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Millions of Ukrainians in need of aid as war enters fourth year: UN

22.02.2025 20:00
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has demonstrated unprecedented solidarity with refugees from Ukraine, especially children, spending billions of dollars to ensure they have access to education, healthcare and social welfare.
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Our job is really to make sure that all children are safe, healthy, learning and thriving, says Nona Zicherman (pictured left), country coordinator for UNICEFs Refugee Response Office in Poland.
"Our job is really to make sure that all children are safe, healthy, learning and thriving," says Nona Zicherman (pictured left), country coordinator for UNICEF's Refugee Response Office in Poland.Photo by Mateusz Rekłajtis, courtesy of UNICEF

According to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Poland also contributed over USD 3.7 million to its operations in Sudan, Ukraine, Syria and Armenia last year.

Three years after the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the humanitarian needs of the civilian population have diminished.

According to the UN's estimates, more than 12 million people in Ukraine still need humanitarian assistance,  with the winter combined with intensifying Russian attacks on key energy infrastructure making their situation even worse.

Nona Zicherman, country coordinator for the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund's (UNICEF) Refugee Response Office in Poland, spoke to Danuta Isler about the change of strategy from the initial rapid response crisis to a protracted response crisis where basic need have been stabilized and a targeted approach is now needed.

The Refugee Response Office was established a few weeks after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 "and our job is really to make sure that all children are safe, healthy, learning and thriving—anywhere in the world," Zicherman said.

"This is UNICEF's mission. How we go about it, of course, is different, depending on the situation," she added.

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