URGENTLY NEEDED LIFE-SAVING SUPPLIES DELIVERED TO PEOPLE IN MYKOLAIV

Yesterday, the last of the six truckloads of humanitarian assistance for 3,000 people sent over the past week arrived in Mykolaiv. These deliveries provided by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) will help ensure that aid workers on the ground can reach people with food, necessary household items and other non-food items. The trucks also brought medical supplies that will be distributed by local authorities to enable hospitals in the city to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients.

Also yesterday, during the visit led by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, representatives of UN agencies and NGOs met with oblast and local authorities to ensure the continuous coordination and alignment of the relief operations carried out by different actors and to identify gaps. The mission also met with local NGOs implementing most activities to help people in dire need who have now lived through six months of the war.

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, highlighted the importance of yesterday’s and other missions to understand the needs of the people living in the most-affected oblasts. “We know first-hand what the remaining residents of Mykolaiv have to go through on a daily basis. On the visits to the city and surrounding areas, my colleagues have seen people, most of whom are older, with empty bottles desperately trying to find a water distribution point,” she said.

The latest deliveries represent only a fraction of what humanitarian partners have been providing to support the most vulnerable people, who had no choice but to stay in Mykolaiv. “The city is completely cut off from the centralized water supply,” reminded Ms. Brown. Medical services are also becoming increasingly limited in Mykolaiv, and the city now hosts less than half of its pre-war population of nearly 500,000.

Since the start of the war, humanitarian organizations have provided aid to over 540,000 people across Mykolaivska oblast. The work increased in scale in August. WFP has delivered food parcels to cover the needs of over 150,000 families for a month. UNICEF has distributed hygiene supplies for 59,000 people, including 11,000 children, as well as medical equipment and medicines to a hospital in Mykolaiv. Water management companies in Mykolaivska oblast have received purifying chemicals that will allow them to provide safe water to 26,000 people. Also, non-food items, including blankets and solar lamps, were delivered by UNHCR and are expected to benefit over 900 people. And UNHCR has provided refrigerators, cooking appliances, washing machines and fans to centres hosting internally displaced people. Other aid partners working in Mykolaivska oblast continue to provide other types of assistance, such as trucking in water to Mykolaiv city.

“We are working non-stop to sustain and increase our support in Mykolaivska oblast but also to other areas heavily affected by Russia’s war on Ukraine. The humanitarian community is already prepositioning supplies to meet the current needs and help people prepare for the upcoming cold months. We will do all we can to ensure that the most vulnerable receive the assistance they require and deserve. They will not be left behind,” Ms. Brown added.