UN Annual Results Report 2022: Early Recovery Efforts in Ukraine

Foreword by the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 shocked the world. Over the course of 2022, this war has resulted in the largest mass displacement of people in Europe since World War II; destroyed entire cities and communities; caused countless tragic deaths of civilians, including children; wiped out 30 years of development gains; and pushed more than a quarter of Ukrainians into poverty. Even under constant attack and amidst horrific devastation, people in Ukraine continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience and solidarity. They organize in volunteer groups, rebuild whole communities as soon as safe to do so, and plan for their future.

As a result of the war, the national development priorities reflected in the previous UN-Government of Ukraine Partnership Framework were put on hold. In the first six months after the invasion the UN in Ukraine focused on the humanitarian response. In partnership with NGOs, local authorities and the government, the response reached 16 million people in Ukraine during 2022 whose lives had been upended by war. Meanwhile the UN development entities focused on supporting the crisis management capacities of government and civil society in the months following the invasion.

At the July 2022 Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano, Switzerland, the Government of Ukraine presented a draft national recovery plan. Based on this plan the UN and the Government jointly agreed on a Transitional Framework for 2022-2023 with a focus on emergency early recovery actions. The UN development system in Ukraine launched at scale these recovery efforts in September 2022. For this reason, this annual report does not speak to outcome level results during 2022, but rather focuses on the contributions made towards concrete recovery needs and the technical support provided to sector ministries and other institutions as they navigated the massive challenges faced by government and society.

In this Annual Results Report, we highlight the joint work of 24 entities of the UN development system, made possible by the UN’s strong partnerships with the Government of Ukraine, local authorities, international development partners, civil society organizations, and the private sector. The priorities of the UN’s emergency early recovery included, for example, delivery of material support to those farthest behind; provision of technical expertise to ministries, institutions and local authorities; support to struggling businesses; and launching of inclusive dialogues that need to inform future recovery coordination and implementation at all levels.

We extend our gratitude to our partners, and in particular to the bilateral and multi-lateral stakeholders that contributed 3.8 billion USD to the humanitarian response of the UN and NGO partners in 2022 and 700 million USD to the UN’s recovery efforts in 2022 and 2023.

The UN remains committed to our partnership with the Government of Ukraine and especially to our collaboration with the institutions, communities and individuals at the local-level across all the regions and hromadas of Ukraine.

I am convinced that Ukraine’s recovery in 2023 will roll out in the same manner as its initial response to the invasion – through the resilient and steadfast commitment of individuals and volunteers across the whole of society. The UN is here to stay and deliver alongside the people of Ukraine.