GENEVA/KYIV, 19 February 2015 – The
United Nations delivered 62 metric tons of humanitarian aid to Donetsk today.
This includes essential hygiene items, warm clothes, blankets, condensed milk
powder, drinking water, and medical supplies procured by the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Among the estimated 5 million civilians affected by
the crisis in Ukraine, those people living in zones of active fighting are
particularly vulnerable, as they have limited access to humanitarian assistance.
This inter-agency convoy is only one of the many
initiatives the UN and its humanitarian partners are undertaking to provide
relief aid to those in need.
“The humanitarian needs in Ukraine are real and
intense. I have just returned from a quick visit to eastern Ukraine. It is
imperative we scale up: we are doing it. We revised the Humanitarian Response
Plan (HRP) and will launch it with support from Government and humanitarian
actors in the coming days. We cannot reach vulnerable people, especially those
in non-governmental controlled areas, without your funding and support", - stated
Neal Walker, UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator
“The
conflict in eastern Ukraine has displaced more than one million people in
Ukraine. However, many remain in the areas affected by fighting where
infrastructure and housing are damaged and basic services collapsed. We hope
that the assistance provided will alleviate the suffering of the neediest, in
particular, those staying in the makeshift shelters,” stressed Vanno
Noupech, UNHCR Deputy Representative for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.
“Children
living in or displaced from conflict-affected areas continue to bear the brunt
of the conflict,” said Giovanna Barberis, UNICEF Representative
in Ukraine. “It is critical to have continuous humanitarian access to
deliver aid to as many people and children in need as possible. Lack of food,
water shortages, hampered access to medical facilities in the areas of ongoing
fighting put children’s lives in danger, especially of the most vulnerable –
children living in bomb shelters and institutions, children with disabilities,
children affected by HIV,” she added.
“Health care
and health services have gone through a dramatic strain in Ukraine’s
conflict-affected areas,” said Dorit Nitzan, WHO Representative in
Ukraine. “Access to care is extremely constrained due to physical
destruction of health facilities, financial difficulties with professionals not
receiving payments and patients unable to provide out-of-pocket payments, and a
massive lack of medical supplies. With the generous support of the European
Commission, Canada, Israel, the Global Fund and Estonia, WHO is working
together with the health cluster partners, to fill these many gaps and provide
a lifeline for people and patients needing access to care, vaccines, and other
emergency and public health services".
Together with the humanitarian
organizations operating in Ukraine, UNHCR, UNICEF, and WHO, are concerned with
the absence of secured humanitarian access to deliver aid to children and
families affected by the conflict across the country. Since March 2014, over one
million people have been displaced within Ukraine. Of these, more than 134,000
are children. Displaced people affected by tuberculosis remain unmonitored and
HIV-positive patients have no access to medication. In addition, diseases
surveillance is broken and diseases outbreaks could reach catastrophic
consequences.
With the continuing flow of the displaced
population from the conflict-affected areas, the United Nations is scaling up
assistance in areas of difficult access as well as in other zones that
have already been reached.
***
United Nations
in Ukraine works
together with the people and the Government of Ukraine to protect the most
vulnerable, and build peace for sustainable transformation in Ukraine. The
United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Ukraine is composed of representatives of
16 UN funds and programmes, specialized agencies and other UN entities
accredited to Ukraine. www.un.org.ua,
@un_ukraine.
UNHCR - The
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, also known as the UN refugee
agency, was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General
Assembly. It is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to
protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is
to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that
everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another
State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to
resettle in a third country. It also has a mandate to help stateless people. In
more than six decades, the agency has helped tens of millions of people restart
their lives. http://www.unhcr.org -
@refugees - @refugeesmedia.
UNICEF – United
Nations Children Fund promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in
everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and
territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing
special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the
benefit of all children, everywhere. Follow UNICEF on Facebook and Twitter. For
more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org
WHO – World
Health Organisation is the directing and coordinating authority for health
within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on
global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and
standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical
support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends. In the 21st
century, health is a shared responsibility, involving equitable access to
essential care and collective defence against transnational threats. Follow us
on http://www.who.int;
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/who; Twitter
@WHO and http:// www.euro.who.int; Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/WHOEurope; Twitter
https://twitter.com/WHO_Europe
@WHO_Europe
Contacts
for additional information:
UN in Ukraine
UNHCR
UNICEF
WHO
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