HIA announces €2.7 million humanitarian aid programme in Ukraine
One month has passed since the war broke out. László Lehel, chairman of the Hungarian Interchurch Aid has announced that the organisation will provide emergency aid to Ukraine worth HUF 1 billion over the coming 3 months. He pledged to support 250 metric tons of supplies monthly, of which approximately 70% is non-perishable food. The remaining 30% are sanitary- and childcare products. A complementary package of medicinal aid is also under preparation.
The next phase of the programme will cover 10 regions:
- All 6 raions of Transcarpathia, supporting roughly 100 different locations hosting internally displaced persons and communities.
- Apart from Transcarpathia the programme also encompasses the cities and regions of Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Poltava and Cherkasy.
In all cases, assistance is preceded by thorough on-site assessment and coordination. Assessed needs allow for a quick and direct response, often locally sourced as well, covering the individual needs of the communities concerned. For example, the hosting stations have received washing machines, water boilers, household appliances or childcare related devices.
Apart from the tangible, hands-on aid work HIA also provides individual support to refugees and IDPs following the international cash assistance methodology, and through psychosocial help, which will be available in multiple locations. In several regions we work in close cooperation with a network of partners since the 2014 outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, but centres of coordination will remain in Lviv and Berehove. Both centres will receive infrastructural and capacity updates: in Berehove, a new warehouse, meanwhile in Lviv a new humanitarian centre with a corresponding logistics base will be built thanks to HIA funds. More than 50 colleagues and volunteers will work on the implementation and execution of the aid programme.
The total value of the aid consignment for Ukraine over the next 3 months will exceed HUF 1 billion. This will be made possible by domestic fundraising efforts of the Hungarian Interchurch Aid, targeted public funding through the Hungary Helps programme and pledges from international donors, including the ACT Alliance, an international association of more than 140 member organisations, and strong support from DanChurchAid and FinnChurchAid, two partner organisations working closely together with HIA in Ukraine.
