Humanitarian Aid for Destroyed Villages in Chernihiv Oblast, Menska CC

Meeting Urgent Needs in Ukraine

Since the onset of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, an estimated 8.1 million refugees have fled to neighboring countries, while more than 5.9 million people have been displaced inside Ukraine in search of safety, protection and assistance meeting basic needs. 

As the scale of this humanitarian crisis continues to grow, Global Communities is working directly with local governments and civil society organizations to support meeting non-food item and hygiene needs in 8 communities across 3 oblasts in western Ukraine.

To date, we have procured and arranged for delivery of more than $1 million worth of humanitarian goods, including such items as beds, blankets, kitchen goods and lamps as well as distributed critical personal hygiene supplies like baby diapers, soap, sanitary pads and toilet paper for internally displaced people.

Whenever possible, we prioritized procuring goods from Ukrainian producers and vendors, which continue to operate in Ukraine either directly or remotely from a neighboring country.

In addition to direct procurements, Global Communities has leveraged its relationships with 100 local governments across Ukraine to connect them to each other, local NGOs and other international organizations. This has led to western Ukrainian communities connecting with and sending supplies to eastern communities in need, and the provision of direct food assistance or cash from local and international NGOs.

Global Communities continues to monitor the needs of communities on an ongoing basis, facilitating these connections and planning for future assistance. 

Engaging Partner Communities to Strengthen Outreach Efforts

Global Communities has worked in Eastern Europe for more than 60 years and has a deep understanding of the unique needs of the region. Since 2016, in Ukraine specifically, we have led a consortium of local and international organizations to implement a program that improves the ability of local governments to identify and support the needs of their community, with a focus on promoting gender equality, women’s empowerment and enhancing economic sustainability. Through this work, our dedicated team on the ground has developed close relationships with local governments and organizations across 10 oblasts. With the onset of the war, we have been able to engage this network to conduct rapid assessments to identify specific needs prioritized by affected communities in Ukraine. 

Notably, our partnerships with local self-government and civil society organizations in our 100 partner communities allow us to reach both deeply and broadly to strengthen the outreach of humanitarian assistance efforts, from large cities to smaller towns and consolidated communities across Ukraine. Our team maintains telephone contact with communities that are otherwise more challenging to reach given the conflict context, allowing us to build capacity to respond from a distance as needed and help target assistance to meet the immediate and lifesaving needs of those who might otherwise be neglected. 

Drawing from Decades of Humanitarian Response

Global Communities knows that as this crisis evolves, the emergency needs will also evolve. With extensive experience in humanitarian response during complex emergencies, Global Communities can leverage our technical capabilities and skilled Ukrainian and international professionals to respond to the needs of Ukrainians affected by conflict. We will complement our Ukraine country team’s on-the-ground access, networks and understanding of local systems with our global humanitarian assistance expertise. 

We currently implement humanitarian assistance programming, including multi-purpose cash or cash modalities for food assistance or non-food items as well as protection, in conflict-affected contexts including Ethiopia, Syria and Yemen.  

Our approach to humanitarian assistance focuses on restarting livelihoods, increasing access to financial services, rebuilding homes and neighborhoods, and providing psychosocial support. Protection is at the heart of our programs, and through mainstreaming protection and direct service delivery, we ensure that lifesaving responses are grounded in the principle of Do No Harm and guided by the core humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.

To read more about our experience with complex humanitarian emergencies, download our technical briefs below.

   

ukraine
CRISIS TO RESILIENCE SERIES

Governing in Crisis: Layering Decentralization Assistance and Emergency Response in Ukraine

Global Communities has had a long presence in Ukraine and continues to serve communities during Russia’s full-scale invasion that began in February 2022. By layering lifesaving humanitarian interventions with long-term development assistance, we are working with Ukrainian communities to respond to the crisis, set the stage for post-war reconstruction and foster lasting resilience to shocks and stresses. 

$1 million

Total value of humanitarian goods procured and delivered since onset of war

60

Number of years Global Communities has worked in Eastern Europe

100

Partner communities in Ukraine helping to strengthen outreach of humanitarian assistance efforts

Global Communities has a unique ability to respond to this crisis, as we have spent the last six years building relationships of trust with the local governments and civil society in Ukraine who will ultimately lead the recovery. This is just one example of how, as global conflicts increase and intensify, we will need to bring to the table real expertise across both sustainable development and humanitarian assistance. In today’s world, one can pivot to the other faster than ever before.” 

Julie Steiger
Senior Director, Humanitarian Program Operations 

Recent Programs

Strengthening Local Governance and Citizen Engagement

Since 2016, Global Communities has led an international consortium of organizations in Ukraine to implement a $67 million decentralization program that improves the ability of 100 local governments across all regions of Ukraine to identify and support the needs of their community, with a focus on promoting gender equality, women’s empowerment and enhancing economic sustainability. Through this work, our team has developed close relationships with local governments and civil society organizations. Ahead of the war that came to Ukraine in early 2022, Global Communities worked to promote good governance and citizen engagement in 100 communities, reaching tens of thousands of residents. We supported local initiatives ranging from environmental cleanups and infrastructure development to job training and youth empowerment.

Combating Corruption at the Community Level

The Ukrainian Communities Countering Corruption Together project, supported by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, aimed to reduce corruption at the community level, with a focus on enabling improved services in the health care and education sectors, in 20 communities across Ukraine. The project’s approach was based on the idea that rather than creating more bureaucracy and red tape, anti-corruption tools should be integrated directly into existing structures for efficiency and efficacy. Under this project, communities adopted 39 anti-corruption tools, developed 39 citizen budgets and established 53 supervisory boards at educational and health care institutions to increase transparency, openness and accessibility between government and citizens. Participating communities also developed methodology for monitoring the level of transparency and efficient use of public funds in the health care and education sectors and developed one budget simulator and one public “School Advisors” platform, among other accomplishments.

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