With nearly 100 days of Ukraine war, three million children inside Ukraine and over 2.2 million children in refugee-hosting countries are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to UNICEF.
In its new analysis and report, the UNICEF said that almost two out of every three children have been displaced by fighting. Based on reports verified by OHCHR, the UNICEF stated that on average more than two children are killed and more than four injured each day in Ukraine – mostly in attacks using explosive weapons in populated areas.
It said that civilian infrastructure on which children depend continues to be damaged or destroyed; this so far includes at least 256 health facilities and one in six UNICEF-supported ‘Safe Schools’ in the country’s east. It also mentioned that hundreds of other schools across the country have also been damaged. Conditions for children in eastern and southern Ukraine where fighting has intensified are increasingly desperate.
Meanwhile, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Rusell said “June 1 is International Day for the Protection of Children in Ukraine and across the region. Instead of celebrating the occasion, we are solemnly approaching June 3 – the 100th day of a war that has shattered the lives of millions of children. Without an urgent ceasefire and negotiated peace, children will continue to suffer – and fallout from the war will impact vulnerable children around the world.”
CHILD PROTECTION CRISIS
Stressing that the war has caused an acute child protection crisis, the UN Organisation said that children fleeing violence are at significant risk of family separation, violence. abuse, sexual exploitation, and trafficking. Most have been exposed to deeply traumatic events. These children urgently need safety, stability, child protection service, and psychosocial support, especially those who are unaccompanied or have been separated from their families. More than anything, they need peace, it said.
UNICEF IN UKRAINE
UNICEF and partners have distributed life-saving health and medical supplies for nearly 2. 1 million people in war-affected areas: enabled access to safe water for over 2.1 million people living in areas where networks have been damaged or destroyed; reached over 6,10,000 children and caregivers with mental health and psychosocial support: and provided learning supplies to nearly 2,90,000 children. Almost 3,00,000 vulnerable families have registered for a UNICEF-Ministry of Social Policy humanitarian cash assistance programme.
In refugee-hosting countries. UNICEF supports national, municipal and local systems that deliver essential services and protection, particularly for the most vulnerable children This includes anti-trafficking training for border guards: expanding learning opportunities and integrating refugee children into schools; procuring vaccines and medical supplies and establishing play and learning hubs that provide young children with a much-needed sense of normalcy and respite.
Twenty-five UNICEF-UNHCR Blue Dotz-one-stop safe havens that provide support and services for families on the move, have been established along major transit routes in Moldova, Romania, Poland, Italy, Bulgaria and Slovakia. In Moldova, over 52,000 refugees, mostly in female-headed households, have been reached through a UNICEF-UNHCR multi-purpose cash assistance programme
