Issues
Active conflict continues to take enormous toll on the lives of children in Ukraine. In circumstances of continuous displacement, deteriorating socioeconomic conditions, and crippling violence, children are exposed to and endure extreme protection risks and rights violations each day. According to 2024, HNRP over 14.6 million people, including 3.2 million (22%) children, are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.... The nearly two-thirds of children who have been forced to flee their homes continue to be exposed to various protection risks, including family separation, abuse, neglect, abduction, physical and sexual exploitation, injury and disability, violence and trafficking, psychosocial distress, mental health issues, leading to an acute child protection crisis. Children are still being forced to protect themselves in underground shelters and subway stations, where conditions are dire . Even where they are not directly targeted, children witness violence, experience terror, and deal with uncertainty and anxiety daily. The lasting effects can be both physical and emotional, impacting heavily on children’s learning, behaviour, and emotional and social development. read more
Child Protection Area of Responsibility
The overall objective of the Child Protection Area of Responsibility (CP AoR) is to lead the coordination of the child protection efforts in humanitarian settings to ensure children in emergencies are protected from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence. The CP AoR, is led by UNICEF, is a community with a wide, diverse, and active membership of national and international organizations, and local actors committed to supporting and providing the coordination of child protection response and prevention activities in humanitarian crises, seek consensus on strategic issues and create partnerships and linkages for better prioritization of the available resources....Membership of the CP AoR is open to UN agencies, international organizations, national and international NGOs, government, and civil society organizations actively involved in child protection programming in Ukraine. In 2023, the Child Protection AoR has around 250 partners (implementing and reporting) who are active across Ukraine, reaching 2.3 million people, including 1.5 million children (840,865 girls; 712 416 boys; 29,169 children’s with disabilities) with critical child protection prevention and response services. These services include mental and health psychosocial support, case management for most vulnerable children, support for care arrangements, child protection messaging, and transport assistance in Ukraine. read more