2022/3/4

Save The Children scale-up delivery essential humanitarian aid to children & families in Ukraine

There is no safe place in Ukraine, and the situation is changing by the hour. All children in Ukraine are now in grave danger of physical harm and severe emotional distress. Children have already lived through eight years of conflict, enduring violence, shelling, and being displaced from their homes.

As the ongoing escalation of Ukraine conflict, Save the Children will respond immediately when the security situation allows. An initial 6-week rapid response phase will prioritise delivery of MultiPurpose Cash and Vouchers Assistance, and responding to immediate needs of conflict-affected girls, boys and their communities in child protection, mental health and psychosocial support, and education.

Response activities will address longer-term needs, support initial recovery and to address response gaps in other sectors, such as Health and Nutrition, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and / or Shelter.

Save the Children has been operating in Ukraine since 2014 delivering essential humanitarian aid to children and their families in Eastern Ukraine. Our response distributed winter kits and hygiene kits, providing cash grants to families so they can meet basic needs such as food, rent and medicines, or so they can invest in starting new businesses. Our specialist teams are also equipped to provide children with access to safe, inclusive, quality education and are working with schools and community centres to help children overcome the mental and psychological impacts of their experiences of conflict and violence and increase their resilience and ability to cope with stresses in their daily lives.

Carol Szeto, CEO of Save the Children Hong Kong, “We watch in horror as the war in Ukraine escalates. The tragic reality is that 7.5 million children are caught in the middle of the war and are in immediate danger of physical harm, severe emotional distress and displacement. Our teams are working to reach as many children and families as they can with essential humanitarian aid. Now more important than ever, the children in Ukraine need our support.”

Our humanitarian response:

WASH

  • Distribute personal protective equipment, hygiene kits, including soap, washing powder and toothbrushes, to ensure that the most vulnerable people have access to critical, basic hygiene supplies

Child protection

  • Prevent and respond to child separation, through rapid registration of unaccompanied children, rapid family tracing, and support to families to prevent separation
  • Mobilise protection focal points and conduct service mapping, and establish helplines
  • Establish Child-Friendly Spaces to provide vulnerable children with safe and caring places to play, learn, and be children again
  • Deliver case management support to the most vulnerable children facing protection risks

Mental Health & Psychosocial support

  • Provide Psychological First Aid for children, caregivers, and humanitarian workers
  • Distribute recreational kits
  • Train school psychologists and teachers on how to provide psychosocial support to affected children

Education

  • Provide safe and supportive spaces for children to learn and play in pre-school early childhood care and development centres
  • Enable safe learning environments and conduct Education in Emergencies (EiE) programs, including distribution of Back to School Kits, Accelerated Learning Programs, and integrated mental health

Food security and livelihoods

  • Provide multi-purpose cash (MPC) to address basic needs
  • Provide voucher-based assistance focusing on basic needs and food, where MPC is not operationally feasible.