Humanitarian aid organisations on the ground in Ukraine
In view of the wish of its citizens to offer their support to the population affected by the conflict in Ukraine, Barcelona City Council has reached the conclusion, in accordance with the criteria of most international organisations, that the most effective way for people to channel aid is by making financial contributions to organisations already working on the ground. Here, then, is a list of NGOs and multilateral bodies that have been responding to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine:
This organisation has two SOS villages for children in Ukraine, from which families and children have been transferred to other SOS villages in Poland. The measure is part of their Emergency Response Plan, launched to help meet the needs of the 45,000 families and children suffering as a result of the war in Ukraine.
The Action Against Hunger team have been preparing to provide assistance in the fields of healthcare and nutrition and cover the population’s basic needs.
The UNHCR has delivered its first batch of humanitarian aid to Kryvyi Rig, in the centre of Ukraine. It has been working to provide protection and shelter at Ukraine’s borders with Poland, Romania, Moldova and Hungary. The Committee has had a base in the country since 1994, offering assistance during the eight-year conflict in the Donbass region.
The organisation has had a base in Ukraine and its neighbouring countries for more than 30 years, attending to the most vulnerable. Its communities have been providing emergency aid to Ukrainian refugees in transit and preparing shelters based on their experience in humanitarian corridors. The communities also provide shelter for unaccompanied minors and orphans through a network of host families.
Educo is present in Ukraine through its ChildFund alliance. They have been working there since 2004 and are acting quickly to provide emergency aid to children and their families.
This organisation supplies the Severodonetsk hospital with trauma kits and surgical equipment. It has also sent a backup team to join the 90 volunteers on the ground. It has been providing the population with access to physical and mental healthcare for seven years.
Farmamundi has distributed humanitarian aid in two shipments containing 4,700 kg of healthcare equipment and medicines. It has also been working with a women’s organisation in Ukraine, among other projects. Its website explains the steps for sending medicines that comply with basic donation rules in accordance with international rules or conventions.
The conflict has put a halt to their HIV care in Severodonetsk, tuberculosis care in Zhytomyr and attempts to improve access to healthcare in Donetsk. The teams have been assessing how to adapt their activities to the emergency according to need, such as shipments of kits for mass casualties in hospitals.
The Red Cross provides psychosocial assistance and support for people affected by the conflict and attends to victims of the conflict when the situation is sufficiently safe for volunteers.
The foundation has been working with the most vulnerable children in the Donbass region since 2014. Some 7.5 million children are now in danger in Ukraine and those currently displaced are facing extreme conditions with below-freezing temperatures.
This solidarity group of clowns are travelling to Warsaw and various municipalities on the Polish border with Ukraine (Przemyśl, Medyka, Lublin and others) to provide emotional support, using laughter to help refugee children and their families.
UNICEF has been working to ensure access to drinking water, delivering healthcare and hygiene supplies and providing psychosocial assistance to children traumatised by the war in Ukraine.
Campaigns for collecting donations for Ukraine
Anyone wishing to make a donation of equipment, medicines, clothes etc., to be sent to Ukraine, can check out the Facebook account of the Ukrainian consulate in Barcelona.