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HIGHLIGHTS
Three years on, the war continues to devastate the lives of children and families. Inside Ukraine, 1.5 million children are affected in regions on either side of the front line; and 3.7 million people remain displaced. Nearly 6.2 million refugees remain across Europe.
Persistent war has heightened children's risks of violence, disrupted their education, impacted their mental health and limited their access to services like health care and water. Scarce financial resources for families within Ukraine and reduced social benefits in refugee-hosting countries hinder access to essential services. In this complex, protracted crisis, with persisting, intensified attacks, UNICEF provides critical support, remains agile and prepares for changing conditions and impacts.
Within Ukraine, UNICEF responds alongside the Government and inter-agency partners to save lives, reduce suffering, uphold dignity and protect children’s rights, prioritizing areas with highest severity and needs. UNICEF’s humanitarian–development–nexus approach is reinforced through a child-focused early recovery agenda, emphasizing systems strengthening together with development partners.
In refugee-hosting countries, UNICEF complements national efforts, addressing persistent humanitarian needs of those in long-term displacement while promoting a sustainable transition to national systems.
UNICEF requires $495.6 million ($400 million for the response inside Ukraine and $95.6 million for the refugee response) to maintain crucial support for children and families, comprising critical supplies and services for child protection, health and nutrition, education, water, sanitation and hygiene and social protection, including humanitarian cash assistance; and strengthening national and local systems to address needs.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION AND NEEDS
Pillar 1: Ukraine
The war in Ukraine has intensified in its third year, devastating the lives of the 1.5 million children in regions on either side of the front line, and leaving no child in the country unaffected. Access to children in occupied areas remains fully constrained. Since February 2022, the United Nations has verified 650 children killed and 1,686 injured. There are 3.7 million people displaced inside Ukraine – up from 3.5 million a year ago, as fighting in the east forces families to evacuate.
The war is a child protection crisis, with children’s mental health and well-being deeply affected and access to social services constrained. Seventy-three per cent of children report feeling unsafe and 54 per cent feeling sad. Children are at heightened risk of violence, including due to explosive weapons and gender-based violence. Children with disabilities, returning from abroad and those in alternative care are among the country’s most vulnerable.
Gender, overlapping with other vulnerabilities, significantly increases the needs of women, adolescent girls and people with disabilities. Women more commonly report relying on negative coping strategies, such as reducing expenditures on health, food and utilities.
Children are in their fifth year of disrupted education, with the war following the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to learning loss equivalent to two years in reading and one year in math. Frequent air raid alarms force children to move to shelters, interrupting classes. Most schools in front-line areas remain closed, with 700,000 children learning online and 1 million in blended learning. The energy crisis is expected to impact from 2.4 to 6.4 hours of learning time per day, with those learning exclusively online most affected.
Water and sanitation systems are on the brink of collapse, with a quarter of wastewater plants and water and wastewater networks damaged. Eighty per cent of water utilities lack the backup capacity in case of blackouts to prevent the disruption of water intakes and pumping stations. Seventy health care facilities have been destroyed and 510 damaged, including the country’s largest children hospital. These attacks have had long-term effects on the healthcare system, making it challenging to provide essential medical services, especially in frontline areas.16 Attacks on energy infrastructure have destroyed more than half of Ukraine’s power generation capacity, with blackouts from 4 to 18 hours a day expected in the 2024– 2025 winter; with district heating systems also damaged, this will be the harshest winter children have experienced since 2022.