched to the limit. UNICEF supports heating networks, repairs district boilers, provides backup power for maternity wards and shelters, and distributes winterization cash assistance so families can purchase what they need most: warm clothes, solid fuel or school supplies.
Daria and her family, who were displaced from Myrnohrad in the Donetsk region, received cash assistance from UNICEF. They used it to buy household necessities and repair the house to make it more suitable for children.
“We bought some coal and a large 500-liter tank,” says Daria. “There is no water here, and we need to bathe the children and wash the dishes. The tank will give us the opportunity to have at least some water supply. Because I don’t know what this winter will be like.”
3. UNICEF protects Ukrainian children on the move
War displaces families fast and chaotically. At evacuation points, transit hubs and community center, child protection teams offer psychological first aid, help reunite families and create child-friendly spaces, even in basements and subway stations. These safe spaces offer a chance to play and learn in safety, as air raid alarms sound overhead.
Fifteen-year-old Varvara was forced to leave her hometown of Vorozhba, and is now staying in a temporary shelter in the Sumy region. After leaving her home, she hardly spoke, avoided other children and didn’t respond to questions from adults. A UNICEF-supported mobile team invited Varvara to join art therapy classes and she eventually began to open up, sharing stories about her hometown and her passion for football.
4. UNICEF is preventing and responding to gender-based violence in Ukraine
Across Ukraine, specialized staff run confidential services through fixed and mobile safe spaces, offering survivor-centered case management, mental health and psychosocial support, as well as referrals to health, legal and social services. Digital safe spaces also give girls and women quick access to information and resources to improve their safety and well-being when distance, stigma or insecurity make in-person help harder to reach.
Fifteen-year-old Veronika from Poltava attended workshops to learn how to protect herself from potential risks.
“This is a taboo subject," Veronika says. “But it needs to be brought out into the open. Even if girls haven’t experienced such situations, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen in their lives. They need to know that there is nothing to be ashamed of, that they can talk about it and get help.”
5. UNICEF is building Ukraine's next generation of social workers
Responding to crises is not just about the now, it is also about strengthening systems for tomorrow. Together with national and local authorities, UNICEF helps communities train, supervise and support qualified social workers, expand social services and align with national standards. That means emergency gains made now are laying the foundation for long-term recovery.
More than 20 UNICEF-supported child-friendly spaces are currently operating across the frontline Dnipropetrovsk region, offering psychosocial support provided by psychologists, social workers and speech therapists. Among the children attending is Roman from Tsarychanka, who has received help for his speech difficulties.
"My little one literally jumps for joy on the way. He loves it here,” says Khrystyna, Roman’s mother. “We visit not only the speech therapist but also the psychologist.”
Your support helps UNICEF children reach more children in need
Children’s lives in Ukraine continue to be devastated by the war. UNICEF remains on the ground to provide urgent humanitarian assistance. With our partners, we stay and deliver.
Learn more about UNICEF's work for children in Ukraine.
Help UNICEF continue to save and protect children impacted by war and conflict, in Ukraine and around the world. Donate today.
Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.
This story is adapted from unicef.org
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War, famine, poverty, natural disasters — threats to the world's children keep coming. But UNICEF won't stop working to keep children healthy and safe.
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories — more places than any other children's organization. UNICEF has the world's largest humanitarian warehouse and, when disaster strikes, can get supplies almost anywhere within 72 hours. Constantly innovating, always advocating for a better world for children, UNICEF works to ensure that every child can grow up healthy, educated, protected and respected.
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