“I am continually inspired by the strength and courage of the Ukrainian people. As I have travelled to Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and most recently to Kramatorsk and Lyman, I have seen for myself how the disruption of essential services such as electricity, water and heating affects people.
UNICEF has initiated the distribution of winter clothing to families in the eastern regions of Ukraine.
Planning for the future of Ukraine
Humanitarian organizations have set up mechanisms for emergency response to evolving and escalating needs across the country. We have demonstrated flexibility and impact time and time again and will continue to do so.
While humanitarian assistance must continue at a sufficient scale to support the most vulnerable, recovery efforts must be pursued and scaled up to offer medium-term and more sustainable solutions for the most affected communities and populations. These require important and steady financial resources over the medium and long term allocated efficiently and transparently, and, of course, planning.
In my meetings with leaders across the regions, I have been impressed by their focus on planning for the future. They are preparing for long-term solutions while remaining flexible in addressing pressing everyday issues imposed by the ongoing war.
At the UN, we are considering various scenarios to tackle the uncertainty of the future. Of course, we must support further contingency planning and help ensure that humanitarian response continues. At the same time critical priorities like demining as a pre-condition for economic recovery, housing solutions for displaced people or addressing veterans’ needs, demand planning and a high level of coordination among UN agencies, the Ukrainian government, donors, and INGOs (International Non-Governmental Organizations).
As I saw in a trip to Izium in the Kharkiv region, agriculture, which is vital for sustaining local communities, faces compounded risks due to widespread explosive remnants of war.
Farmers plant their fields to support their families, fearing they will drive over a mine or unexploded ordnances. It is very compelling to see the government, NGOs and the UN – in this case FAO and WFP – working together to combine humanitarian mine clearance of agricultural land and help farmers regain their agricultural livelihood.
Another example is equipping water wells in Mykolaiv Region with solar energy driven pumps that decrease dependency on the grid and are a precursor for green recovery. And I have seen classrooms built in underground metro stations to keep education going and balance the challenges of online education. All these are wonderful examples that we need to scale up with whatever resources are available.”