Now in its third year, the war in Ukraine has left thousands dead or injured and millions displaced. Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure and the healthcare system as well as deteriorating economic conditions have compounded Ukrainians’ suffering.
Despite the danger, International Medical Corps is on the ground in Ukraine and the surrounding region, helping Ukrainians both inside and outside the country, including internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees.
With a history of working in Ukraine since 1999, we are working directly and in partnership with local organizations to increase access to medical supplies and services, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), clean water and sanitation, and protection services for those displaced, as well as for those living in areas directly affected by war.
Working with the Ukraine Ministry of Health (MoH), we are providing a wide variety of training to health staff and first responders, including providing critical training in emergency and trauma care, infection prevention and control (IPC), and psychological first aid, and promoting proper hygiene among community members.
In the first two years since Russia mounted its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, more than 30,000 civilians were killed or wounded—and the number continues to grow.
The war has displaced millions of Ukrainians, with 3.5 million displaced within the country. Another 4.7 million have now returned to their places of origin.
In addition to the stress put on Ukraine’s healthcare system by conflict and mass displacement of people, attacks on health infrastructure have weakened the system’s capacity.
To ensure the continuity and accessibility of healthcare in Ukraine, we provide various types of support to local health facilities and populations. We rehabilitate damaged health facilities; procure and deliver equipment, medicine and supplies; provide water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and heating systems; and improve bunkers and harden health facilities to protect staff and patients. Where facilities have been destroyed or extensively damaged, we provide mobile medical services to local populations until the facilities are restored.
To strengthen the capacity of Ukraine’s healthcare system, we’re working with the MoH and other partners to deliver health services and to develop evidence-based policy. We have developed a health-systems strengthening and resilience framework to help deliver effective primary healthcare and emergency services in frontline communities, including by providing health consultations and laboratory testing, distributing essential medicine and equipment, rehabilitating facilities and donating health-related vehicles.
And working with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, we have developed a comprehensive trauma-care and preparedness training program, reaching thousands of health workers and first responders in person, and more than 1 million people online.
We safeguard the mental well-being of affected populations through tailored MHPSS interventions that are integrated with primary healthcare services. Working with local partners, we deliver psychosocial support services and mental health case management. In frontline areas, we use mobile units to ensure that people get the support they need.
Our multidisciplinary teams build local capacity by training health and social workers in topics such as basic psychosocial skills, as well as detection of and referrals for more severe mental health cases. We also teach evidence-based scalable interventions, such as Self-Help Plus (SH+) and the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP).
As a co-leader of the country’s MHPSS Technical Working Group, we align training and interventions with the Ukrainian MHPSS Operational Roadmap and collaborate with stakeholders such as the MoH and the Coordination Center for Mental Health.
Because women and girls are particularly vulnerable during conflict, we work directly and in partnership with women’s rights organizations to implement GBV prevention and response services. This includes awareness-raising and PSS sessions, recreational activities to improve well-being and emotional support groups.
We operate women’s and girls’ safe spaces (WGSS) across Ukraine to increase access to lifesaving, comprehensive, age-appropriate GBV case management and PSS, as well as referrals to specialized care. The WGSS are hubs for information-sharing and empowerment activities where women and girls can build connections, learn new skills and access services. We also meet the needs of GBV survivors by distributing dignity kits and providing cash assistance through our case management services.
To strengthen Ukrainian capacity to address GBV, we train local partners, stakeholders and government staff, covering topics such as implementing a survivor-centered approach and creating effective service mapping and referral mechanisms.
International Medical Corps implements complementary and standalone WASH activities across Ukraine, including rehabilitating health facilities and infrastructure damaged by the conflict. We rehabilitate and drill boreholes, and undertake environmental clean-up and waste management projects. We install modular health facilities, water storage tanks, purification systems and filtration devices to ensure that people and facilities have access to clean water. We also distribute potable water, hygiene kits and IPC kits.
Our cash assistance programs are a key part of our multifaceted health interventions in Ukraine. MCPA supports the most vulnerable populations through direct cash transfers, ensuring transparency and ease of access for the people we help. In addition, our Cash for Health (C4H) initiative has alleviated financial barriers faced by people suffering from chronic diseases, enabling them access to essential medications not covered by national health programs.
Our nutrition programming focuses on mothers and children. We provide infant and young-child feeding (IYCF) interventions in health facilities, community meeting points and in the mother-baby spaces we have established in hospitals and community centers. These interventions include small-group and individual sessions on maternal nutrition and breastfeeding for pregnant women, awareness-raising about IYCF practices, and distribution of hygiene kits, diapers and complementary foods for children from 6 to 23 months.
We also train health workers on IYCF principles and cooperate with the Nutrition Cluster to raise awareness via social media and radio about IYCF best practices.
The war has led to a dramatic increase in physical rehabilitation needs while limiting access to resources. To improve access to quality physical rehabilitation services, we work with the MoH and the Ukrainian Association of Physical Therapy. We equip health facilities with essential physical rehabilitation equipment, develop and disseminate evidence-based guidelines tailored to the Ukrainian context, train medical staff and help make health facilities disability-friendly.
International Medical Corps is committed to fostering localized relief and building local capacity for long-term resilience, especially in the MHPSS, livelihoods and GBV protection sectors. To ensure that local partners are ready to respond to ongoing and emerging crises, we provide tailored technical support and ongoing capacity-strengthening plans.
We coordinate with government bodies at the national and local levels, local organizations, communities, and our humanitarian and development partners and donors to provide emergency relief where needed, as well as system strengthening, in the realm of health and MHPSS in particular. We consult with key stakeholders across a range of ministries and agencies, and—to enhance Ukraine’s long-term resilience—align our efforts with Ukraine’s National Recovery Plan.
International Medical Corps is providing essential winter supplies to people and health facilities in Ukraine.
READ MOREThough Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the two countries had a long history of conflict before that. In 2014, conflict between armed groups and government forces in eastern Ukraine began to affect millions of people. By December 2021, violence on both sides of the 450-kilometer “line of contact” had claimed the lives of more than 3,400 Ukrainian civilians, with more than 7,000 injured, according to estimates from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Since the Russian invasion of February 2022, the number of deaths and casualties has risen by thousands.
The war in Ukraine has caused widespread displacement, significant civilian casualties and severe shortages of basic needs like food, drinking water, electricity and medical supplies. It has disrupted education, separated families and has led to many people experiencing prolonged distress and mental health conditions. Even for those who live far from the front lines, the threat of attacks, power outages and disruption to everyday services, as well as the strain on infrastructure caused by an influx of IDPs, continue to hamper daily life.
Already struggling with high burdens of noncommunicable diseases and mental health needs before the outbreak of war, Ukraine’s healthcare system has suffered significantly since February 2022. Attacks targeting healthcare facilities and infrastructure have increased the challenges of providing timely and effective care to the population—especially in areas near the front lines, where the needs are significant. Shortages of medical supplies, equipment and expertise have compounded the issue. To combat these challenges, International Medical Corps is supporting and rehabilitating healthcare facilities and providing training to workers around the country.
Donating to International Medical Corps enables us to provide lifesaving care for Ukrainians and other crisis-affected people worldwide. Plus, every $1 you give helps generate an average of $30 in additional grants from public donors and in-kind resources. With your help, we can continue supporting Ukrainians, and other people affected by crisis around the world, in their time of need.