Ukraine Crisis Response Plan 2021 - 2023

Ukraine Crisis Response Plan 2021 - 2023

Last updated: January 27 2021
$180,080,995
Funding required
3,400,000
People in need
1,200,000
People Targeted

IOM Vision

The Strategic Approach of IOM Ukraine for 2020-2023 focuses on three priorities for ensuring an efficient crisis response and recovery, long-term development while contributing to efforts to leave no one behind and to reach those furthest behind first. These priorities include: i) sustainable recovery of conflict-affected communities through multi-sectoral integrated programming; ii) strengthening communities’ resilience through inclusive dialogue initiatives; and iii) further advancing Ukrainian society through long-term and people-centred sustainable development initiatives. The Crisis Response Plan reflects these priorities throughout the proposed activities, which aim to respond to the needs of conflict-affected communities as well as to the drivers and impact of crises and displacement in recovery, taking into consideration the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective 1 - Saving lives and protecting people on the move
Objective
Saving lives and protecting people on the move

$22,530,995
Funding required
600,000
People Targeted
Internally displaced person, Local population / community
Primary target groups
Description of People and Entities Targeted

Conflict-affected population residing in Eastern Conflict Area (ECA), prioritizing: elderly 60+; single-headed households (HH)/single-parent households with a focus on female HH; households with three or more children; low-income households; households including members with disabilities; households including members with chronic diseases; households whose houses were destroyed as a result of wildfires and armed actions; households with members of pre-pensionable age out of employment and households with family members who have experienced physical violence, exploitation, abuse, including suspected/confirmed cases of human trafficking; and COVID-19-affected communities at large.

Shelter and settlements

The impact of the conflict on individual households and social infrastructure and the recurrence of natural disasters are impacting communities’ capacity to uphold essential shelter and NFI standards at the household level, as much as within social/medical institutions. In line with the shelter/NFI cluster’s recommendations, IOM will:

  • Support access to basic household winterization items, to include, amongst others, winter-specific NFI kits, electric heaters and solid fuel;
  • Support social and medical institutions in conflict- and COVID-19-affected areas with structural rehabilitations for winterization purposes;
  • Assist households affected by natural disasters in rehabilitating damaged houses, by providing construction kits and tools and cash assistance for rehabilitation services; and 
  • Conduct winterization rehabilitation works and provide in-kind assistance to social institutions and medical facilities with inpatients/residents to meet the basic needs of their patients/residents.
Funding required
$9,426,634
Plan types

Protection

Global evidence demonstrates that vulnerabilities among various population groups are likely to increase during crisis time (such as the ongoing pandemic and conflict in Eastern Ukraine), and in the past Ukraine has witnessed this in relation to vulnerability to human trafficking, gender-based violence (GBV) and exploitation. In line with the IOM Protection in Humanitarian Action roadmap  and the Institutional Framework for Addressing Gender-based Violence in Crises, IOM plans to:

  • Contribute to the mainstreaming of protection, accountability to affected populations, and do no harm principles across IOM’s interventions through training of IOM staff and enhancement of communicating with communities initiatives;
  • Enhance meaningful access to basic goods and services by providing transportation assistance in conflict-affected remote locations;
  • Strengthen the access of vulnerable and marginalised communities to existing services;
  • Support local authorities in developing online reporting and monitoring tools, raising awareness on human rights, and rehabilitating government/local administration managed shelters for GBV and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) survivors; and
  • Provide direct assistance to survivors of human rights violations and abuses committed in the context of ongoing armed conflict (GBV survivors, victims of human trafficking, exploitation, and abuse).
Funding required
$765,050
Plan types

Basic needs, including food and multi-purpose cash assistance

Many vulnerable households living in conflict-affected areas face food insecurity due to extremely high unemployment rates and insufficient social support mechanisms. For most of them, meagre retirement or long service pensions are the main, if not the only, source of household income. In line with the cash working group and the food security and livelihoods (FSL) cluster recommendations, IOM will:

  • Support conflict-affected communities with multi-purpose cash transfers to address their basic needs and enable communities to access to essential services; and
  • Provide self-sustenance grants for the most vulnerable households to improve their food security and reduce overall dependency on aid.
Funding required
$2,360,113
Plan types

Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian response

Volatile security, protracted displacement, limited access to basic goods and services and the COVID-19 pandemic have compounded existing vulnerabilities of the most fragile ECA communities. In line with IOM’s Manual on Community-Based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies and Displacement, IOM will:

  • Scale up IOM’s existing MHPSS hotline to ensure 7-day a week operations and availability of multi-session continued support;
  • Strengthen existing referral mechanisms, ensuring coordination with protection/GBV actors, to maximize available support capacities and heighten service standards;
  • Establish psychosocial mobile teams (PMT) to assist individuals in remote locations. Members of the PMT will be trained on how to respectfully and supportively engage with conflict-affected population and provide risk reporting and/or referral information in an ethical, safe, and confidential manner; and
  • Launch awareness-raising campaigns on MHPSS to overcome the associated stigma and reach remote communities.
Funding required
$350,000
Plan types

Provision of water, sanitation and hygiene in emergencies

The protracted conflict has damaged critical WASH infrastructure and limited communities’ access to safe water and hygiene supplies. The lack of maintenance has compromised the functionality of WASH facilities in many social and medical institutions. IOM will therefore:

  • In line with WASH cluster recommendations, distribute tailored kits including menstrual hygiene management (MHM) items and other hygiene supplies such as diapers for children and adults to vulnerable households and medical/social institutions;
  • Provide essential equipment for the management and operation and maintenance (O&M) of water supply networks damaged during the conflict, in coordination with main water suppliers;
  • Distribute cash/vouchers among the vulnerable households to address hygiene needs in the areas with available markets; and
  • Strengthen WASH management systems through awareness raising campaign(s) on improved hygiene behaviour and community engagement initiatives (in line with WASH cluster and World Health Organization recommendations). All distribution and hygiene promotion activities will follow national/country guidelines on COVID-19 preventive measures.
Funding required
$6,718,530
Plan types

Direct health support

Due to a lack of maintenance and timely upgrades, and the overall impact of the conflict the health system capacity in parts of Ukraine is precarious. These conditions expose communities in conflict-affected areas to increased morbidity and mortality, especially considering the widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that furthermore limits access to healthcare services. In line with the health and nutrition cluster recommendations, IOM will:

  • Procure and distribute essential medical supplies and equipment to medical facilities;
  • Provide personal protection equipment (PPE) to support health and social institutions to meet infection prevention and control (IPC) standards for their staff and facilities;
  • Develop risk communication strategies for social media to disseminate key messages addressing misinformation and to promote COVID-19-related risk mitigation measures in line with WHO guidance; and
  • In coordination with GBV and protection actors, develop and disseminate key messages on GBV risks and on how to access support services.
Funding required
$2,910,668
Plan types
IOM beneficiary during the distribution of winterization non-food items (NFI), Donetsk region, non-governmental controlled area (NGCA)
IOM beneficiary during the distribution of winterization non-food items (NFI), Donetsk region, non-governmental controlled area (NGCA)

Objective 2 - Driving solutions to displacement
Objective
Driving solutions to displacement

$139,250,000
Funding required
600,000
People Targeted
50
Entities Targeted
Former combatant / fighter, Internally displaced person, International migrant, Local population / community
Primary target groups
Description of People and Entities Targeted

Conflict-affected communities; communities that are exposed to regular natural hazards; communities in regions neighbouring Crimea; IDPs and their new communities; IDPs who returned to the NGCA; former combatants, their family members, and communities; survivors of human rights violations and abuses committed in the context of the ongoing armed conflict; labour migrants, returnees and their dependents during COVID-19 pandemic; communities of return; other population groups including IDPs with diminished livelihoods; teenagers and young adults (14-35 years), prioritising IDPs, minority groups, persons with disabilities, orphans, from rural areas, from low-income families, skilled but unexperienced; Government and local authorities; CSOs and NGOs; and international stakeholders.

Land and property

As a result of protracted and/or multiple displacement, compounded by inefficient social services, returnee and displaced households often face challenges related to housing, land and property (HLP), especially in relation to restitution and compensation. To address this IOM will:

  • Provide representation and legal counselling to returnee and displaced households through existing joint community-resource centres, or other fora, with a particular focus on HLP-related issues;
  • Provide individualized assistance, including through referrals to legal support, policy guidance, expert advice, and technical assistance for HLP rights; and
  • Build the capacities of communities and CSOs, though the development of a community toolbox for the implementation of the HLP redress mechanism.

 

Funding required
$1,000,000
Plan types

Transitional justice

Government and community-level knowledge and capacities pertaining to reparations and related mechanisms are relatively limited and not based on a strong underlying legal framework. To address this IOM will:

  • Support the government and local/international stakeholders to promote context-sensitive and gender-sensitive programmes and the transparent delivery of individual or collective reparations measures;
  • Support the local framework of administrative, legal, and logistical assistance for individuals applying for the governmental compensatory mechanism;
  • Raise awareness on reparation measures through targeted information campaigns, and community initiatives, including truth-finding activities and inclusive dialogue sessions; and
  • Support Ukraine’s transitional justice agenda to strengthen the governmental property redress mechanism(s) benefitting returnees and IDPs at the household level.
Funding required
$2,000,000
Plan types

Durable solutions

The lack of housing and long-term community support are frequently highlighted by IDP and returnee communities as the main barriers to safe and sustainable reintegration (through National Monitoring System (NMS) survey and various fields assessments carried out by IOM). In alignment with IOM’s Progressive Resolution of Displacement Situations, IOM will:

  • Provide a sustainable (environmental, financial, social), safe and integrated mix of affordable and social housing solutions for IDPs, returnees and their communities in seeking to move toward an adequate standard of living;
  • Boost local micro, small and medium enterprises generating employment for IDPs, returnees and local community members benefitting from housing interventions in order to ensure sustainable livelihoods; and
  • Introduce and promote sustainable housing management solutions in affected municipalities, by promoting inclusive and participatory governance among targeted communities.

 

Funding required
$56,000,000
Plan types

Mental health and psychosocial support in transition and recovery

Multiple exposures to distressing events due to conflict, overall human insecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic are weakening the social fabric in already fragile communities. Building upon the platforms and referral mechanisms developed through its humanitarian response, IOM will:

  • Build peer support capacities of youth to engage in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS)-related activities for elderly people living alone;
  • Strengthen the capacities of MHPSS professionals and other sector stakeholders through training to be conducted by local and international experts, including Ukrainian diaspora;
  • Provide MHPSS through individual and group counselling sessions, including, amongst others, family retreats, art therapy, sports events; and
  • Continue public information campaigns against mental health stigma.
Funding required
$3,400,000
Plan types

Health system strengthening

The ongoing crisis has further weakened the health system, resulting in limited capacity of the health system to address the needs of additional displaced communities. The main public health challenge in Ukraine is reducing non-communicable diseases (NCDs): heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease. NCDs are estimated to account for 86% of the country’s annual deaths. To address these issues IOM will:

  • Rehabilitate primary/secondary healthcare facilities to increase access to health care by individuals with restricted mobility;
  • Provide targeted health facilities with equipment for cardiology, ultrasound, mammography, haemodialysis, etc.;
  • Build the capacities of health professionals on infection prevention and control (IPC) best practices, referral mechanisms for MHPSS and gender-based violence (GBV) as well as between primary and secondary level health care, including for COVID-19 cases, and health promotion and good health-seeking behaviours; and
  • Support health system leadership to respond to emerging challenges through capacity building on IPC, MHPSS, etc. in coordination with the Ministry of Health and in cooperation with skilled Ukrainian diaspora.

 

Funding required
$5,000,000
Plan types

Community stabilization

Key drivers of instability include economic insecurity, lack of inclusive governance and social polarization induced by the protracted conflict and COVID-19-related uncertainties. To support community stabilization IOM will:

  • “Engage, connect and empower” youth to become leaders of change within their communities;
  • Measure and track the Youth Engagement Index;
  • Increase access to livelihood and job opportunities through tailored grants (cash and in-kind) for home-based, small and medium-size businesses;
  • Set up spaces to support distance learning and young start-ups (business incubators);
  • Enhance the structure, equipment and furniture of key community and essential infrastructure; and
  • Strengthen local governance and increase trust through capacity building activities and technical support.
Funding required
$18,000,000
Plan types

Peacebuilding and peace preservation

To contribute towards the Government of Ukraine’s broad spectrum of peacebuilding efforts, IOM will work with government and community counterparts to:

  • Build the capacities of key relevant peace stakeholders (government officials and CSOs) through technical support on conflict management, human security, dialogue, advocacy, and social cohesion;
  • Facilitate community-based conflict management (accounting for the role of women and women’s participation) and social cohesion activities with the goal of contributing to addressing the main obstacles to the social and economic integration of fragile groups; and
  • Conduct tailored initiatives for the social reintegration and reconciliation of conflict-affected populations, in particular IDPs and former combatants/veterans, while improving their access to good governance, education, health, justice, security, and livelihoods.
Funding required
$13,350,000
Plan types

Address the socio-economic impacts of health crises

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the livelihood of already vulnerable migrant workers and conflict-affected communities, many of which are not sufficiently covered by existing social protection schemes. To address the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic IOM will:

  • Continue multipurpose cash support for vulnerable households with reduced income;
  • Support income and employment generation for migrants and conflict-affected communities through skills development and livelihood support;
  • Support projects aiming to enhance socio-economic well-being of returnee communities (due to COVID-19 pandemic) through a co-funding mechanism that will leverage funds from local budgets and businesses;
  • Implement a matching grant mechanism for returnees to support business establishment;
  • Support communities that are reliant on remittances to alleviate the consequences of restricted labour mobility by introducing initiatives that create new short- and long-term jobs locally;
  • Improve communication with labour migrants and their communities to deliver timely and reliable information; and
  • Conduct community activities to address stigma associated with COVID-19 and marginalized social groups.
Funding required
$32,000,000
Plan types

Provision of water, sanitation and hygiene in transitional and post-crisis situations

IOM has assessed the need to support health and social institutions, as well as key community sites to conduct their lifesaving, life-preserving, and regular work more scalable, sustainable, and resilient. To support adequate water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) IOM will:

  • Conduct rehabilitation works, such as the replacement and/or repair of water supply elements, sewerage, and wastewater management systems, rehabilitation of sanitary structures with the installation of appropriate plumbing equipment, as well as the repair or substitution of water containers and boilers in social institutions and key community sites;
  • Distribute and install WASH equipment (water tanks, boilers, pumps, equipment needed for waste management, etc.) in social institutions and key water management facilities;
  • Support large WASH infrastructure upgrades to increase and stabilize safe water supply to water-affected areas; and
  • Increase sustainability through capacity building activities for management and local ownership.
Funding required
$8,500,000
Plan types

Objective
Strengthen preparedness and reduce disaster risk

$15,500,000
Funding required
200,000
People Targeted
50
Entities Targeted
Internally displaced person, International migrant, Local population / community
Primary target groups
Description of People and Entities Targeted

Conflict-affected communities; communities affected or exposed to natural hazards and environmental degradation; and government authorities, local authorities, and civil society organizations (CSOs).

Disaster prevention

The 2020 wildfires in eastern Ukraine, the annual floods in the west, the increased risk of droughts, together with the impact of the conflict, have highlighted the need to strengthen effective disaster prevention capacities, particularly at the local level. To address these issues IOM will:

  • Support local communities in hazard-prone areas in developing disaster preparedness and response plans, including community-based early warning mechanisms;
  • Support regional administrations in developing evidence-based disaster management plans, including multi-hazard risk assessments;
  • Support key government agencies in developing disaster preparedness plans, including advocacy tools for increased state funding and prepositioning of contingency stocks; and
  • Conduct localized awareness-raising campaigns on disaster prevention, risk reduction, and emergency preparedness.
Funding required
$5,500,000
Plan types

Health components of preparedness and risk reduction

The lack of public funding, compounded by increased urban/rural divide further deepened by the impact of the conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the isolation of certain rural communities, with extremely limited access to basic health services. To address this IOM will:

  • Strengthen the logistical and technical capacities of the health facilities, staff and community health workers in rural/isolated areas, promoting gender balance; and
  • Provide logistical support to local health facilities in terms of equipment and scaling up of ambulatory services by developing standards of operation on waste management, providing support to GBV victims, digitalization, etc.; and
  • Promote, support and facilitate the inclusion of migrants in the National Vaccination Plans and campaign against COVID-19.

 

Funding required
$3,000,000
Plan types

Points of entry

As a result of the conflict, several exit-entry checkpoints (EECPs) were established along the line of contact between the government-controlled and the non-government-controlled areas of Ukraine. At these checkpoints IOM will:

  • Provide EECP personnel with key training on IPC, detection, notification, management and referral of ill travellers, psychological first aid and other aspects highlighted through an ad hoc needs assessment conducted in coordination with the relevant state authorities;
  • Provide the EECP structures with material and technical support to increase their capacity to implement IPC measures; and
  • Rehabilitate/modernize points of entry at all five EECPs offering easier access and ensuring dignified conditions for travellers waiting for entry/exit processing.
Funding required
$3,000,000
Plan types

System strengthening for mental health and psychosocial support

While MHPSS becomes an increasingly relevant service sought by those emotionally affected by the conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters, the country’s capacity to offer such services remains limited and specialized assistance is scarcely available, especially in remote locations. To address this IOM will:

  • Build the capacities of national government entities and local authorities relevant to MHPSS-related processes, through technical assistance and exchange trips;
  • Support state actors to develop context-related MHPSS guidelines to ensure best practices and overall quality and standardization; and
  • Study the feasibility of preventive strategies related to MHPSS in coordination with relevant government counterparts.
Funding required
$1,000,000
Plan types

Water, sanitation and hygiene in preparedness and risk reduction

The recurrent manmade and natural hazards in Ukraine consistently highlight a great impact on WASH management systems. To address this IOM will:

  • Support relevant line agencies in establishing WASH indicators for periodic monitoring in line with IOM's WASH monitoring and evaluation framework, and the development of early warning and response mechanisms;
  • Based on consultations over location, access, and safety, provide back-up/emergency WASH infrastructure in water-scarce areas: reservoirs, deeper wells, and mobile water storage facilities;
  • Provide efficient IPC equipment (autoclaves, washing machines, dryers, cleaning trolleys, etc.) to ensure improved hygiene standards to reduce the risks of contamination, spread of the virus, and scarce hygiene at social and medical facilities;
  • Contribute to the strengthening of medical waste management and monitoring of waste management flow; and
  •  Establish strategically located contingency stocks of hygiene supplies, potable water (water tanks, bottled water, the mobile water storage facilities), and other relevant WASH items.
Funding required
$3,000,000
Plan types

Objective
Contribute to an evidence-based and efficient crisis response system

$2,800,000
Funding required
6,000
People Targeted
30
Entities Targeted
Internally displaced person, International migrant, Local population / community
Primary target groups
Description of People and Entities Targeted

Conflict-affected communities; communities affected or exposed to natural hazards; Government authorities, local authorities, civil society organizations (CSOs); and humanitarian, development and peacebuilding actors.

Displacement tracking

To inform evidence-based programming by the government and humanitarian, development and peacebuilding actors, and through the collecting of sex-age-disability disaggregated data, IOM will:

  • Conduct National Monitoring System on the Situation of Internally Displaced Persons (NMS) surveys on the mobility and needs of displaced and mobile communities;
  • Pilot the localization of the NMS involving local youth as enumerators;
  • Pilot an IDP profiling methodology to rationalize the estimation of IDP numbers;
  • Conduct Stability Index surveys adapted to the context and developed based on the country’s specificities to assess the level of stability in specific areas;
  • Support data collection, analysis, and mapping at the EECPs, within the POE global data collection exercise;
  • Conduct rapid and thematic assessments in response to changes in the operational environment, including the impact of COVID-19 on displaced populations and their mobility; and
  • Support data exchange, validation, analysis events, and data sharing events.
Funding required
$2,000,000
Plan types

First line of defence

IOM has signed an MoU with the United Nations Division of Healthcare Management and Occupational Safety and Health (DHMOSH) to provide critical health services to eligible UN personnel, dependents, and other persons in need of care referred by the UN, as part of the ‘First Line of Defence (FLoD)’ for the COVID-19 response. IOM will provide the following services to the FLoD and IOM programme beneficiaries:

  • Online consultations and remote monitoring for COVID-19 cases as well as non-COVID-19 chronic medical conditions;
  • Escalation of care, including home visits, for COVID-19 cases and non-COVID-19 high-risk group patients, along with the distribution of home care kits;
  • In-clinic services such as general practice/primary care services. medical prescribing, mental health and psychosocial support, basic radiology,  and referrals to specialist consultations; and
  • Health promotion and education.
Funding required
$800,000
Plan types
Operational presence in

Ukraine

26
International staff and affiliated work force
322
National staff and affiliated work force
14
IOM field office

The map used here is for illustration purposes only. Names and boundaries do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by IOM.

Figures are as of 31 December 2023. For more details of IOM's operational capacity in country, please see the IOM Capacity section.