Ivanna* poses for a photo with Yana, a social worker from the Heritage Foundation, in a village in Eastern Ukraine. Yana regularly visits Ivanna’s community to provide psychological support sessions in the village’s new community centre.
DEC UKRAINE HUMANITARIAN APPEAL
PROGRESS UPDATE | TWO YEARS ON
The Humanitarian Crisis: two years on – March 2024
The escalation of conflict and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 caused 6.7 million refugees to flee Ukraine and a further 6.6 million to be displaced internally. Ongoing violence has continued to have lasting effects on people in both Ukraine and in neighbouring countries where DEC funds are being utilised.
Throughout 2023 and into 2024, the conflict has resulted in considerable loss of civilian lives, including children, as well as the widespread destruction of critical infrastructure. The nature of the conflict is unpredictable, and the situation varies considerably by region. The entire country is frequently impacted by large-scale shocks, such as the breach and destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, which resulted in extensive flooding in June 2023 and severely disrupted livelihoods and essential social services.
The impact on daily life has been significant. From frequent air raid sirens and extended periods of time spent in bomb shelters, to family separation, and damage and disruption to vital services. Combined with the ongoing displacement crisis, Ukraine continues to face a massive humanitarian and protection emergency. Prolonged displacement has had a serious financial impact too, and forced many of those affected to resort to selling assets and possessions. Without access to stable income or employment, they are at risk of further harm long term.
Vulnerable groups bear the brunt of the hardship, particularly women, children, older people, those with disabilities, and Roma communities. The psychological impact of two years of conflict on civilians is huge, and will have lasting consequences across the generations. Two years on, 14.6 million people still require humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, and as international humanitarian aid and funding decreases, the needs of affected communities are vastly outweighing the resources of the organisations supporting people in need.
Host countries continue to support the displaced, including many who fled following the initial conflict escalation, as well as people who have arrived more recently. In recent months, many people have gone back to Ukraine, returning to their communities to check on their homes, attend medical appointments, and see family members. As support provided by some host governments has become more restricted two years on, some do not have a choice but to return home, where resources for support are also restricted by diminishing international assistance. Those seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, and those who have already crossed borders in search of safety, continue to require multi-dimensional support, and access to resources and services. Many refugees continue to face challenges accessing decent work, healthcare, education, social services, and sustainable housing due to language barriers, financial constraints, lack of childcare, and overstretched local resources.
= While efforts have been made to avoid counting people twice, some people may have been helped more than once by different member charities. *Names have been changed to protect identities.
MARCH 2024 IN NUMBERS
6.4 million
refugees have fled Ukraine1
5.9 million
refugees residing in Europe2
3.4 million
million people internally displaced3
billion
inside Ukraine for humanitarian interventions4
$1.1 billion
required for surrounding countries for humanitarian interventions5
Phase 1 (first 6 months) funding is for immediate response activities. Phase 2 (the following 36 months) focuses on supporting livelihoods, strengthening resilience and capacity and rebuilding. For this response, Phase 2 is split into Phase 2a (12
and Phase 2b (24 months).
End of response: 31 August 2025*
DEC RESPONSE
The DEC launched its appeal on 3 March 2022 for people affected by the conflict. Those most impacted include people in Ukraine, both those who are internally displaced and those who have stayed in their homes, and refugees who have been forced to flee to neighbouring countries. For the past two years, 13 DEC member charities and their local partners have been delivering life-saving support and assistance for those affected by the crisis including refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as for host communities to enhance and maintain social cohesion between them and displaced persons.
INCOME
BREAKDOWN
PHASE 1 KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
From March – August 2022, DEC member charities and their local partners used DEC funds to provide:
1.9 MILLION people with access to clean water
338,000 people with cash assistance to meet their basic needs 6%
£432.1 MILLION RAISED
03/07/24
£276.3m DEC direct donors
£25m UK Aid Match funding £130.8m member charities’ retained income
£224.2 million spent (March 2022 – February 2024)
8.2 million people estimated to have been helped with DEC funds in two years (March 2022 – February 2024)
TWO YEAR EXPENDITURE BY COUNTRY
Where funds were spent from March 2022 – February 2024
127,900 people with basic services at transit centres
72,000
Danylo* joins his friend, Anastasia*, to test a specially equipped taxi that Anastasia’s business will soon provide people with disabilities in Mykolaiv city. A DEC charity is helping the people of Ukraine rebuild their livelihoods and communities.
practice needlework whilst singing Ukrainian folk songs at a ‘community safe space’ for older people in Eastern Ukraine.
DEC RESPONSE
TWO YEAR EXPENDITURE BY SECTOR
How funds have been spent across all countries from March 2022 –February 2024
PHASE 2 KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
From September 2022 – February 2024, DEC member charities and their local partners used DEC funds to provide:
865,000
people with protection support, including information about gender-based violence, awareness-raising and referrals to specialist services
463,000
people with food assistance, including food baskets and hot meals
187,000
people with hygiene and dignity kits containing essential items like toothbrushes, shampoo and washing powder
149,000
people with mental health and psychosocial support
89,300
people with legal assistance and advice
25,000
adults and children with activities focused on integration and social cohesion
© Adrian Catu/DEC
Jasmina*, Elya*, and Eren*, all from Ukraine, learn how to make a dream catcher from trainer Kitten*, herself a refugee from Ukraine, at a centre in Bucharest.
REGIONAL INITIATIVES DEC UKRAINE HUMANITARIAN
The DEC is incorporating innovative ways of working into its appeal responses to make projects more effective and strengthen the wider humanitarian response in Ukraine and neighbouring countries. Below are examples of some of the regional initiatives undertaken.
The Collaborative Cash Delivery Network (CCD)
The Collaborative Cash Delivery Network (CCD) is a global group of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that works together with national governments and international groups to improve how cash and vouchers are given in humanitarian crises. In particular, they work to strengthen coordination, and build the skills and capacity of humanitarian organisations. CCD was already in place, and has now increased its services to help aid agencies deliver cash effectively in Ukraine. They aim to strengthen fair partnerships between local and international organisations.
LOOKING AHEAD
Perception survey findings: CCD commissioned Ground Truth Solutions, to carry out a perceptions study on the experiences of cash recipients, which resulted in three published reports - ‘Cash is King’ in July 2023, ‘No one has ever helped me like this: user journeys of cash recipients’ in December 2023 and ‘Aligning aid: Recipient perspectives on humanitarian cash and social protection in Ukraine’ in April 2024. This work generated practical, real-time feedback and learning, and has built the evidence base, including offering recommendations and identifying approaches that can be scaled or adapted in other contexts.
Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC)
Effective and timely communication is crucial during crises. At the start of the Ukraine conflict, affected communities reported that having information was more important to them than food and shelter. There is increasing evidence that providing support in the form of trustworthy, dependable and independent information provision can be one of the most powerful forms of support for communities, combating rumours and uncertainty and enabling people to make choices based on an accurate understanding of risks and options. However, there were problems with information-sharing between large global and smaller local humanitarian organisations, leaving many local groups without the up-to-date information they needed for supporting recipients. Recognising the need for clear and effective communication, community engagement, and accountability, the initiative aimed to ensure all humanitarian workers involved in the Ukraine response have a shared understanding of these concepts, as well as the necessary skills, capacity, tools, and resources. This has enabled better participation and support for those affected by the crisis.
DEC funded programmes for the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal will conclude at the end of August 2025 (as a result of the programme extension, see page 2) 3 and a half years after the launch of the appeal. DEC members and their partners continue to conduct activities based on the current needs of vulnerable communities, adapting interventions as needs develop, and providing as much holistic support for affected communities as possible. However, this work is now taking place in the context of limited funding for humanitarian assistance more broadly, both in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.
As a result, DEC member charities and their local partners continue to strategically support the most vulnerable people affected by the crisis, while also strengthening coordination mechanisms and working with local organisations to support them in being able to continue helping those in need. DEC members and their local partners also continue to ready themselves should the situation in Ukraine worsen further, resulting in additional mass displacement both inside Ukraine and regionally. Beyond the DEC response, many DEC members will remain, continuing their operations using other funding sources.
© Eugene Combo/Christopher Lete
Anastassia, from Mykolaiv, Ukraine, teaches art to Ukrainian children at the psychosocial centre in Chisinau, Moldova.
Safe space, Lviv, Ukraine.
UKRAINE
HOW WE’RE HELPING: UKRAINE
TWO YEARS ON: HOW DEC CHARITIES ARE RESPONDING IN UKRAINE
Over the last two years, DEC member charities and their local partners have prioritised responding in Ukraine with both life-saving interventions such as provision of cash, shelter, food, and health, as well as supporting the longer-term needs of those affected through training and capacity strengthening of local services, systems, structures, and community groups. This update covers highlights from DEC member programming across a variety of prioritised activities.
UKRAINE: TWO YEAR EXPENDITURE BY
SECTOR
How funds have been spent in Ukraine from March 2022 – February 2024
UKRAINE: TWO YEAR EXPENDITURE
© Maciek Musialek/DEC
Saleh Saeed (L), CEO of the Disasters Emergency Committee, talks to Ivanna* (R), Psychologist at at a children’s centre supported by the local partner of a DEC member charity in Odesa, Ukraine.
Nina* (CR) takes part in a psychological support session in her village’s new community centre in Eastern Ukraine.
DEC UKRAINE HUMANITARIAN
UKRAINE EXPENDITURE: DEC MEMBERS AND PARTNERS
Funds raised by the DEC for this appeal are allocated to 13 member charities responding. They work directly with communities and through local, national and other partners.
DEC FUNDED RESPONSE
Over the last two years, DEC member charities have worked with 59 local/national partners in Ukraine as part of their DEC funded response.
The importance of supporting and strengthening local humanitarian action has been widely acknowledged in recent years by international humanitarian actors as well as communities. A number of commitments have been made across the global humanitarian sector aiming to reinforce national and local systems, namely by listening to and centring local to local actors and communities who know their context and capacities well, and incorporating this into interventions.
The DEC commissioned a scoping exercise on localisation. The study aimed to identify and provide recommendations on how to encourage a locally led response in areas such as funding and financial management, capacity strengthening and organisational development, promoting equitable partnerships and improving coordination and collaboration among different actors.
An example of how DEC member charities are supporting local entities can be seen through some of ActionAid’s DEC funded work in Ukraine. Local women-led and women’s rights organisations remain underfunded in Ukraine, as international funding is funnelled through bigger international NGOs. ActionAid have been supporting these locally led women’s organisations by funding and delivering capacity strengthening opportunities through training and mentoring for the groups. Additionally, ActionAid have been supporting these organisations’ support costs, and some staff costs, as the majority of those working for them are volunteers. In this way, those closest to, and with the most knowledge of, the communities they work in, are supported through training and funding to reach vulnerable groups in need, as well as being supported to access and secure other sources of
Tamara* (33), poses for a photo during a vocational training session in tailoring. A DEC member charity helps rebuild livelihoods and communities in Ukraine.
Nina* (L) and Symon* (R) during their knitting session. DEC charities worked with a local partner at a Children’s Centre in Odesa.
DEC UKRAINE HUMANITARIAN APPEAL |
CASH PROGRAMMING
Provision of cash and vouchers has been crucial in the Ukraine response. Cash provides choice and autonomy; recipients of cash can choose what they need most, whether it is food, medicine, or blankets for their families. Many DEC charities have prioritised the provision of delivering cash payments and vouchers for affected communities over the last two years.
For example, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) provided cash in Ukraine to people like Badri. Badri is a 54-year-old man from Mykolaiv, Ukraine. As the conflict in Ukraine escalated, Badri found himself caught in the conflict and experiencing a very close call. A cluster rocket exploded near his home, causing shrapnel to become lodged in his leg and injuring him just above the knee. With their living conditions worsening in Mykolaiv city, Badri, his wife and son moved to their country house, however, the family had to move again as fighting intensified in this region.
Badri was grateful when he received a call from his company informing him that the IRC pre-identified him as eligible for cash assistance: “Of course, it is such a help [this IRC programme], even if it is a one-time assistance. Many people don’t even have savings now. Imagine how exhausted people are.”
Badri plans to use the cash assistance to support his family and buy firewood for when their electricity is cut off, enabling them to cook, and stay warm.
Ground Truth Solutions (GTS) cash study
What do people in Ukraine think about the humanitarian assistance they receive, and how can it be improved? To find out, in June 2022, the DEC commissioned ‘Perceptions of Aid’ studies. During the year-long series of studies, GTS used quantitative and qualitative approaches and their partners spoke to more than 4,000 people in Ukraine, and also conducted research in Poland, Romania and Moldova.
The GTS research findings were used by humanitarian organisations working in Ukraine to inform their work, ensuring that affected populations lead improvements to programmes in real-time, and strengthen them in the long term, based on their voices, feedback and experience in identifying possible gaps and barriers to access. They notably provided information on the refugees and displaced populations preferred type of assistance, which was very often to receive cash transfers, and the most adapted communication channels for humanitarians to inform people about their rights to receive assistance and the way to apply for it.
Zeyneb
Alhindawi
/The International Rescue Committee
Badri* registers for a cash transfer programme at a site on the outskirts of Mykolaiv.
PROTECTION PROGRAMMING
Protection for families and communities remains a major factor in Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis. Children and vulnerable adults continue to endure trauma and rights violations, leading to a rise in mental health issues and severely impacting children’s wellbeing and education.
With DEC funds over the last year, Plan International UK, alongside local partners, have prioritised delivering legal assistance and advice for families, therapy sessions and psychosocial support, and access to support through mobile teams in difficult to reach areas.
Hanna, a displaced person from Mykolaiv region said of Plan International UK and their local partner’s support: “This is a great, unlimited support for our family. Within the framework of this project and with the assistance of the specialists working in it, our family received financial assistance […] for the treatment and examination of our son, who was diagnosed with autism. We have received significant humanitarian aid on several occasions, and the project’s specialists helped us to get it, because my husband and I work and cannot get it in time. When our family was confused and could not understand how to live with our son’s diagnosis of autism, it was the specialists of the “Family and Community” project who supported us.”
“…Within the framework of the “early intervention” service, the specialists of this project helped me a lot to understand how to organise household chores and classes with my son with autism.”
SHELTER
Over the last two years, millions of people in Ukraine have been uprooted from their homes, either to seek out areas of safety away from fighting, or due to their houses being damaged from bombs and airstrikes. DEC charities have been supporting those affected with emergency shelter, crucial items such as blankets and heaters to keep warm, and materials to help repair damaged homes. CAFOD and their local partner Depaul Ukraine have been delivering these critical interventions inside Ukraine, helping people like Sasha.
37-year-old Sasha is from Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, where she lived with her husband and two children before the escalation of the conflict. On 24th February 2022, everything changed. “We did not evacuate because we were afraid. It was too scary to go to the evacuation point. Public transport was no longer working. At any moment, a fragment from a rocket could fall on our heads.”
After finding information about a hostel in Kyiv, run by Depaul, and funded by CAFOD with donations to the DEC appeal, through Facebook, Sasha and her family now have a safe place to stay.
“We live here now, and my husband and I are thinking of renting a room here with our own money. It is better than renting an apartment. We are used to this place. There are nice people [here] and everyone is friendly – no one quarrels with one another. The shower and rooms are always clean here. Galya, the cleaner, is very good. The hostel manager ensures that the rooms are clean. We love this place.”
Yulia and Kateryna* in conversation in a public bomb shelter in Kharkiv. As winter sets in for Ukraine, recent targeting of civilian infrastructure means many face the cold without heating or electricity. DEC charities worked with a local partner to keep people safe and warm.
Sasha* from Luhansk region, Ukraine now has a safe place to stay in a hostel in Kyiv funded by a DEC member charity.
NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES
HOW WE’RE HELPING: REFUGEES
TWO YEARS ON: HOW DEC CHARITIES ARE RESPONDING IN NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES
Over the last two years DEC member charities have continued to use appeal funds to help refugees in four of Ukraine’s bordering countries; Poland, Romania, Moldova and Hungary. The majority of funding allocated and interventions delivered have been in Poland and Romania, the countries within the DEC response that have received the largest numbers of refugees from Ukraine, and where many DEC members are responding.
How funds have been spent in Ukraine from March 2022 – February 2024
Children from Ukraine take part in nature learning activities at a safe space in Warsaw, Poland. DEC funds help the centre provides psychological support, legal advice, mentoring, education, language skills and other assistance to refugees.
Rotislav* and Alla*, refugees from Ukraine, at a centre in Bucharest. DEC funds help to provide integration assistance for refugees in Romania
© Adrian Catu/DEC
ii
REGIONAL RESPONSE EXPENDITURE: DEC MEMBERS AND PARTNERS
Funds raised by the DEC for this appeal are allocated to 13 member charities responding. They work directly with communities and through local, national and other partners.
DEC FUNDED RESPONSE
Over the last two years, DEC member charities have worked with 107 local/national partners across Poland, Romania, Moldova and Hungary as part of their DEC funded response.
Civil society organisations in Poland, Romania, Moldova and Hungary have been at the heart of the refugee response since the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine despite facing organisational and political challenges. These challenges include bureaucratic hurdles, and a lack of operational and programmatic capacity in some cases, as many partners had little previous humanitarian response experience, especially at this scale, and funding access complexity and dependence on international donors to access this.
International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs), including DEC member charities, are having to decrease country presence and service delivery in the region due to diminishing resources, opening a gap between the persisting needs of refugees and the services available. The DEC is therefore preparing for the future by working to support responsible exit and transition strategies in relation to the end of the DEC funded response, notably by accelerating the transfer of knowledge and capacity from INGOs and key local and national organisations to ensure that the national civil society is better prepared to handle the upcoming post-humanitarian response reality, where needs prevail but international support dissipates.
An example of this in action is Plan International’s work in Romania through a local partner called Carusel, which is assisting refugees from Ukraine with safe spaces in the community. Veronica, a 32-year-old single mother from Chernivtsi, found herself displaced by the ongoing war in Ukraine, settling in Romania. Veronica found support in the services provided by Carusel, particularly the women’s counselling sessions. These sessions offered a safe space for Veronica and others like her to address their emotional needs and cope with the stress of displacement. Through tailored integration processes, Carusel facilitated access to mental well-being services, recognising the importance of supporting women in vulnerable situations and strengthening their coping mechanisms. By supporting local organisations such as Carusel, through funding and organisational capacity strengthening, these entities will be in a position to support affected communities even after DEC funding has ended.
CASH PROGRAMMING
Providing cash payments has been crucial in the regional refugee response since 2022. The spending of cash in host countries also helps support local economies and businesses. As a result, DEC charities have prioritised providing cash for those affected by the crisis, both refugees and the host communities over the last two years.
Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe, and while the country continues to host refugees, the crisis has had a significant impact on local communities. Therefore, World Vision have been providing vouchers for essential items for both refugee families, and vulnerable host communities in Moldova; economic support has been vital for those who have little to fall back on. Dumitrita from Moldova has two children who are just two years old. She received a voucher for food and said: “We really needed help and didn’t know what to do anymore, we were contacted by the municipality because we were on the list of the most vulnerable and were invited here for the distribution. Thank you very much to the donors because I really needed it. Now I will be able to get milk and rolls for my daughter, which have become expensive for us”.
Other people in the community have similar needs, as is the case for Liuda, a refugee from Ukraine, and her 10-year-old son, she said:
“These vouchers are essential for us, allowing us to have a breath of relief when we go to the shop. In Moldova, the price increase is very much felt, so I really thank the donors for this help.”
Dumitrita* and her son Daria*, just a few moments after they receive the vouchers, in the Municipality hall of a city in Moldova.
LIVELIHOODS
Poland is one of the countries hosting the largest number of refugees from Ukraine, two years on from the start of the crisis, and is grappling with the complex situation of social and economic inclusion of new arrivals and those who have remained in the country since 2022. Despite the crucial role of the Polish support system which continues to assist refugees, refugee households struggle to afford goods due to rising living costs and reduced income, limited employment opportunities and the language barrier.
Therefore, with DEC funds, International Rescue Committee (IRC) has prioritised supporting refugees to start businesses enabling them to support their families with the income. Anna lives in Katowice in Poland. She and her two children joined her husband who is also from Ukraine and was already living in Poland. Anna, a marketing specialist, and brand manager from her hometown Dnipro, decided to turn her hobby of baking cakes into a business in Poland. Starting from home, she pursued a business course and received a grant from the IRC. With this support, she opened her own bakery and is continuing to expand her business.
Anna describes her work as her source of satisfaction, which now also provides her with income. A significant advantage is the autonomy she has over her time. She can accompany her children to events or competitions during the day and then manage her work in the afternoons and evenings. This flexibility allows her to balance her family and professional responsibilities effectively.
Valentina*, a participant in the DEC-funded project in Moldova, while getting her hair done at a celebration to honour Ukrainian women refugees. The event gathered around 80 women from
who had fled to Moldova to escape the ongoing conflict in their country. Through the project, a local partner provides vocational training and employment opportunities to help these women regain their dignity and rebuild their lives.
PROTECTION AND EDUCATION PROGRAMMING
Romania continues to play a crucial part in hosting refugees who have crossed the border from Ukraine, either directly or having passed through Moldova, as well as those who had spent time in other countries before reaching Romania, due to its service provision and support from the government. While refugees in Romania have been granted temporary protection and access to services and national systems to support them, local organisations, partners, and humanitarian agencies have been filling the gaps where services are stretched and support more limited.
With DEC funds, Save the Children has been working with local authorities in Romania to ensure that children at risk are provided with shelter, accommodation, education, and other crucial services they require, after being uprooted from their homes. Save the Children have supported Sara*, who was only four years old when she had to flee from Ukraine with her brother, travelling to Romania to seek refuge. In this unfamiliar place, they were met at the border of Sculeni (border between Romania and Moldova) by the agency, and taken to safe housing, where they have lived for two years. Save the Children supported the two children by helping them integrate into the Romanian education system.
Now, even though Sara is still supported by a Ukrainian speaking teacher, Sara is learning to read and write in Romanian, and is enjoying chatting with other children in her class. Thanks to Save the Children’s programmes, Sara and her brother have been able to restart their education and access the services they need in a safe and supportive environment.
Ukraine,
Matvi* (6) at a child friendly space with facilitator and psychologists, Brandusha in Bucharest, Romania.
© Eugene Combo/Christopher Lete