The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is launching its broad cash-based programme in Ukraine to support the most vulnerable families forced to flee their homes in regions affected by hostilities.
With initial funding from the UN Central Emergency Fund (CERF), the European Union, Canada, Germany and the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), IOM's cash-based programme will cover multiple regions in Ukraine in coordination with local authorities and other humanitarian actors.
Zakarpattia Region will be the first area to be covered with the aim of reaching 40,000 people with cash amounts transferred to them via the post office and other financial service providers in Ukraine, in coordination with the Oblast Administration and their Department of Social Policy.
The assistance will be provided to the most vulnerable groups among those internally displaced and host communities, such as pregnant and single women, families with two or more children, persons will disabilities, and the elderly.
According to IOM country-wide representative survey on displacement, conducted between 9 and 16 March, since the beginning of the war, nearly 6.5 million people were forced to flee their homes and relocate in other areas inside the country. Western oblasts of Ukraine remain the primary destination for those newly displaced.
Local authorities estimate that around 500,000 displaced persons have reached Zakarpattia Region so far.
"Multipurpose cash assistance in Zakarpattia and the other regions will support the most vulnerable communities to meet their basic needs in a dignified and empowering manner, while indirectly supporting the local economy at the level of host communities," said Marco Chimenton, IOM Ukraine Emergency Coordinator.
In addition to Zakarpattia, IOM Mission in Ukraine has further established its operational presence in Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Vinnytsia to support multi-sectorial, life-saving and life-preserving humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons, host communities and other conflict-affected groups, including migrants who are stranded in Ukraine and will need support to ensure their safety during and after crossing the borders with the EU.
***
