CORE Ukrainian Refugee Crisis

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, has resulted in millions of people fleeing their homes. According to UNHCR and OCHA[1], as of January 2023, 7.9 million people had registered as refugees across Europe, and 17.6 million people are estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, including 6.3 million IDPs.

CORE provided a timely response to the February 2022 invasion, by immediately launching an emergency response to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians affected by the war. Since then, CORE’s emergency response operates in three countries—Ukraine, Poland, and Romania, aiding a total of 225,000 people.

• CORE’s Response & Impact

CORE’s teams work with international and local partners to address the needs of the most vulnerable displaced and refugee population. This allows CORE to provide urgent assistance to address critical needs while establishing community-driven sustainable solutions. CORE’s humanitarian assistance efforts in the region include shelter, WASH, cash assistance, food, and information campaigns. However, CORE’s emergency response is continuously adapted to adequately respond to the changing needs of the affected population. The winter temperatures have exacerbated these needs, stressing the vulnerabilities faced by Ukrainians due to destroyed and damaged infrastructure and power shortages. In this regard, CORE’s efforts are currently focused on providing critical support to mitigate the risks of deadly winter temperatures— such as distributing winter garments and blankets, charcoal, firewood, and power generators, and reinforcing the infrastructure of shelters.

CORE’s capacity to provide timely and relevant assistance was also reflected in the response provided on January 14, 2023, when an apartment complex in Dnipro was hit by a missile, leaving hundreds of people without a home in sub-zero temperatures. CORE deployed a team on the scene within hours and based on the request of the rescuers, the team distributed heated blankets to 210 people.

Throughout the region, CORE’s efforts have had the following results:

        USD 800,000 distributed in cash and voucher assistance

        87,000 refugees received information support

        60+ shelters supported

        20,300 people received hygiene kits

        57,000 warm garments and blankets distributed

UKRAINE

CORE’s efforts in the country are currently focused on the distribution of emergency relief items to communities in frontline and recently liberated areas, winterization activities, launching a rental assistance program in the West and supporting shelter rehabilitation efforts in areas with large numbers of IDPs. A total of 35,000 people received relief items (medicine and non-food items), and 65,000 people received food. Moreover, CORE improved the conditions of existing community shelters and renovated public buildings so they could be used as mid- and long-term shelters—benefitting 9,000 people. In partnership with Will Help Together, CORE provided furniture and household appliances for shelters and collective centers hosting IDPs, including wardrobes, fridges, washing machines and cooktops. CORE also provided heating supplies and generators to communities in need, in addition to 1,300 cubic meters of firewood for heating throughout the winter.

POLAND

In cooperation with UNHCR, CORE contributed to a two-month rehabilitation project of four buildings to serve as shelters for Ukrainian refugees. These shelters provided protection to 1,384 people. As part of these efforts, CORE also distributed warm clothes for 391 families, and enrolled over 2,550 refugees in UNHCR’s cash assistance programs. With the support of other partner organizations, CORE’s team is renovating 33 units to house 150 refugee families. Finally, CORE established additional information, resource coordination and distribution points, a portable connectivity center, and carried out gender-based violence mitigation efforts.

ROMANIA

CORE’s information points for refugees in Romania provided services to 64,000 Ukrainian refugees. CORE’s team provided medical services and integration services that benefited 586 women and children. CORE also refurbished three shelters in preparation for winter, and distributed food and relief items, including 260 tons of fresh fruit and vegetables. Other efforts included reproductive health support, childcare, and gender-based violence mitigation.    

[1] OCHA Humanitarian Needs Overview 2023; UNHCR Delivery Updates: Ukraine Emergency, February 2023.

Overview

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, over 7.4 million Ukrainians have fled and 7 million are internally displaced within the country. Humanitarian needs across the region are concentrated around securing adequate shelter, food and basic goods, health care (including mental health and psychosocial support), financial assistance, and work opportunities. Considering that over 90% of the population that has fled are women and children, there are strong gender-specific needs related to childcare, child-protection, and women’s sexual and reproductive health.

CORE's Ukraine Crisis Response launched on February 28 and covers Ukraine, Poland, and Romania. In the first seven months of the response, we have built strong partnerships with local organizations and governments working to address the needs of refugees, internally displaced people and conflict-affected communities. While the migration flows stabilized over the summer, with winter approaching a potential new wave of displacement is considered a strong possibility if heating systems in Ukraine falter or fail in October and November 2022. CORE is preparing to further scale its response to address seasonal and evolving needs in addition to its current programming in the region.

CORE's Response & Impact

CORE is running a multi-faceted, community-driven response in Ukraine, Poland, and Romania with the objective of filling the gaps to provide for the unmet and pressing needs of the most vulnerable Ukraine refugees and displaced people in the region. CORE’s programming is currently focused on the following implementation areas:

• Cash: CORE has provided $795,000 of lifesaving cash assistance to Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced people in the region (as of September 1, 2022), enabling families to make priority purchases including food, clothing, healthcare, shelter, or transportation. CORE partners with Mastercard/EML Payments to provide three monthly transfers on reloadable cash cards.
• Shelter: CORE is supporting collective shelters and working to increase the available stock of individual housing geared towards displaced families. In Poland, CORE partners with local actors to run a network of 11 shelters, providing operational support, capacity building on gender-based violence and humanitarian standards for shelter managers, paid work opportunities within the shelters for refugees, coordination of childcare and mental health and psychosocial support services, as well as food and basic goods distribution to residents. CORE is also building 33 units for refugee families in the town of Przemysl near the border with Ukraine. In Ternopil, Ukraine, CORE oversaw the refurbishment of a local hospital to house 60 internally displaced people and recently launched a weatherization pilot of 10 units of housing for families. CORE also provided $100,000 in non-food items to outfit 31 units in Lviv with furniture and appliances. In Romania, CORE supports shelters with direct implementation and grants for food and non-food items distributions.
• Food & Non-food items:Recent waves of Ukrainians fleeing violence have fewer resources than in the early months of the crisis and area less connected to family and friends in their place of settlement. Within shelters and in areas in Ukraine where markets are not strong enough to support cash assistance, CORE is distributing food, basic goods, and winter supplies (such as winter clothing, blankets, and heating fuels) to ensure families are able to maintain adequate nutrition, hygiene, and prepare for the winter months ahead.
• Local Partner Grants: CORE supports local NGO organizations in Ukraine, Poland, and Romania through funding to implement programs that directly address the needs of Ukrainian refugees and IDPs, including organizations that are refugee and IDP-led. We prioritize local partners that serve the most vulnerable among those who have been displaced – especially the elderly, disabled, ethnic minorities (Roma), and LGBTQ+ community. Since April 2022, CORE has given out over $2.4 million through more than 70 grants to local organizations across its service area.
• Gender-Related Activities: Women and children are at the center of CORE's response to the Ukraine Crisis. CORE is partnering with gender experts VOICE and InterSOS in Poland to guarantee the safety and security of women and girl refugees in CORE-supported shelters and ensure our service delivery is gender sensitive. Our shelter network provides mental health services and assistance to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. In Romania, CORE funds grants to local partners that provide access to sexual and reproductive health services for Ukrainian women and distribute vital information on local resources related to women’s rights in Romania and addressing GBV and human trafficking to Ukrainians as they enter the country.