Warsaw – Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) Carlo Monticelli met today with the Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s Poland Country Office, Lívia Styp-Rekowska, to discuss assistance and support provided to people who fled the war in Ukraine. IOM’s assistance is made possible thanks to a grant from the CEB’s Migrant and Refugee Fund (MRF).
In cooperation with IOM Poland, the Governor also visited a reception centre run by the city of Warsaw, where he met several persons who fled Ukraine.
“Exactly four months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, our support to and solidarity with the people fleeing the war remains unwavering. We are proud to be closely cooperating with IOM Poland to assist displaced people from Ukraine effectively and swiftly,” said CEB Governor Monticelli. “True to our historic mandate to support migrants and refugees, we will continue to coordinate with our partners and stakeholders to strengthen our collective response to this humanitarian crisis.”
The CEB was the first multilateral development bank to disburse grants providing immediate assistance to people fleeing Ukraine. Earlier this year, it approved a total of €5.1 million in grants from MRF to CEB member countries that are recording large inflows of population from Ukraine, including to IOM offices in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, the Republic of Moldova, Romania and the Slovak Republic.
The CEB’s grant to IOM Poland – worth almost €900,000 – facilitates the provision of emergency assistance to people fleeing the war in Ukraine, namely:
- Psychosocial and mental health assistance;
- Shelter;
- Labour market inclusion;
- Assistance through a dedicated infoline;
- Water and sanitation assistance in transit centres;
- Data collection; and
- Transport assistance.
The CEB grant has so far allowed IOM Poland to deliver information and legal advice to 4,363 people through its hotlines, and to provide 600 people with crucial mental health and psychological support. The funding has also enabled the organisation of IOM trainings for private sector entities to help people fleeing Ukraine find employment on the Polish job market.
“We are very grateful for the long-standing cooperation and support from the CEB, which continues to serve people in need,” said IOM Poland Chief of Mission, Lívia Styp-Rekowska. “Following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the CEB funding has enabled us to provide critical information and counselling to new arrivals, sanitation and hygiene in reception centres, psychological and mental health support to those in need, protection and other assistance to those in vulnerable situations.”
Learn more about CEB’s response to the Ukraine refugee crisis: CEB and Ukraine refugees
Learn more about IOM’s response: Ukraine: IOM Response 2022
Media contacts:
CEB communication team
info@coebank.org
IOM Poland
Ewelina Kawczynska
Tel: +48 789 739 664
ekawczynska@iom.int