As a response to the Ukraine refugee situation, which sadly is entering into its second year, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and humanitarian partners are appealing for increased financial support to help refugees from Ukraine and the European countries generously hosting them.
© Humanitarian Mission Proliska/UNHCR/Artur Ulianytskyi
Latvia is included in the comprehensive Ukraine Regional Refugee Response Plan covering 10 countries. The Ukraine Refugee Response Plan for Latvia is launched today in Riga. The plan has been developed by a total of 14 humanitarian organisations, both UN agencies as well as national NGOs and civil society organisations. The Plan aims to complement the government-led response to Ukraine refugee situation in Latvia by providing targeted protection and support activities.
From the outset of the war in Ukraine, both government, civil society and the people of Latvia have responded with steadfast solidarity towards the Ukrainian refugees seeking refuge in the country and offered an inclusive approach providing access to employment and all public services, including health care and education.
To complement Latvia’s government-led response, UNHCR and humanitarian partners will provide support in key areas such as basic needs, food security, housing, health, protection and livelihoods. The aim is to provide dignified assistance, expand access to social and economic opportunities and advance the social cohesion for the refugees from Ukraine, already present, as well as potentially new arrivals.
This includes for example providing counselling to new arrivals, setting up psychosocial support groups for women and children, as well as providing Latvian language classes to strengthen opportunities for achieving self-reliance and complement the Government’s efforts.
For the activities and response, as set out in the plan, UNHCR and partners are seeking USD 12 million
“Latvia has demonstrated extraordinary commitment and solidarity to welcome, help and ensure a safe refuge for so many refugees from Ukraine, also with the strong dedication of volunteers and civil society,” says Henrik M. Nordentoft, UNHCR’s Representative to the Nordic and Baltic Countries.
“By including Latvia in the Ukraine Regional Refugee Response Plan in 2023, we hope to be able to get the attention of donor countries to the needs for external funding and strengthened support to the humanitarian partners so that they can continue to provide an important contribution to the well-being and inclusion of the Ukrainian refugees in Latvia – in a coordinated manner within the Government-led response.”
Download the “Ukraine Regional Refugee Response Plan” for Latvia here.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Latvia has welcomed more than 45,000 refugees from Ukraine who have been registered for temporary protection status. This number constitutes around 2,4 per cent of the population and is the largest inflow of refugees in the history of Latvia.
The other nine countries covered by the Ukraine Regional Refugee Response Plan are Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The total appeal for the Regional Plan amounts to $1.7 billion, and includes some 250 partners – more than half of whom are national partners, and targeting to provide support and assistance to 4.2 million Ukrainian refugees and communities in countries hosting them. Read the full RRP here.
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