The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UN humanitarians bring aid to millions as the escalating war is taking a heavy toll on civilians
As the fighting continues unabated in Ukraine with devastating impact on communities particularly in the east and south of the country, UN humanitarian partners confirmed on Friday that they have continued to scale up urgently needed assistance.
Priority needs include providing more people with access to clean water and hygiene products as well as with emergency shelter and protection services.
“The escalating war is taking a heavy toll on civilians who live close to the frontlines, people who cannot go back to their homes, and people across the country living under almost daily threats of attacks,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) at a news briefing at the UN in Geneva. “‘Mine contamination’ is also a threat to farmers trying to return to their land and humanitarians delivering assistance,” he added.
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) estimates that on average more than 50 people are killed or injured by mines per month. The total number of casualties in Ukraine due to mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in 2023 is 263 killed or injured. However, actual figures might be considerably higher, OHCHR data indicates.
According to OCHA, humanitarian assistance has been provided by hundreds of humanitarian organizations working with local groups and community-based volunteers who play a vital role in getting the assistance delivered to the last mile.
Assistance has included cash to more than 2.1 million people and food for 3.5 million people, while nearly three million gained access to health services and medicines, said OCHA.
“By the end of April, we had reached 5.4 million people this year, around 800,000 people more than the total number assisted by the end of March. More than 60 per cent of those reached are women and girls,” said Mr. Laerke.
However, delivering vital humanitarian aid to villages and towns near the frontlines continues to be challenging.
“Assistance to areas under Russian military control remains extremely limited,” said OCHA’s spokesperson. “This year, because of the worsening security situation and shifts in the frontlines, humanitarian partners have lost access to almost 60,000 people in around 40 towns and villages close to the frontlines in the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions.”
At a scheduled briefing in Geneva, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported that the needs of people still directly affected by the war continue to grow. Speaking via Zoom from Budapest, IFRC’s Europe Regional Director Birgitte Bischoff Ebbesen said that “people displaced inside Ukraine are struggling with a lack of income and increased stress levels. And we have also seen deteriorating mental health conditions during our psychosocial support activities.”
Since 24 February 2022, more than eight million people have fled Ukraine to seek safety abroad. “People outside Ukraine are struggling financially. They have used up their savings now and lots of them have mounting debts. In many countries, the Red Cross societies are providing cash assistance to people in need,” Ms. Ebbesen added.
-ends-
STORY: Ukraine Humanitarian Needs- OCHA - IFRC
TRT: 01’59”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
RELEASE DATE: 26 May 2023
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot: UN flag alley UN Geneva.
- Wide shot of podium, speakers, journalists, conference room, Palais des Nations, Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “The escalating war is taking a heavy toll on civilians who live close to the frontlines, people who cannot go back to their homes, and people across the country living under almost daily threats of attacks. ‘Mine contamination’ is also a threat to farmers trying to return to their land and humanitarians delivering assistance.”
- Medium shot: journalists, laptops
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “By the end of April, we had reached 5.4 million people this year, around 800,000 people more than the total number assisted by the end of March. More than 60 per cent of those reached are women and girls.”
- Close-up: journalists in conference room
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Assistance to areas under Russian military control remains extremely limited. This year, because of the worsening security situation, and shifts in the frontlines, humanitarian partners have lost access to almost 60,000 people in around 40 towns and villages close to the frontlines in the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions.”
- Wide shot: journalists, with speakers visible on monitor in background
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Birgitte Bischoff Ebbesen, IFRC Europe regional director: “People displaced inside Ukraine are struggling with a lack of income, and increased stress levels. And we have also seen deteriorating mental health conditions during our psychosocial support activities. People outside Ukraine are struggling financially. They have used up their savings now, and lots of them have mounting debts. In many countries, the Red Cross societies are providing cash assistance to people in need.”
- Medium shot: journalists in room
- Wide shot: speaker, laptops in foreground
- Close up: journalist typing
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“Migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers in Libya are subjected to ruthless and systematic human rights violations and abuses, which include killings, torture, sexual violence and trafficking,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IOM
Four years of war in Ukraine: Childhood has ‘moved underground’, displacement continues – UN humanitarians
Civilian suffering shows no sign of letting up in Ukraine as the four-year-mark of Russia’s full-scale invasion nears amid attacks on energy infrastructure, blackouts and freezing temperatures, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday voiced concerns about the severe impacts on human rights of the socio-economic crisis in Cuba.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Madagascar: ‘Overwhelming’ destruction, surging needs after back-to-back cyclones – WFP
Some 10 days after tropical cyclone Fytia brought heavy rains and flooding to Madagascar, cyclone Gezani has left the island’s main port in ruins, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN rights chief urges de-escalation in Tigray amid rising tensions and violence.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , OHCHR
In Sudan, sick and starving children ‘wasting away’ – UN humanitarians
Relentless violence, famine and disease are picking off Sudan’s children while attacks on healthcare and a lack of aid access hamper efforts to help them, UN humanitarian agencies warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Monday gave an update to the Human Rights Council on the situation in El Fasher, Sudan.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“A series of new Israeli operations and settlement plans in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, risk seriously undermining the viability of a Palestinian state and the realisation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNIS
UN voices concern over chemical spraying incident on Lebanon’s Blue Line
The UN reiterated concerns on Friday at reports that Israeli forces sprayed herbicide over areas north of the Blue Line separating Lebanon from Israel. The development poses a “serious humanitarian risk” to civilians living there, said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), briefing journalists in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Gaza: Five patients evacuated as Rafah reopens while ‘too many stayed behind’ – WHO
As time is running out for thousands of critically ill patients in Gaza, hope is alive for medical evacuations to increase with the reopening of the Rafah crossing in the southern part of the Strip, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG , OHCHR
This Sunday marks five years of crisis in Myanmar. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights, and James Rodehaver, chief of the Myanmar team, today spoke on the conduct of recent military-imposed elections, deploring the failure to respect the fundamental human rights of the country’s citizens. The process served only to exacerbate violence and societal polarization.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Brutal Gaza war erased years of progress on education, in an “assault on the future itself” – UNICEF
Restoring Gaza’s shattered education system is “lifesaving” and getting children back into schools must be an immediate priority, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.