Ukraine Humanitarian Fund Annual Report 2023 - Ukraine (2024)

Humanitarian Context and Allocations

In Ukraine, the war that started in the east of the country in 2014 has reached its 10-year mark, inflicting immeasurable suffering, causing deaths and destruction, putting millions at risk of serious violations, and generating grave humanitarian needs. The dramatic escalation of the war since the Russian Federation’s invasion of 24 February 2022 continued to intensify steadily in 2023, ravaging front-line communities and adding to the widespread destruction of vital infrastructure that had already decimated essential services across the country. Over 17.6 million people – about 40 per cent of the Ukrainian population, required humanitarian assistance in 2023.

Needs are also high among the nearly 4 million people who are internally displaced across Ukraine, particularly some 111,500 people currently living in collective sites. Prolonged displacement has pushed many to the brink, as they have depleted their resources and capacity to cope with the loss of jobs or income, increasing their exposure to exploitation and abuse and increasing the possibility of resorting to negative coping strategies. For many, returning home will not be an option until houses have been rebuilt and basic services restored in areas of origin. At the same time, violence has pushed thousands to flee again, mainly in areas around Kharkivska and Sumska oblasts.

Over 3.3 million people need assistance in the front-line communities in the east and south of Ukraine. In these communities – including the territories occupied by the Russian Federation – millions struggle to have adequate access to water, food, a roof over their heads, health, protection and other essential services and supplies. In central and western oblasts, millions need humanitarian services, including home repairs and reconstruction, psycho-social support, livelihoods training and social cohesion support.

In June, the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Khersonska Oblast brought additional challenges in a region where hostilities were particularly intense during the entire year. The blast resulted in a significant drop in water level in the Kakhovka Reservoir, adding another emergency to the existing humanitarian crisis. The aftermath included an unverified number of civilian casualties, widespread flooding, damage to and loss of homes and essential services, interruption of sustainable water access for hundreds of thousands, and vast agricultural lands left without irrigation.

In 2023, homes, schools and hospitals continued to be bombed every day, with attacks spiking towards the end of the year. The destruction left nearly 720,000 people in the worst-affected parts of Ukraine with no access to adequate and safe housing. In Khersonska Oblast, for example, nearly 30 per cent of people live in damaged buildings. Access to education remained highly constrained, with around 4,000 educational facilities damaged or destroyed since February 2022.

Across the country, only 50 per cent of children attended classes entirely in person, 25 per cent had learned through a mixed in-person and online approach, and another 25 per cent have only online access to studies. Almost half of all educational institutions were damaged or destroyed in Kharkivska and Khersonska oblasts alone, and a staggering 80 per cent in Donetska Oblast, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Education. Access to health was also impacted, with over 1,500 attacks on health care verified by the World Health Organization (WHO) between 24 February 22 and 31 December 2024. Nearly half of health centres were rendered non-functional in some parts in the east and south of Ukraine.

The ongoing contamination from land mines and explosive ordnance further complicates the situation. Ukraine is potentially considered one of the world’s most mine-contaminated countries in the world. The situation has significantly worsened since the escalation of the war in February 2022, with the number of mine-related incidents in 2023 causing civilian casualties steadily increasing each month, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission (HRMMU).

By December, approximately 11 million people had received at least one form of humanitarian assistance and protection services, close to the 11.1 million people targeted for assistance under the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP). At least 60 per cent were women and girls, and nearly 20 per cent were children. To ensure adequate support to 17.6 million people in need of assistance, aid organizations in Ukraine expanded their operations in 2022 and continued to adapt to new challenges in 2023. Despite continuous efforts by partners, some activities, particularly related to the provision of essential services in areas close to the front line, were affected by insecurity and access challenges. However, aid delivery to communities along the front line steadily increased throughout the year. Inter-agency convoys reached communities where massive destruction had severely impacted livelihoods and services. Partners working in northern oblasts undertook missions to assist communities in Chernihivska and Sumska oblasts that the Russian Federation continued to attack. In 2023, the UHF partners targeted approximately 3.2 million people affected by the war with assistance, including 1.5 million women and girls and more than 480,000 people with disabilities.

Under the revised Winter Response Plan, humanitarian partners made efforts to support people ahead of the winter. By the end of December, aid organizations had reached 1.7 million people with specific winter supplies and services. This included solid fuel and cash for fuel to ensure heating for over 710,000 people, winter clothes for 230,000 people, and support for the operation and maintenance of district heating systems for over 410,000 people, among other activities.

From January to December, 107 inter-agency convoys were dispatched to deliver life-saving supplies to people close to the front line, where needs were direst. These humanitarian convoys – an average of nine per month – transported items critical for winter, such as high thermal blankets, stoves, heaters and generators as well as repair materials and emergency food to almost 400,000 people in front-line communities in Dnipropetrovska, Donetska, Kharkivska, Khersonska, Sumska and Zaporizka oblasts.

By the end of 2023, aid organizations had reported 227 incidents affecting humanitarian operations in the country, averaging four a week. Over 30 of these incidents involved violence against humanitarian personnel, and at least 55 were strikes and attacks causing damage or destruction of humanitarian warehouses, facilities and assets. These were mainly concentrated in areas where fighting and hostilities were most intense and humanitarian needs were high. In December alone, five NGO warehouses were hit in Khersonska Oblast, damaging tons of relief items. Attacks caused the death of at least 15 aid workers and injured another 35. Eleven of the aid workers were killed in the line of duty.

At the end of December, funding against the 2023 HRP totalled nearly 70 per cent of the US$3.9 billion requested for aid operations in Ukraine.

Almost 600 humanitarian organizations implemented activities under the 2023 HRP in Ukraine.
Of these, more than 430 were national organizations. The UHF continued its efforts to strengthen the localization of the response, ensuring that national and local NGOs, often front-line responders, were further supported and actively represented and participated in the coordination mechanisms.
Moreover, through its mandate, OCHA enhanced the Humanitarian Country Team’s (HCT) efforts in providing strategic support for the localization agenda and advocating to enhance the duty of care for aid workers.