How donations are helping people affected by conflict in Ukraine

In March 2022, the DEC launched an appeal to provide urgent aid to people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, where over 7 million people are now internally displaced and more than 6 million have fled across the border to become refugees.

The response from the British public has been incredible, raising over £380 million so far, including £25 million of match funding from the UK Government. 

Click here to see how your donations are helping a year on since the conflict began. 

13 DEC charities are responding to the crisis, providing emergency aid and support to families in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. With funds raised through the appeal they are supplying essential items like food, water and shelter for displaced families and medical support to health facilities including incubators for babies in Ukrainian hospitals. DEC charities and their local partners are also supporting vital protection work to ensure vulnerable people are kept safe.

In the first six months of the response, DEC charities have budgeted £81.3 million in DEC funds, with the remainder being spent over a period of three years. This will allow aid agencies to continue providing the immediate help people need now, as well as establish programmes to support them as they try to rebuild their lives in the months ahead.  

Here are some of the ways your donations have been helping over the first six months of the response to this crisis.

Critical health services

The conflict has created critical healthcare needs in Ukraine, where health facilities were already under strain from the Covid-19 pandemic and years of underinvestment. The urgent need to treat trauma patients is disrupting the provision of basic essential services, with the conflict driving shortages of staff and medical supplies at the same time as it creates a spike in public health risks due to displacement and poor shelter. Health services in neighbouring countries are also struggling to meet the needs of the sudden influx of refugees. 

DEC charities have worked in coordination with the Ukrainian authorities to provide primary healthcare services, providing trauma and first aid kits, surgical training, medicines, drugs, as well as repairing healthcare facilities supporting them with equipment such as incubators and oxygen compressors and vital pharmaceutical products. 

Immediate cash support

One of the most effective ways to support families on the move is to provide them with cash or vouchers so they can meet their own needs, as well as help local business owners. 

A large proportion the initial funds distributed will support the needs of affected people - internally displaced people, refugees, and in some cases members of the host communities - through this kind of cash payments that they can use to buy essentials such as food or medicines. This will be delivered using a variety of secure approaches such as pre-paid cards and digital transfers. 

Food supplies and meals for families

The conflict is disrupting supply chains in Ukraine. Farmers are likely to miss this year’s planting season and agricultural production is grinding to a halt. Food imports to replace lost yield are not scaling rapidly and the poorest are being left behind. In Ukraine, 1.8 million children under the age of five are estimated to need life-saving nutrition services. 

16% of funds allocated are planned to be spent on delivering food provisions (with staples including sugar, salt, oatmeal, canned sardines, white rice and black tea), hot meals or through supermarket vouchers. 

Clean water, sanitation and hygiene services

The conflict in Ukraine has damaged water supplies and infrastructure, leaving large numbers of people without clean drinking water. DEC charities have been working to repair water supplies.

The millions of people arriving into neighbouring countries, whether staying or transiting, has also created a critical need for water, sanitation and hygiene services. 

11% of DEC funds are planned to be spent on safe drinking water, hygiene information and hygiene kits. 

Protection for vulnerable people

Conflict inflicts physical and psychological trauma, with mental health disorders reported to affect one in five people in post-conflict settings. In response to the child protection risks, a network of ‘Blue Dot’ hubs at border sites and transit routes has been set up to address women and children’s immediate needs. This ensures all children are monitored, traced, protected and will arrive safely at their destinations, allowing effective case management for the most vulnerable children, as well as monitoring access to services. 

11% of funding is planned be spent on psychosocial support for women, children, older people and people with disabilities, as well as stress management training sessions. 

Shelter for displaced people

The conflict continues to damage physical infrastructure in Ukraine and large numbers of people on the move need temporary shelter, sleeping mats and bedding, and safe spaces to receive trauma care. 

2% of funds is planned to be spent on bed linen, blankets, towels, kitchen sets, jerry cans, buckets and other essential household items for displaced people and host communities.