Ukraine: EU boosts humanitarian aid with additional €50 million
As heavy fighting and missile strikes continue to destroy critical civilian infrastructure, humanitarian needs in Ukraine remain extremely high. Despite access and security constraints, EU humanitarian partners are providing assistance to vulnerable people in different regions of Ukraine.
The EU is allocating a further €50 million in humanitarian funding to support the people affected by Russia’s war on Ukraine, including €45 million for humanitarian projects in Ukraine and €5 million for Moldova. This brings the EU’s total humanitarian aid funding in response to the war to €143 million. This funding is part of the €1 billion support package pledged by the European Commission at last week’s global pledging event ‘Stand Up For Ukraine’.
This new funding will address the most pressing humanitarian needs by providing emergency medical services, access to safe drinking water and hygiene, shelter and protection, cash assistance, and support against gender-based violence.
Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said “With millions of people on the move or trapped in active war zones, the needs in Ukraine are already massive. Now, we need to be prepared for a further increase in Russia’s ruthless attacks on Ukraine, notably in the east. With this additional €50 million the EU continues to rapidly make available humanitarian funding to its partners in order to further scale-up the assistance. It will help people in hard-to-reach areas who are cut off from access to healthcare, water and electricity, and those, who have been forced to flee and leave everything behind. Ukraine, we are with you.”
Background
Following an invasion by Russia on 24 February, the humanitarian needs in Ukraine have risen to unprecedented levels. The ongoing hostilities endanger the lives of civilians and cause severe damage to housing, water and electricity supply, heating, but also public infrastructure such as schools, and health facilities. Many people have no access to basic needs. The population is exposed to shelling, armed violence, mines, family separation, looting or eviction, and human trafficking. There are high risks of gender-based violence against women and girls.
On 28 February, the European Commission announced €90 million for humanitarian aid programmes to help civilians affected by the war in Ukraine. This included respectively €85 million for Ukraine and €5 million for Moldova. On 10 March, the European Commission allocated further humanitarian funding of €3 million to Moldova to support those fleeing Ukraine.
The European Commission is also coordinating its largest ever civil protection operation to assist affected people both in Ukraine and its neighbouring countries. To date, more than 19 000 tonnes of assistance have been delivered to Ukraine from the EU’s logistics hubs in Poland, Slovakia and Romania. The assistance coordinated via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism includes essential supplies like medicines, food, power generators and shelter equipment.
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