The United Nations on Monday appealed for US $4.2 billion to provide humanitarian aid in 2024 to those affected by Ukraine war, including refugees who have fled the country.
“Hundreds of thousands of children live in communities on the front lines of the war, terrified, traumatized and deprived of their basic needs. That fact alone should compel us to do everything we can to bring more humanitarian assistance to Ukraine,” said Martin Griffiths, under-secretary general for the coordination of humanitarian affairs and emergency relief.
Griffiths and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, briefed the media at the UN’s Palais des Nations in Geneva and launched the refugee plan.
As part of the plan, the UN seeks $3.1 billion to help 8.5 million people in dire need of humanitarian aid while the UN Refugee Agency seeks to target 2.3 million refugees and host communities with the remaining $1.1 billion.
“Host countries continue to extend protection and include them in society, but many vulnerable refugees still need help,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “They shouldn’t feel pressed to return because they cannot make ends meet in exile.”
Rising Humanitarian tragedy
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least 14.6 million people, 40 per cent of the population, will need humanitarian assistance in 2024 due to nearly two years of Ukraine war with Russia.
“A recent wave of attacks underscores the devastating civilian cost of the war, while a bitter winter is ratcheting up the urgent need for life-saving humanitarian aid,” the UN said. “Homes, schools and hospitals are repeatedly hit, as are water, gas and power systems. The very fabric of society is under attack with devastating consequences.”
Previously, in 2023, the UN humanitarian response plan for Ukraine war relief sought $3.9 billion aid which reached over 10.5 million—out of nearly 18 million in need— people across the country. The plan’s strategic objectives were to provide life-saving assistance and access to basic services to people affected by the Ukraine war. However, this year’s response plan focuses primarily on “the people with the most severe humanitarian needs across the country, particularly those in the front-line”.
“In front-line towns and villages, people have exhausted their meagre resources and rely on aid to survive,” the OCHA said. “In the Donetsk and Kharkiv Regions, families shelter in damaged houses without piped water, gas or electricity. Constant bombardments force people to spend their days in basements,” it said.
The hostilities between Russia and Ukraine began in February 2022 when the former launched a “special military operation” and started the Ukraine war. It has since caused unimaginable loss and destruction in the country and forced around 6.3 million people to flee abroad. According to the OCHA, about 5.9 million refugees from Ukraine were recorded in Europe by the end of last year. Further, the Ukraine war led to four million internally displaced people, including nearly one million children.
“Although their plight is no longer in the headlines, millions of refugees from Ukraine still need urgent support,” said Grandi.
