With 4.1 million children in need, the war in Ukraine continues to have a devastating impact on all aspects of children’s lives.
Since the war escalated in February 2022, there is not a single aspect of children’s lives that the conflict has not impacted, with children killed, injured, forced from their homes, missing out on critical education and denied the benefits of a safe and secure environment.
Access to essential services has been devastated, with more than 800 health facilities reported to have been damaged or destroyed by shelling and airstrikes. Thousands of children fleeing conflict across the country are also missing vital vaccines to protect them from polio, measles, diphtheria and other life-threatening diseases.
The percentage of children living in poverty has almost doubled from 43 to 82 per cent. The situation is especially acute for the 5.9 million people who are currently displaced within Ukraine. At the same time, an estimated 1.5 million children are at risk of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions, with long-term implications for their physical and mental health.
Now is not the time to look away. Ukraine's children need us more than ever.
In times of darkness, we find hope
Ukraine Crisis
Help make a difference in the lives of children. Donate to UNICEF's ongoing efforts in Ukraine.
Amongst the chaos, families find ways for their children to continue their education.
When the air raid siren sounds, 10-year-old Yehor panics. He hides his face in his hands, and his brothers try to distract him with games. But if shelling begins, fear grips all three of them. They turn off the light, lie on the floor and cover themselves with a blanket.
For the last year, the three brothers have shared a smartphone to do their schoolwork. They take turns logging onto their lessons.
Across Ukraine, thousands of schools have reportedly been severely damaged or destroyed by bombing and shelling, leaving almost 2.7 million Ukrainian children accessing learning online or through the mixed modality of face-to-face and online. In refugee-hosting countries, two out of three children from Ukraine are currently not enrolled in the host country’s education systems.
Alongside our partners, UNICEF delivered 10,000 laptops and tablets to children like Yehor and his brothers across twelve regions in Ukraine.
Children need you more than ever.
UNICEF is always there before, during and after an emergency, but we can’t do this alone. UNICEF requires US$829.2 million to address the immediate and longer-term needs of 17.6 million people, including 4.1 million children, who remain deeply impacted by the war in Ukraine.
Funding will enable UNICEF to provide, sustain and expand critical services in health, nutrition, education, child protection, gender-based violence, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and social protection alongside government relief and recovery efforts. It will also ensure timely preparedness for additional internal displacements and refugee movements.
Your generous donations are making an impact.
At a kindergarten in the Ukrainian city of Slavutych, a young girl lies down to rest in their new bomb shelter, but it hasn’t always been this way.
Before UNICEF and our partners built a shelter for the kindergarten, children and teachers had to hide behind the walls during air alarms. Now, children spend their rest hours in the shelter, which was specially equipped in just over a month.
To ensure children are able to continue attending schools and kindergartens, UNICEF has been working alongside our partners to build shelters and rebuild schools in the most affected areas. Currently, 56 facilities have been restored, with the addition of necessary supplies and materials for various activities and comfort.
Ukraine Crisis
Help make a difference in the lives of children. Donate to UNICEF's ongoing efforts in Ukraine.
How will my donation help support children in Ukraine?
UNICEF has offices and teams across Ukraine and in neighbouring countries, staying to help children in need. Here's how you could help:
- $90 can help provide 18,000 water purification tablets. Each tablet can create up to 5 litres of safe drinking water.
- $140 can help provide two first aid kits, to help treat injuries.
- $271 can help provide a School-in-a-Box so 40 children can continue their education.
With a smaller monthly donation, you can make an even bigger impact by giving children in Ukraine the ongoing support needed to rebuild their futures.
Donate to support Ukraine’s children.
- 82¢last year, 82 cents of every dollar donated went to our emergency response work in the field and helped us to be there for children before, during and after emergencies around the world.
- 18¢last year, 18 cents in every dollar were invested in raising public awareness; fundraising to grow our impact for children and in essential accountability and administration work.
How do we use each dollar donated?
If you choose to donate monthly, or in the unlikely event that UNICEF receives more funds than needed for this emergency response, your gift will help support UNICEF's work for children in need around the world.
Ukraine War Update FAQs
The Ukraine War has resulted in widespread displacement, limited access to basic necessities such as food, water and healthcare, and a significant increase in child poverty. These conditions have had a devastating impact on the lives and well-being of children in Ukraine.
UNICEF has been working to provide aid and support to children affected by the conflict in Ukraine since the start of the war and will continue to support them long after the war has ended as the country rebuilds. This includes providing essential supplies such as food, water, and medical aid, as well as supporting programs to help children recover from the trauma of the conflict.
One of the most effective ways to support UNICEF's efforts in Ukraine is by making a donation. Your contribution will help UNICEF provide critical aid and support to children and families affected by the conflict, inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries.
Thanks to our international community's incredible support and generous donations, UNICEF has strengthened our ongoing presence in Ukraine, working alongside our partners to provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance in a constantly changing and volatile situation.
We have provided the children of Ukraine with access to safe water, sanitation and healthcare, even after infrastructure was damaged or destroyed. In partnership with UNHCR, we set up 40 Blue Dots; safe spaces along border crossings that provide children and families with critical services to help them with their onward journey. Our psychosocial services offered essential support to over 2.9 million children and caregivers, and our cash assistance programs helped meet the needs of families with children who are most affected by the war.
With your help, we provided more than 5 million children with continued access to education. Through the online learning systems UNICEF helped set up during the pandemic, millions of children have resumed their studies. We train teachers, run mobile education teams and build child-friendly spaces in underground shelters. And we're helping the millions of children who've fled to neighbouring countries start at new schools with language classes, learning supplies and assistive devices for children with disabilities.
The Ukraine War has profoundly impacted children in the region, including displacement, limited access to basic necessities, increased poverty, and trauma. UNICEF is working to help children recover and overcome these challenges.
Your donation will help UNICEF continue providing critical aid and support to children and families affected by the conflict in Ukraine. This includes delivering essential supplies and supporting programs that allow children to continue their education, have a safe place to live, and recover from trauma. We're also working to provide long-term support to communities.
Looking for other ways to support Ukraine's children?
