The state of humanitarian aid in Ukraine

With Russian troops amassing on the border of Ukraine, aid workers in the country are saying that the resources needed to address a humanitarian crisis are far beyond those available to them. With that in mind, we looked at the levels of official development assistance currently flowing to the country. Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development shows that development aid to Ukraine has been increasing steadily in the last decade. Contributions from development assistance committee countries, as well as other bilateral and multilateral donors, grew from $675.5 million in 2011 to $1.3 billion in 2019. Preliminary data shows that aid for the country in 2020 was at $1.8 billion. Humanitarian aid makes up a relatively small amount of total funding. Data on humanitarian aid to Ukraine is being collected through the Financial Tracking Services of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or UNOCHA. Through FTS, UNOCHA collects information on humanitarian donations, including information on sources of aid and agencies where the funds will be channeled. Devex dug into the FTS data in 2021 to see where the humanitarian aid in Ukraine is coming from and where it is going. What is the state of humanitarian response in Ukraine? Since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine in 2014, the United Nations and its partners have provided more than $1.2 billion for relief and protection assistance. Of this, $600 million was mobilized through the humanitarian response plans, an annual plan drawn up by the U.N., that lays out how to respond to an emergency that requires international humanitarian assistance. The humanitarian response focuses on six clusters: education; food security and livelihoods; health; protection; shelter and non-food items; and WASH. In 2021, the HRP target for Ukraine was $168 million. It means that this is the funding needed to provide sufficient humanitarian aid and protection in the country. FTS data from UNOCHA shows that, so far, $167.5 million has been committed for the plan, but only $63.3 million — or 37.8% — has so far been disbursed. Where is the money coming from? The United States was the biggest donor in 2021, with a $59.5 million total commitment. Of this, $17.2 million has been disbursed. The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department, or ECHO, ranked next with a $35.3 million commitment, then Germany with $28.7 million. Meanwhile, the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund reported a total of $12 million funding. Managed by UNOCHA, UHF pools contributions from multilateral, bilateral, and individual donors to address the crisis in Ukraine. This also includes COVID-19. Since its establishment in 2019, the fund has generated over $18 million. Where is the money going? Funding to Ukraine is channeled to a mix of bilateral and multilateral organizations and international NGOs. The biggest chunk, worth $46.7 million, went to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The activities will prioritize providing basic needs, such as food, primary health care, shelter, and water. $12.8 million has been allocated to the World Health Organization. The agency will focus mainly on emergency assistance in the health sector, which includes COVID-19 vaccine preparedness and delivery programs. The United Nations Children's Fund is also among the leading implementers, with $12.2 million. The activities involve providing basic care, protection, and humanitarian support for children, as well as services to other areas such as health, education, and WASH. The FTS also reported $12.2 million funding allocated to undisclosed NGOs. Top projects Below are the biggest humanitarian activities that were reported to UNOCHA’s FTS in 2021. • $19.4 million from the U.S. to ICRC for food assistance, protection, shelter, settlements, and the health sectors. • $10.8 million from ECHO to ICRC to support economic security, water and habitat, primary health care, and access to education. • $7.3 million from Germany to ICRC for protection, prevention, and cooperation measures that include neighboring countries, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. • $5.9 million from the U.S. to the International Organization for Migration as a contribution from the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. • $5.3 million from the U.S. to WHO for health, humanitarian coordination, and information management. • $5.3 million from ECHO to People in Need for multisectoral humanitarian assistance. • $4.1 million from the U.S. to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for human resource planning. • $3.3 million from Switzerland to Swiss Humanitarian Aid under theSwiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and to support WASH. • $2.5 million from the U.S. to UNICEF to support WASH. • $2.5 million the U.S. to the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development for health, humanitarian coordination, and information management. What about 2022? Based on FTS data, the humanitarian funding commitment for Ukraine in 2022 amounts to $10.2 million — $9.2 million from Germany and $1 million from the U.S. A further $149,000 from Estonia and $4,000 from Switzerland have been disbursed. The activities will focus on basic services, strengthening local institutions, humanitarian response, and security management. A big portion of this, worth $7.3 million, will be channeled through three German agencies: the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschland, Caritas Germany, and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit. Janadale Leene Coralde created the chart for this article. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free 5-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850+ sources in addition to our analysis and news content.