Ukraine Humanitarian Fund Annual Report 2024 [EN/UK]

In 2024, national NGOs and local volunteer groups played a leading role in delivering vital humanitarian aid to more than eight million war-affected people, including the most vulnerable populations in the hardest-to-reach locations.

For the third consecutive year, the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF) has remained the largest country-based pooled fund among nearly twenty OCHA-managed country and regional-based funds worldwide, receiving US$232 million in generous contributions. I am deeply grateful to all 27 contributing governments and private donors for their ongoing and steadfast support, which has enabled the Fund to make significant, positive changes to the lives of many vulnerable people in Ukraine.

With these sizable contributions, the UHF allocated over $164 million through its 58 humanitarian partners in 2024, providing critical assistance to nearly 1.4 million people* – between 10 and 20 per cent of the most vulnerable Ukrainians who required assistance. Most of the people reached by this assistance live close to the front line or in communities under constant risk of bombardment.

The UHF was also critical to the successful implementation of the Humanitarian Country Team’s Winter Response Plan for 2024–2025, providing assistance to 200,000 of the most vulnerable people in front-line oblasts in the east and south and keeping them warm and safe during the harsh Ukrainian winter, through the allocation of $67 million to the Plan (24 per cent of all funds received).

In line with the aims of its localization strategy, the UHF has implemented several initiatives to support national and local organizations. Nearly 60 per cent of all allocated funds – $96 million – were provided to national organizations. This was made possible through the development of a new partner eligibility tool, contextualized for Ukraine, which increased access to funding for local actors. By ensuring that much of the assistance is provided by national actors, the UHF has increased both the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the response.

The UHF has also sought to increase national and local-level decision-making on the allocation of funding. By increasing the number of national NGOs on the Advisory Board and review committees, and through the implementation of area-based allocations, where national actors define allocation priorities. These efforts have supported the strengthening of operational coordination, particularly at the local level, and contributed to enhancing the overall quality of the response.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge the joint efforts of our partnering Ukrainian and international organizations, who worked tirelessly to help people in an incredibly fast-changing and dangerous humanitarian operational context. Cluster coordinators, strategic review committees, members of the Advisory Board and the OCHA’s Humanitarian Financing Unit, thank you for ensuring that all allocations were based on needs and given to the best-placed partners with the ability to competently implement the intended response activities.

Sincerely,

Matthias Schmale,
Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine

This document was produced by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Ukraine. OCHA Ukraine wishes to acknowledge the contributions of its committed staff at headquarters and in the field in preparing this document.

The latest version of this document is available on the UHF website at www.unocha.org/ukraine-humanitarian-fund.

Full project details, financial updates, real-time allocation data and indicator achievements against targets are available at UHF Data Hub and CBPF Data Hub.

* The Annual Report uses the number of people targeted as a proxy for the number of people reached, and henceforth, the term people assisted will be used.