Humanitarian aid in Ukraine under pressure: war, financial recession and security challenges

The Alliance of Ukrainian Civil Society Organizations (UCSO) and the Platform of Humanitarian Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have raised around EUR 5.4 billion for the humanitarian response in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, and have provided assistance to victims 69 million times in various areas - from evacuation to assistance to victims of shelling.

This was stated by the Director of the Alliance, Mila Leonova, during a discussion at the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency with the participation of representatives of Ukrainian and international humanitarian organizations, which have been working to mobilize all the resources needed to help Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion.

However, the participants of the event emphasized that all achievements come at a high price - primarily for the humanitarian sector workers themselves, who risk their safety and mental health.

The main challenges of the humanitarian response

Humanitarian workers in Ukraine work in extremely difficult conditions every day. As noted by Józef Lang, Deputy Director of the International NGO Safety Organization in Ukraine, the number of casualties among humanitarian workers is increasing.

“While last year we recorded at least 150 incidents that affected humanitarian workers or the property of humanitarian organizations, during which at least 11 workers or volunteers were killed and 29 more were injured, in the first half of this year alone we have recorded at least 98 such incidents. As a result, six people died and 29 more were injured - that is, the same number as in the entire last year,” he stressed.

In May 2024, Switzerland led the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution No. 2730, which for the first time in history focuses exclusively on the protection of humanitarian personnel, noted Serge Umov, Head of Humanitarian Assistance in Ukraine of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

“The document pays special attention to national and local workers, who make up the vast majority of those affected. This issue is becoming increasingly important, because last year the largest number of victims was recorded among humanitarian workers, and the vast majority of them were national workers. It is very important to remember this and strive for real change,” he noted. 

At the same time, according to Umov, the humanitarian sphere around the world is experiencing a recession and funding is being reduced. Insufficient support forces organizations to concentrate resources only on frontline regions, leaving displaced people in central and western regions out of consideration.

"For a large number of internally displaced people who went to the central and western regions, there is essentially no funding. This does not mean that we do not need to help the frontline areas, indeed, this is our focus. But the distribution of resources needs to be harmonized," emphasized Oleksandra Buhlak, Deputy Director of the Humanitarian Platform NGO.

This tendency leads to a dangerous "trend" - the displaced, having not received support in safer regions, return home to the frontline areas.

"There are facts of injuries, even deaths of internally displaced persons with children in the Donetsk region, who were evacuated and returned," said Oksana Kuyantseva, a member of the board of the SOS East Foundation.

The human resources of humanitarian organizations are also being depleted. "We calculated that since 2022, we have provided more than 3 million services, and accordingly, our employees have been burdened with more than 3 million difficult stories. These are witness trauma, burnout, cognitive exhaustion, post-traumatic states - especially among those working in frontline areas. We have come to the need to create a formula for psychological resilience that should be available not only to psychologists or social workers, but to everyone who encounters beneficiaries or processes their stories. It is important that every worker knows how not only to provide psychological first aid, but also to receive it - and, if necessary, to provide it to themselves,” said Iryna Maksymenko, head of the psychological support program of Caritas Ukraine.

 

How to help someone who helps others?

The participants of the event see the implementation of the Duty of Care approach as one of the solutions to these problems - the moral and legal obligation of organizations to take care of the safety of their employees. In partnership with the Alliance of Ukrainian CSOs and the Humanitarian Platform of NGOs, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation has developed a minimum Duty of Care package, which includes insurance, psychosocial support, individual first-aid kits, protective equipment and safety training.

“We believe that these five elements are the minimum to ensure the protection of volunteers, and we call on large international organizations, as well as other donors, not to forget to include this package in their budgets when they implement humanitarian aid projects,” emphasized the program coordinator of the Swiss Embassy's Humanitarian Aid Office, Oleg Masyk.

"Staff and volunteers are the greatest asset of any organization. When we protect and care for people who help people, we strengthen support for affected communities. Thanks to this, the humanitarian sector can improve its resilience, equity and justice," said Olivier Vandecastille, Director of Protect Humanitarians.

The founder of the Kharkiv mission, Ross Skavronsky, called for making Duty of Care the basis of a sustainable social package for humanitarian organizations. "Today, international organizations offer such packages that national ones cannot compete with. Because of this, many employees are moving to international structures. To strengthen Ukrainian organizations, we must see this package as a long-term investment in people," he said.

According to the head of the government relations department of the Alliance of Ukrainian Civil Society Organizations, the Duty of Care approach has already received support from the Office of the President of Ukraine and the relevant ministry. At the same time, the Vice President for Strategic Partnerships of the Eastern Europe Foundation, Vira Nedzvedska, called on the sector to unite for changes in legislation to implement the Duty of Care approach at the national level.

Deputy Director General for Program Development and Innovation of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, Ilia Kletskovsky, also emphasized the need for systematic monitoring of attacks on humanitarian sector workers as a violation of international humanitarian law. “When humanitarian workers or facilities of humanitarian importance suffer as a result of military actions, this is a violation of international humanitarian law. We must create a system where violations of this law can be recorded,” he said.

The participants of the event also agreed that certain shifts in emphasis are necessary in the direction of financing.

Leonova emphasized that the issue of financing cannot be left solely on the shoulders of international donors. “We must now think not only about institutional donors, but we must think about how we can mobilize internal resources within Ukraine, how we should work with our partners, such as the private sector, how to strengthen trust between us. And in exactly the same way - to work with the state,” she noted.

Umov emphasized that it is important to see new opportunities under any conditions and suggested focusing on localizing support to strengthen the capabilities of Ukrainian organizations.