2022
First intervention
322.500
People reached
13
Projects in 2023
8.806.795€
Budget spent in 2022
Context
More than two years after the invasion of Ukraine, which happened in February 2022, military operations in the country continue. Throughout 2023, bombing and fighting caused widespread damage to homes, schools and hospitals, and injured many civilians – especially in the eastern and southern regions.
In 2024, over 14.6 million people will be in need of humanitarian assistance. Of those, more than 3.3 million belong to the frontline communities in the East and the South of the country including those living in the occupied territories. Needs are also high among the nearly 4 million internally displaced people throughout Ukraine, with 111,500 people currently living in collective centres.
By the end of last year, about 720,000 people in the most affected areas lacked adequate shelter. Education has also suffered, with only a third of children attending classes regularly, while health services have faced severe challenges, with many facilities damaged or closed.
The conflict has taken a heavy toll on mental health, affecting nearly 10 million people. Children are particularly vulnerable: more than 1.5 million boys and girls need support to cope with stress, anxiety or other mental health issues.
INTERSOS’ intervention
In 2023 INTERSOS continued to operate across Ukraine through four field bases in Vinnytsia, Kharkiv, Odesa and Dnipro, and one representation office in Kyiv, together covering the oblasts of Vinnytska, Odeska, Kharkivska, Dnipropetrovska, Mykolaivska, Khersons’ka, Zaporizhzhska and Donetska.
All INTERSOS interventions are based on a multi-sectoral approach to respond to the needs of the conflict-affected population. INTERSOS provides Protection services through mobile teams that consist of psychologists and social workers. INTERSOS’ comprehensive Protection package consists of general protection case management, gender-based violence case management, individual assistance, psychosocial support, and legal assistance.
INTERSOS has also implemented medical activities. The medical mobile unit consists of one medical doctor and two nurses who visit the different Hromadas (municipalities) according to a monthly schedule based on the needs and capacity of the local health authorities. The medical mobile unit provides primary health care consultations, distributes medicines (free of charge) and refers patients to the relevant specialised services when needed.
Through dedicated teams, we also bring emergency humanitarian assistance to the frontline and to newly accessible areas, as part of the Rapid Response Mechanism.
In line with its localisation strategy, INTERSOS works with seven local partners across all oblasts of intervention, and 50% of all ongoing projects are jointly implemented with local partners.
INTERSOS provides Protection services through Mobile teams that consist of psychologists and social workers. INTERSOS’ comprehensive Protection package consists of General Protection case management, Gender Based Violence case management, Individual Protection Assistance, Psychosocial Support (both structured and unstructured recreational activities), Protection Monitoring, legal assistance.
At the end of 2023, INTERSOS provided psychosocial support to 8947 individuals, provided capacity strengthening to 440 public officials, supported 1899 people with individual protection assistance and 1671 individuals through case management. INTERSOS has expanded its activities into Child Protection, opening 26 cases for children, and providing 1898 children with psychosocial support. INTERSOS is a member of the Strategic Advisory Group for the Protection Cluster.
INTERSOS currently implements medical activities around two hubs; from Odessa, covering Odessa, Mykolaiv and Kherson, and from Poltava covering Poltava and Kharkiv oblasts. The Medical Mobile Unit consists of one medical doctor and two nurses, visiting the different Hromadas (municipalities) according to a monthly schedule based on the needs in collaboration with local health authorities.
The Medical Mobile Unit provides Primary Health Care consultations with the distribution of medicines (free of charge) and referring people in need to the relevant services when needed. Health promotion and information dissemination are also delivered by the medical staff through sessions organised in the settlements, collective shelters and other community centres. INTERSOS has acquired a fully equipped mobile medical trailer that is currently serving areas close to the front lines in Khersonska, especially in areas where residents have not had access to medical services since the occupation and where facilities have been destroyed. INTERSOS leads the Cash for Health Technical Working Group.
INTERSOS, in collaboration with its partners, reached 671 households over the winter 2022-2023, through the distribution of stoves and firewood, heaters, and insulation repairs. In 2023, a total of 1570 people were reached by all activities, including 626 men, 747 women, 93 boys, and 104 girls. The project covered the population in hard-to-reach and newly accessible areas mostly in the north of Kharkiv oblast in 23 locations of 11 Hromadas (municipalities): Mala Danylivka, Shevchenkove, Derhachi, Kharkiv city, Vysochansk, Olochiv, Lyptsi, Tsyrkuny, Vovchan.
INTERSOS established its Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) in 2022, with the goal of providing immediate life-saving humanitarian assistance during or in the immediate aftermath of conflict-related shocks in frontline and hard to reach areas. The primary focus is on hard-to-reach and very-high-risk areas (0 to 30 km from the frontline) where other access, i.e. regular programming, is not available, providing high-impact assistance to the population with limited or no access to services over a prolonged period of time.
INTERSOS’ RRM Unit delivers lifesaving assistance across the frontlines in Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk. At the end of 2023, INTERSOS is leading the coordination of 14 INGOs delivering RRM and Emergency Response Mechanism services across 5 regions of Ukraine. The RRM Coordination Platform aims to integrate the Humanitarian Operations Planning Cell (HOP-C) deliveries of humanitarian aid and to avoid duplication of activities as well as identifying areas without any access to humanitarian aid. Currently, INTERSOS is the only NGO member of the Last Mile Delivery Working Group.
RRM is delivered through three modalities:
- Rapid deployment of INTERSOS staff either through internal missions or embedded in Humanitarian Operations Planning Cell (HOP-C) convoys: During exploratory missions across target regions, INTERSOS conducted Rapid Needs Assessments in four locations across Sloviansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. INTERSOS participates in HOPC Inter-agency convoys including most recently to Kupiansk, Kupiansk Raion, Kharkivska oblast on April 20, in which 504 hygiene kits were distributed.
- Prepositioning and stockpiling of lifesaving Non Food Items and medical drugs or equipment: Items and equipment including food, shelter, hygiene and medical kits are stored in INTERSOS warehouses and can be deployed to the front lines within 72 hours.
- Supporting Last Mile Delivery Groups: INTERSOS has a Memorandum of Understanding with Relief Coordination Centre (RCC), an umbrella NGO of charity organisations and volunteers in Kharkivska, coordinating assistance in newly-accessible areas with local organisations and authorities. INTERSOS cooperates with RCC covering fuel costs for local volunteer groups providing evacuation from Kupiansk Raion, supports RCC with first aid kits, reimbursement of vehicle maintenance costs and Psychosocial Support for volunteers. INTERSOS also cooperates with the local volunteer logistics centre for humanitarian assistance “Vokzal Hub” and organised with them the delivery of humanitarian aid in the Hromadas (municipalities) of the Kharkiv region. Thanks to the fuel cards provided by INTERSOS, local volunteer groups evacuated 552 people from frontline areas to Kharkiv City.
During the first year of conflict, INTERSOS operators have been active in different countries to respond to the Ukrainian crisis, as illustrated below:
Since the beginning the conflict, INTERSOS workers in Lviv have been providing support to the displaced population from the East of the country in the first reception centres. Since then, INTERSOS has gradually moved to the eastern part of the country, closer to the front line, supporting the population affected by the conflict in Poltava and Vinnytsia and in the oblasts of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizka, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv.
During the first year of conflict, INTERSOS assisted more than 165.000 people. We reached the worst affected areas with mobile protection units and mobile clinics, first in Odessa and then in the East of the country, where most of the displaced population is located.
In order to ensure health care for as many people as possible, we decided to support the national health system still in operation, distributing medical supplies and medicines to primary and secondary health facilities. Our staff also carried out over 3.000 medical examinations in 2022.
Among the Protection activities carried out during the first year of the conflict, which in total reached 75.000 people, INTERSOS distributed 10.000 kits consisting of basic necessities such as food and hygiene kits to ensure dignified living conditions. INTERSOS also launched activities aimed at helping the population to cope with the winter, with temperatures reaching minus 30 degrees celsius and frequent power cuts. We distributed winter kits containing clothes, blankets and mattresses, as well as stoves and firewood.
In all intervention areas, our aid workers carry out protection monitoring, providing assistance to those who have been exposed to psychological or physical harm and preventing the risk of exposure to such violence. We have been able to reach more than 12.000 people with psychological support and psychological first aid programmes, an essential activity in active conflict contexts.
INTERSOS implemented rapid response interventions aimed at responding to emergency needs in newly accessible areas or where needs suddenly increased due to evacuations from frontline areas. The areas where we implemented rapid response interventions are: Kharkiv, Krivy Rhi, Lysychansk, Vinnytsia, Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad and Dnipro. Here, we provided health care and distributed basic necessities such as food, water, clothes, winter clothing, firewood, stoves, heating systems and hygiene kits. We also offered psychological first aid to people who had experienced months of severe physical and psychological tension in the disputed areas.
In the course of 2022, at the border points of Palanca and Tudora, INTERSOS mobile clinics provided emergency medical treatment and basic healthcare assistance to the fleeing population, 60% of whom are women and 30% minors.
In addition to disseminating information on protection and legal guidance, in particular on how to apply for asylum or how to reach a specific European country of destination, our staff conducted constant monitoring of new arrivals, detecting psychological trauma, family separation, exploitation or abuse. In such contexts, the risk of human and child trafficking is increased, as is the risk of being exposed to gender-based violence.
We therefore offered psychosocial assistance and psychological first aid to identify vulnerabilities and refer the most fragile people to specialised services. In addition to the psychological support and identification of vulnerable people, the numerous pets also received assistance and care, thanks to the presence of a veterinarian. We also distributed clothes, blankets, hygiene kits and other essentials.
With the expansion of the mission to the city of Chișinău and the districts of Călărași, Fălești, Hîncești, Strășeni and Ungheni, protection monitoring activities were conducted throughout the country.
As the number of incoming refugees stabilised, the mission redesigned its intervention activities to foster inclusion in Moldovan society, supporting local organisations. Our health staff, through mobile clinics, carried out medical consultations and health promotion for both the refugee and Moldovan populations. Medicines and medical supplies were also delivered to the health facilities.
In Moldova, staff worked for the inclusion of the most vulnerable and marginalised people, such as those belonging to the Roma community. A team of lawyers, psychologists, cultural mediators and social workers worked to meet the needs of these people, working in the Romani language to overcome language barriers and high levels of illiteracy. INTERSOS leads the Roma Task Force, a joint initiative with other humanitarian organisations and government agencies to pool resources and expertise to respond to the daily challenges of the Roma community.
With the arrival of refugees from Ukraine in Italy, in coordination with the Municipality of Rome, we host vulnerable Ukrainian families at the INTERSOS24 centre. In addition to this, INTERSOS in 2022 has started to collaborate with the Municipality of Rome and Civil Protection to support the Ukrainian host population in the first reception circuit with health screening and protection activities.
Moreover, in 2022, INTERSOS, together with UNHCR, has been running the Community Volunteer programme in 6 Italian cities (Turin, Milan, Bologna, Rome, Naples, and Palermo). The programme involves 150 Ukrainian volunteers in supporting the local network and reference services. The goal of the project is to promote meaningful participation of newly arrived communities by involving refugees, asylum seekers and host communities in the decision-making process of economic, social, and cultural life in Italy.
In Athens, together with the Migrants Forum, we are running the ‘Food for All’ project, which provides for the distribution of food and necessities. Through this project, we support the Ukrainian population by providing food bags, food vouchers, awareness-raising sessions, and social services.
INTERSOS was in Korczowa, at the border with Ukraine, two days after the start of the conflict, starting operations in the Handlu-Młyny centre, a shopping centre quickly converted by the local authorities into an informal reception centre with 2.000 beds. The INTERSOS health point was the first medical service INTERSOS to refugees after crossing the border and also the first information point. In total, we assisted over 13.000 people.
In 2022 INTERSOS has offered primary health care to refugees in transit in Korczowa, with the aim of reducing health risks resulting from the stress of displacement, interruption of treatment or other untreated conditions. We distributed medicines, assisted patients with chronic illnesses and carried out medical consultations. Crucially, our staff provided psychological first aid to those who quickly left their homes in Ukraine. INTERSOS disseminated information on the rights of people fleeing, assisting those crossing the border and identifying possible human rights violations, such as trafficking of adults or minors or incidents of gender-based violence. In established cases, our staff referred survivors to specialised services in the country.
As the number of refugee arrivals decreased, the health team also started working in 27 reception centres in urban and rural areas where these people were hosted. Here, over 1.500 patients received medical care and treatment.
At the end of the year, the INTERSOS team moved to the border with Belarus to offer medical assistance to people trying to enter Poland. Here, on the border between Poland and Belarus, the humanitarian crisis has intensified since the summer of 2021. Our activities took place in close cooperation with other NGOs and various formal and informal local community groups involved in direct assistance activities. Operations in Poland ended in early 2023.
