Humanity & Inclusion has 238 team members on the ground in Ukraine and Moldova, providing inclusive humanitarian aid ranging from rehabilitation care and mental health support to risk education and logistics services.
After one year of conflict, more than 40% of the Ukrainian population is in need of humanitarian assistance. In ongoing attacks, civilians remain the most affected by daily airstrikes and shelling, with 18,955 civilian casualties recorded: 7,199 killed and 11,756 injured. More than 17 million people are in need of multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance in 2023, including 6.3 million internally displaced people, 4.4 million returnees and 6.9 million people who have remained at home throughout the war.
Civilian infrastructure has been severely damaged, limiting access to electricity, telecommunications, food, water, heat and medical care. People are at higher risk in the coming months due to reduced access to essential services, and the harsh ongoing winter conditions. An estimated 10 million people will require psychosocial support from trauma associated with the conflict.
HI’s response is focused on the following humanitarian needs:
- Health (rehabilitation, mental health and psychosocial support);
- Basic needs (basic non-food items);
- Protection (inclusive and accessible humanitarian assistance);
- Armed violence reduction (explosive ordnance risk education)
- Pooled logistics services (storage, delivery and transportation of humanitarian goods).
Across Ukraine, HI has 225 staff in Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Poltava and Kyiv. Another 13 team members are working in neighboring Moldova.
Health: Improving access to rehabilitation and mental health support
In various facilities housing people in Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia and Dnipro and eight hospitals in Lviv and Dnipro, HI is providing physical and functional rehabilitation services to injured people, people with disabilities and others displaced by the conflict. The organization has trained hospital staff in specialized rehabilitation services such as burn and post-amputation care and reinforces hospital capacities to meet the increased emergency demand. In Lviv in particular, HI supports a service treating severe burns. More than 4,000 rehabilitation sessions have been provided so far to 354 severely burned patients.
More than 1,300 assistive devices such as wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, canes and adapted supplies have been provided to older people and individuals with specific needs in collective centers and health centers. This also includes rehabilitation equipment such as massage tables and parallel bars donated to health facilities.
In January, HI imported 50 emergency prosthetics kits following the initial training of health staff in Kyiv and Lviv in December. An additional 140 emergency kits are also under procurement and will be imported to Ukraine in the coming months. Soon, teams in Lviv will begin fitting patients with artificial limbs.
Mental health and psychosocial support has been identified as a priority need for conflict-affected populations and staff responding to the crisis. HI provides psychosocial support and recreational activities for conflict-affected people in 11 facilities in Chernivtsi and Dnipro and in five centers hosting Ukrainian refugees in Moldova. HI also supports a 24-hour hotline, which provides mental health support to callers from across the country in collaboration with the University of Medical Psychology of Chernivtsi and a local Ukrainian psychology organization.
Basic Needs: Providing essential items to conflict-affected households
HI is responding to the most acute needs of displaced people hosted by the local population or living in collective centers. HI has been supporting the functioning of collective centers to ensure that conflict-affected populations have access to sufficient and appropriate hygiene and non-food items such as bedding, soap, and cleaning supplies, as well as tailored items for infants, older people and people with disabilities.
More than 3,200 hygiene kits have been distributed, including family hygiene kits, baby supply kits and kits for people with special needs. In Dnipro, HI has also distributed 737 winter kits including blankets and warm clothes. So far, HI has helped 7,000 individuals with this outreach and provided hygiene supplies to 23 total collective centers housing displaced people. HI is also providing financial support to ensure that displaced people are able to meet their basic needs including food, water and essential medication, as well as supporting two ongoing renovations to make collective centers more accessible for persons with disabilities. So far, 2,977 individuals have received financial support totaling more than $500,000.
Protection: Ensuring inclusive humanitarian actions
HI conducts training for humanitarian actors in order to strengthen their capacities to deliver more inclusive humanitarian services to people with disabilities and other demographics that may be left behind. In Dnipro, HI assessed 28 collective centers and referred 669 people to relevant services that can meet their individual needs.
In Moldova, HI is preparing to launch accessibility renovations and distribution of winterization items. So far, 690 people have benefited from various donations of tailored essentials and other items like school supplies and winter boots.
Armed Violence Reduction: Mitigating the effects of explosive ordnance on civilians
Displaced families returning home face increased risks of encountering explosive ordnance left from warfare or being exposed to bombing and shelling attacks. In this context, HI conducts conflict preparedness and protection (CPP) and explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) sessions to empower individuals to identify signs of hazard in areas contaminated by explosive ordnance and to better protect themselves with safe behaviors. HI trains humanitarian workers and members of the volunteer network in explosive ordnance risk education in Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Poltava and Dnipro.
More than 15,000 people have participated in more than 500 education sessions held online and in person. HI experts have trained 29 humanitarian actors and 33 community focal points in best practices.
Humanitarian Logistics Services: Enhancing accessibility and availability
Through its Atlas Logistics platform, HI continues to support and facilitate the immediate delivery of humanitarian goods to conflict-affected populations through common storage and transportation services. Teams focus on providing temperature-controlled storage for environment-sensitive medical supplies, as well as last-mile transportation to communities near the frontlines of conflict. Operational logistics hubs have already been secured in Vinnytsia, Dnipro and Kharkiv.
Since the beginning of our activities, HI has ensured the successful delivery of 887 shipments, with 46% of operations including regions close to the frontline. The organization’s logistics platform is supporting 15-20 shipments of vital goods per week to help humanitarian actors ensure that conflict-affected populations meet their essential needs.
HI's response: By the numbers
- Physical rehabilitation: 6,963 sessions with 783 patients in Ukraine
- Burn treatment: 354 patients with severe burns received specialized rehabilitation care
- Assistive and mobility devices: 1,388 donated to individuals and hospitals
- Mental health and psychosocial support: 557 group sessions and 1,604 individual sessions reaching 2,115 people in Ukraine; 212 group sessions and 57 individual sessions reaching 571 refugees in Moldova
- Health staff training: 176 workers trained in early rehabilitation and psychological first aid
- Hygiene kits: 3,273 kits distributed to households and 23 collective centers supported with supplies
- Non-food items/Winter kits: 737 kits distributed in Ukraine and 1,284 in Moldova
- Multi-purpose cash assistance: Money distributed to 2,977 to be spent on basic needs
- Armed violence reduction: 15,000 people participated in 500 risk education sessions
- Humanitarian goods: 887 shipments facilitated, delivering more than 12,274 tons of supplies