Photo: OCHA/Saviano Abreu
UKRAINE: Led by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and sister UN Agencies – the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP), and UN OCHA today travelled to Kherson city to deliver urgent humanitarian assistance to civilian communities. This inter-agency humanitarian convoy, the first since Russian forces took control of the city in March this year, comes less than 72-hours after the Government of Ukraine regained control of the city.
“We saw houses along the way that had been destroyed or severely damaged and heard how people are struggling to meet their most basic needs, like food and water, and stay warm, as the electricity supply lines have been destroyed”, said UNHCR Representative in Ukraine, Karolina Lindholm Billing who participated in the convoy.
As part of this initial effort to reach 6,000 people, UNHCR provided high thermal blankets, sleeping bags, bed linen, solar lamps, tarpaulin and jerrycans.
“It was important to deliver this first convoy with assistance quickly. Now, the priority is to continue, and bring larger volumes of assistance to the people of Kherson city and oblast as winter is around the corner and it will add another layer of vulnerability”, said Karolina Lindholm Billing.
UNHCR has previously contributed to two inter-agency convoys to Khersonska oblast, in October and November, to settlements where the Government of Ukraine had regained control, assisting a further 10,000 people. Since the beginning of the war, UNHCR has delivered humanitarian aid through 489 convoys – 20 interagency and 469 organized by UNHCR reaching around 325,000 conflict-affected and displaced people with essential and winterized items.
To complement the efforts of the Government of Ukraine, UNHCR will continue to deliver aid through inter-agency convoys and local partners ensuring life-saving humanitarian support. UNHCR is grateful to the continued support of government and private sector donors.
Photo: OCHA/Saviano Abreu
Photo: OCHA/Saviano Abreu
Photo: OCHA/Saviano Abreu
Photo: OCHA/Saviano Abreu
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Saorlaith Ni Bhroin, Communications Officer
Kyiv, Ukraine
+380504 894 485, [email protected]
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
