Background and identified needs – as of March 17th
After the start of the military offensive of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, massive displacement has taken place within the country, mainly from regions bordering the Russian federation towards central and western regions of Ukraine.
Due to the growing numbers of IDPs, multiple communal settings have been established as transit or collective sites in both private and public buildings such as schools, kindergartens, churches, gyms, dormitories of educational institutions, houses of culture, concert halls etc. Most of the centers were insufficiently prepared as people arrived spontaneously and conditions are not always meeting recognized standards. According to the requests received by humanitarian organizations and local authorities since February 24, there is lack of hot meals, hygiene items, toilets and showers, sleeping arrangements (blankets, pillows), mother and baby corners, and health posts. As a mid- and long-term solution, the Ukrainian government is looking at the establishment of collective centers in the currently unused premises that could be refurbished and equipped with the support of humanitarian organizations. With the volume of internal displacement and geographic distribution, it is expected that in addition to thousands of smaller transition centers, dozens of large collective centers will be established, as they have been established in western regions of Ukraine (from south to north: Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Ternopil, Zakarpattia, Lviv and Volyn).
Coordination of partners, information on communal settings and the vulnerable condition of people requires that the CCCM Cluster urgently addresses the management of sites to ensure the ability to effectively support the authorities1 in accommodating people in communal settings and meet the increased requests of NGOs and UN agencies for better coordinated approach in respect of protection and assistance of IDPs in communal settings.