Conflict-related displacement, collapse of government services, depreciation of the national currency and high levels of unemployment have exacerbated food insecurity among conflict-affected populations in both government-controlled areas (GCA) and non-government-controlled areas (NGCA) of eastern Ukraine. Humanitarian access is also highly constrained in NGCA, challenging the delivery of impartial assistance.
SITUATION
• Since March 2014, the conflict in eastern Ukraine has caused large-scale population displacement and widespread damage to infrastructure. In eastern Ukraine, political and economic turmoil continue to drive food insecurity in the conflict-affected region.
• Poor market access, lack of agricultural products and the limited presence of humanitarian actors in NGCA continue to threaten the ability of conflict-affected people to meet their food needs, particularly vulnerable civilians living along the line of contact. Approximately 558,000 are food insecure in NGCA of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in eastern Ukraine, including 103,000 severely food-insecure people. In GCA of the two oblasts, 13,000 people are severely food insecure and require immediate assistance to meet their food needs, according to the 2019 UN Humanitarian Needs Overview for Ukraine.
• According to the UN, unemployment in conflict-affected oblasts has increased since 2014, reducing household income. Vulnerable households increasingly are adopting negative coping strategies to meet their needs, including purchasing food on credit, minimizing necessary health expenditures, or begging, the UN reports. Additionally, rural households’ access to farmland has decreased due to mine contamination in conflict areas.
RESPONSE
• In FY 2018, USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP) contributed approximately $1.3 million to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) to support conflict-affected people in Donetsk and Luhansk with food assistance during the winter lean season. With FFP support, NRC provides unconditional cash transfers for food—worth approximately $27 per month—to 6,000 vulnerable people residing in GCA of Donetsk and Luhansk from November 2018–March 2019.