HIGHLIGHTS
Conflict continues to endanger civilians, hinder livelihood activities, and restrict movement
Ukraine’s winter season increases food, health, and shelter needs among vulnerable populations
USAID/OFDA partners provide critical health, protection, shelter, and WASH assistance to vulnerable populations in eastern Ukraine
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Despite numerous ceasefire agreements, including the December 23 armistice, daily clashes continue to result in civilian casualties and damage to critical infrastructure in the government-controlled area (GCA) and non-government controlled area (NGCA) near the contact line in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Nearly 40 percent of people living along the contact line are affected by shelling every day, the UN reports.
Conflict had affected approximately 4.4 million people in eastern Ukraine as of December, and more than 75 percent of the conflict-affected population required humanitarian assistance, according to the UN. On December 7, the UN released the 2018 Ukraine Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) requesting $187 million to reach an estimated 2.3 million people, particularly vulnerable populations near the contact line.
Humanitarian needs, particularly for food, health, and shelter, continue to increase in eastern Ukraine due to harsh winter conditions in the country’s November-to-March cold season. During the 2016/2017 cold season, more than 20 percent of households in the GCA and NGCA reported they were unable to meet basic food needs. Lack of heat is also a primary concern; insufficient electric utility maintenance poses a high risk of power cuts in 2018, while shelling continues to damage water pipes and stations, which may lead to failure of water-dependent heating systems.
In FY 2017, the U.S. Government (USG) provided more than $27 million—including approximately $9 million from USAID/OFDA and $3 million from USAID/FFP—in humanitarian assistance to meet the emergency food, health, protection, shelter, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs of conflict-affected populations in Ukraine.