This week, UNHCR has transferred the first payments of financial support to families hosting internally displaced persons across the country as part of the Government of Ukraine’s Prykhystok programme, which UNHCR will support with 15 million USD in 2024.
Almost four million people continue to be displaced inside Ukraine as IDPs due to Russia’s full-scale war. Some of them are hosted by other Ukrainian families as part of the Government’s Pryhystok programme. ©UNHCR/ Alina Kovalenko
As Russia’s full-scale invasion and attacks on Ukraine continue to displace people from their homes, supporting access to safe and dignified accommodation for internally displaced people (IDPs) remains a vital priority. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is committed to continue supporting the Government of Ukraine in this endeavor.
This week, UNHCR disbursed the first round of financial support to more than 74,000 families who are hosting almost 190,000 IDPs as part of the Prykhystok programme managed by the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine.
This programme was initially launched in March 2022 as an important and comprehensive social project to provide free housing for internally displaced people. In 2022, UNHCR provided financial support to some 40,000 families as well as supported the maintenance of the website for the Prykhystok programme.
In agreement with the Ministry of Reintegration – and as per a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Vice Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk and UNHCR’s Representative Karolina Lindholm Billing on 19 December 2023 – UNHCR will expand its support to the Prykhystok programme with a total of 15 million USD in 2024.
The financial support to IDP-hosting families is paid directly via bank transfers, so the money goes straight to their accounts. The amount depends on how many internally displaced people they are hosting and for how many days. While the host families are spread across the entire country, the majority are found in the East of the country, including in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Poltava regions. The Ministry provides information about the host families directly to UNHCR, who then proceeds with the payment of the financial support.
“The Prykhystok programme is a great initiative to provide people who have been forced to flee their own homes, due to Russia’s full-scale war, with temporary accommodation in the home of another Ukrainian family. It also ensures that those families generously opening their homes providing free accommodation receives some compensation to cover additional expenses like utilities. I am very pleased that we in UNHCR can support this important Government program and continue our strong partnership with the Ministry of Reintegration,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR’s Representative in Ukraine.
“I want to express my gratitude to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, for their support of the Prykhystok program. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons, who have a roof over their heads, thanks to these funds. The humanitarian front is very important. The UNHCR team is our reliable partner in humanitarian response,” stated Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine.
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