The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) requested this Friday almost 700 million euros to support the priority needs of Ukrainians who fled their country to Poland due to the war imposed by Russia.
This appeal is being coordinated by the UN agency, but brings together 87 organizations that are part, in Poland, of the Regional Inter-institutional Plan for Refugee Response, said the organization’s spokeswoman, Olga Sarrado, at a press conference held in Geneva, Switzerland.
“So far, 25% of appeals to Poland have been financed”he added.
According to the same source, UNHCR will expand its operations to help refugees in Poland, a country that remains the main destination for fleeing Ukrainians, welcomed more than 3.5 million people since the beginning of the war on February 24.
Refugees who continue to arrive, many of them without plans or financial resources, ask for help mainly to access health services, but there are also many requests for support on issues such as “transport, money, psychosocial needs, housing and access to social services ”. , even for people with disabilities and older adults,” said the spokeswoman.
UNHCR therefore decided to support the efforts led by the Government of Poland, through a multisectoral response focused on protection services, cash assistance, emergency supplies and reception capacity.
“UNHCR launched its cash assistance program in March” and, “as of this Friday, establishes eight registration centers to receive financial support in key refugee receiving areas, including Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw, Ostroda, Gdynia and Gdansk”, said Olga Sarrado. , noting that more than 100,000 refugees from Ukraine have already received financial support from UNHCR to cover basic needs, such as paying rent or buying food and medicine.
“The money is provided for a period of three months to those most in need. — serving as a transitory emergency safety net — until they can be better maintained or included in government social protection systems,” he explained.
According to the spokesman for the UN agency, nearly 20% of refugees applying for financial assistance have specific needs.
“Assistance is provided to serious medical cases, older adults, single mothers without family support, women at risk and people with disabilities. Half of the children with special needs are separated or unaccompanied,” said the same source.
In addition, the spokeswoman said, UNHCR has also established, together with UNICEF, 12 Safe Spaces, Protection and Support Centers in Polandwhere refugees can access information and advice on rights and receive immediate psychosocial support.
On the other hand, the UN agency “continues to deliver humanitarian goods to Ukraine from Poland,” said Olga Sarrado, adding that “So far, 139 UNHCR aid trucks have been sentfrom the warehouse in Rzeszow, to help displaced people and people affected by the conflict within that country”.
Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine on February 24 that killed nearly 4,000 civilians, according to the UN, which warns the true number is likely to be much higher.
The war in Ukraine has already caused more than 14 million people to flee their homes -some eight million internally displaced persons and more than 6.1 million to neighboring countries-, according to the latest UN data, which places this crisis of refugees as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
The United Nations also said that around 15 million people need humanitarian assistance in Ukraine.
The Russian invasion was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and tightening economic and political sanctions on Moscow.
Source: Observadora
