Around 2.9 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Ukraine as the country struggles in the face of serious territorial conflict. Should there be a Russian invasion this number may rise to 5.5 million, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Those who are in need of humanitarian assistance live mainly along the 420 km long contact line. Of the 5 million people living there, 2.6 million cannot manage without assistance. A further 300,000 in need of aid are internally displaced people who moved from the Eastern to the Western part of the country. All in all, there are 1.4 million internally displaced people in Ukraine.
Food assistance
“One of the most urgent needs is food assistance and about 1 million people need it now. The majority of them live in Eastern Ukraine in areas which are not controlled by the government in Kyiv,” Joanna Szukała, Programme Coordinator for the Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH) Ukraine Mission, told DevelopmentAid.
The pandemic has increased the need for food assistance as the capability to deliver food has been limited by movement restrictions. Many people residing in territories that are not controlled by the Ukrainian government cannot reach the aid that is available.
“PAH delivers food packages. This year we will deliver them to 2,500 people. Each package contains enough food for 3 months for one individual,” added Szukała.
Water and health care
PAH admits that the lack of food is not the only problem for people living in Eastern Ukraine. They also suffer due to water scarcity.
“We assess that about 2.5 million people need water and sanitation aid to be delivered. The water infrastructure in the Eastern part of the country is often destroyed by military fire which disrupts water supplies,” said Szukała.
“Polish Humanitarian Action has been working in Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict in 2014. During this time the organization has focused mainly on providing psychosocial support, as well as responding to the basic needs of the people in need.”
Aid workers also report problems with access to healthcare centers as these are located on the side controlled by the Ukrainian authorities so people living on the other side of the contact line are unable to access them.
Humanitarian needs
There are about 100 different humanitarian organizations working in Ukraine including those from Poland, Germany, France, and the UK whose actions are coordinated by OCHA. The UN agency estimates that it will need about US$190 million dollars in 2022 to reach 1.8 million people in Eastern Ukraine. Since the conflict began in 2014, 13,000 people have been killed and about half a million older people are existing without any source of income. According to the UN, should Russia invade Ukraine, around 5.5 million people in the East will be affected with 38% of these being older people. The UN has called on all development assistance agencies to prioritize Ukraine due to rising concerns over the worsening of the military conflict.
