“The war (in Ukraine) has caused one of the fastest
large-scale displacements of children since World War II.”
UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell
In 1946, inside Germany, a small displaced girl is wrapped in blankets and sits on a mound of other refugee belongings. © UNICEF Archives.
In 2022, young Valeria arrives in Romania with limited belongings seeking shelter from the conflict that started in her home country of Ukraine less than a week before. © UNICEF/UN0599229/Moldovan
During this journey, keeping warm in harsh winter conditions is essential for children’s survival.
In 1946, refugee children wore clothes donated by the citizens of host countries to stay warm and protected in harsh conditions. In 2022, thanks to the generosity of our supporters, UNICEF is assisting children in a similar way by delivering warm clothes, blankets and other emergency supplies in Ukraine.
In response to ongoing and urgent needs, our teams on the ground are delivering life-saving supplies to children and families. Make a tax-deductible donation and help to deliver life-saving supplies to children in Ukraine.
Receiving essential supplies
Conflict has devastating consequences for children's access to basic services in Ukraine, just like it did 75 years ago.
Many children are living underground or escaping to rural areas to find safety and shelter from the bombing, with no idea when they can return home.
Across the Ukraine large numbers of local volunteers are coming together in solidarity, responding to conflict by converting public buildings into assistance centres, creating safe spaces for children and new mothers in train stations and distributing essential supplies.
In Poland, 1946, a nun serves bowls of soup to a group of children who get their only meal for the day at this UNRRA-supplied kitchen in the Slask Dabrowski district. UNRRA (later UNICEF) boxes are by her feet. © UNICEF/UNI43101/Kubicki .
In Poland, 2022, volunteers provide supplies to children and families arriving at the border crossing point after fleeing the violence in Ukraine. © UNICEF/UN0607344/English
UNICEF continues to work with local partners to provide, water, sanitation and education supplies for children of all ages.
We know that keeping children safe, healthy and experiencing moments of normalcy in such extreme circumstances is essential in their recovery from trauma.
In Yugoslavia, 1946, three boys affected by World War II receive aid and support to continue learning in a school in the north-western region of Croatia. © UNICEF/UNI43103/Unknown
In Ukraine, 2022, children draw and make postcards in the Kharkiv metro. UNICEF equipped the metro station in Kharkiv with learning materials for art, play, and reading. This is one of the few entertainments available to them now during the continuous shelling of their war-torn city. © UNICEF/UN0615949/Yakimenko
Finding relief in Blue Dot centres
When conflict and displacement occur, women and children are at increased risk of gender-based violence, abuse, psychological distress, and family separation.
Many of the displaced children that UNICEF support are often in shock, confused, and exhausted when they finally reach shelter.
In Poland, 1946, a refugee family returning from Rudki, south of the Ukrainian city of Lvov, rests on a pile of their belongings during their travel west to the farm that awaits them in the south-western Lower Silesia region. © UNICEF Archives
In Ukraine, 2022, Mikhail holds his daughter, while sitting next to his other children inside a tent in a reception area on the border of Moldova after escaping violence in their village. © UNICEF/UN0607407/Modola
To support the hundreds of thousands of families and children fleeing Ukraine today, UNICEF has a unique and effective solution.
In collaboration with local authorities in refuge countries, UNICEF and it’s partners have set up safe places at border crossings for children and families.
‘Blue Dot’ centres provide respite, allowing families to reunite or rest in a safe space before travelling to their next destination.
In Egypt, 1946, refugee children, including two boys in a toy wagon made from salvaged wood, play in the UNRRA (later UNICEF) refugee camp in Tolumbat. Ante holding the teddy bear, is from Yugoslavia. © UNICEF/UNI43123/Mihanoff
In Romania, 2022, 11-year-old Ukrainian Anastasia poses for a photograph with her new toy while in the UNICEF-supported Blue Dot centre, where her and her family receive emergency support after escaping escalating violence. © UNICEF/UN0627036/Nicodim
At Blue Dots, services include safe spaces for mothers, babies and children to learn, play and receive medical and psychosocial first aid.
Families also receive legal services, protection of unaccompanied children, reunification services, access to accommodation and transport support for the travel onwards.
UNICEF is helping children and families in crisis
In Czechoslovakia, 1946, workers unload a shipment of 60,000 hatching eggs from a Veterans' Air Lines aeroplane in Prague, the capital. The eggs were donated to UNRRA (later UNICEF) as food aid. © UNICEF/UNI41888/Unknown
In Lviv, Ukraine, 2022, boxes of medical, educational and recreation supplies are delivered to a children’s hospital. This is the first shipment of UNICEF supplies to hospitals in Ukraine, with more to follow in the coming days, with the goal of reaching 22 hospitals in five regions. © UNICEF/UN0606248/Filippov