The Human Impact Assessment (HIA) provides comprehensive insights into how the February 2022 full-scale Russian invasion has affected areas such as living conditions, health, access to education, livelihoods, food security and gender equality.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) led the joint initiative, which was implemented at the request of the Office of the President and the Government of Ukraine.  

Helping to guide recovery

The report considers the war’s impact across all areas of Ukraine which were under the control of the Government at the time of assessment.  

All population groups were included, and in both rural and urban areas, with particular focus on women, internally displaced persons, older people, persons with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual and more), and Roma communities.

“The data in this Assessment underscores the stark impacts of the Russian invasion, particularly on Ukraine’s most vulnerable people,” said Denise Brown, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the country.

“Its recommendations will also help guide the entire UN system as we work with the Government, communities, and civil society in Ukraine, doing what is needed as they navigate their way to recovery,”

Utility disruptions

The Assessment revealed that although living standards and access to basic services stabilized following the initial months of conflict, living conditions faced a setback last winter due to country-wide utility disruptions.  

Other findings reveal that unemployment is predicted to stand at 18.3 per cent this year. Most households reported that work had been affected since the start of the war, mainly due to job loss, salary cuts, and reduced hours.

Sixty-five per cent of households reported a decrease in income since February 2022, while the share of families with paid work accounting for their primary source of income decreased from 67 per cent to 53 per cent.

Dangerous times, desperate measures

Families are also finding it hard to put enough food on the table, with 44 per cent of households unable to afford essential needs, driving food insecurity.  

The proportion of households with inadequate food consumption has also risen from one-fifth to one-third.  Additionally, 43 per cent of households reported that they have resorted to measures such as limiting portions, borrowing food, and/or eating cheaper foods.

Ukraine’s education system has remained functioning throughout the fighting, although the war has caused disruptions and online learning is the norm. The report revealed that 11 percent of young people identify a lack of access to quality education.

Unsafe and overworked

Additionally, 3.6 million people are at risk of gender-based violence. Some 55 per cent of women said they felt unsafe in their daily life, and 23 percent of those surveyed reported spending more than 50 hours per week on domestic chores.

The Assessment contains recommendations for the authorities, donors, international non-governmental organizations and international financial institutions.  

These include supporting the Government in upholding the rights of all groups affected by the war, aiding households and communities in rebuilding their resources, improving access to social protection systems, and implementing recovery efforts that focus on the changing needs of affected populations.  

Human cost of war

It also calls for establishing policies in areas that include restoring agricultural production, investing in education and skills training, prioritizing livelihood interventions, and building inclusive societies during and after the war.

Yulia Sokolovska, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said the Assessment marks an important milestone in understanding the true human cost of the conflict.  

“The Human Impact Assessment provides crucial insights into the resilience of our people, as well as the areas where we need to focus our recovery efforts,” she said.

“We understand the depth of our responsibility and are committed to ensuring the needs of our most vulnerable citizens are not just recognized but met.”

Dam response continues

Meanwhile, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, continues to support response in the wake of the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam earlier this month.

Two inter-agency convoys travelled to affected areas on Monday, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told journalists attending the daily briefing at the global body’s Headquarters in New York.

He said teams were in Kalynivske, located in the Kherson region, which is home to nearly 1,700 people who were already facing serious humanitarian needs due to the conflict. Some 3,400 people lived there prior to the war.

“We delivered water, hygiene kits, bedding and shelter material, as well as food for all people in the town for a month.  Enough medicine and medical supplies to treat the entire population for three months was also delivered,” he said.

More funding needed

Humanitarians also delivered eight truckloads of critical humanitarian assistance to some 4,000 people in two communities in the Dnipro Region. The destruction of the dam has left 40,000 residents there, mostly elderly persons, with extremely limited access to water  

“Our colleagues also provided emergency services, including first aid and counselling, shelter materials and dignity kits, to people affected by the attack yesterday in Odesa and the day before in Kryvyi Rih,” he added.                                

Mr. Haq stressed the critical need for sustained international support for humanitarian operations in Ukraine, noting that $3.9 billion appeal is only around 26 per cent funded.  

Addressing donors at a pledging event in Geneva convened by the UN with Egypt, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the European Union, Mr. Guterres said that some $3 billion was needed to assist people in Sudan and those who have fled to neighbouring countries.

“The scale and speed of Sudan’s descent into death and destruction is unprecedented,” he warned. “Without strong international support, Sudan could quickly become a locus of lawlessness, radiating insecurity across the region.” 

Devastating toll

Speaking via video message as a new temporary ceasefire between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was coming into effect, the UN chief said that hundreds of civilians had been killed and many thousands more injured since clashes erupted in mid-April.

“These numbers grow by the day. The situation in Darfur and Khartoum is catastrophic. Fighting is raging with people attacked in their homes and on the street,” Mr. Guterres said.

“Before this conflict erupted, Sudan was already grappling with a humanitarian crisis. This has now escalated into a catastrophe affecting more than half the country’s people.” 

The UN Secretary-General insisted that it was the international community’s duty to support the people of Sudan and neighbouring countries. 

He also condemned violence against aid workers and the looting of humanitarian supplies, appealing to the warning parties to protect civilians and enable humanitarian action, in line with international law.

Streets ‘stained with blood’

Echoing that message, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk reiterated his willingness to mediate between both parties to the conflict.

“I have also urged all States to help advance a resolution to this catastrophe. Yet efforts to pursue and sustain a ceasefire have produced little to no success. We still see a reckless, senseless conflict taking place in a context of total impunity. The streets of Khartoum and its surrounding cities, of El Geneina and of El Obeid are stained with the blood of civilians.”

Mr. Türk said that he was appalled by allegations of sexual violence, including rape, noting that his Office had received credible reports of 18 incidents of sexual violence related to the conflict against at least 53 women and girls – the victims include at least 10 girls. 

In one case, 18-20 women were reportedly raped in the same attack. In almost all cases, the RSF was identified as the perpetrator. But there is little access to medical and psychosocial support and many cases remain unreported.

Sudan’s young pay highest price

“This is a human rights and humanitarian crisis that is unfolding at an alarming rate, on a devastating scale and with a complexity not seen before in Sudan”, said the UN Human Rights Chief. 

“Every day, children are bearing the harrowing consequences, with more than 13 million across the country in urgent need of lifesaving humanitarian support, including 5.6 million in Darfur. At least 620,000 are reported to be suffering from acute malnutrition.” 

Ceasefire welcomed

Mr. Türk welcomed the new 72-hour nationwide ceasefire agreed on 17 June and urged the two parties to respect their commitments to halt the fighting and to allow the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout the country.

“The new ceasefire is a new opportunity to put an end to this sea of suffering. I remind the two parties of their obligations to respect international humanitarian and human rights law and to take all measures necessary to protect all civilians — including humanitarian and medical workers – from harm.” 

The UN rights chief also called on the authorities to conduct prompt, thorough, impartial, and independent investigations into all alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. “I remind them that failure to pursue accountability for past grave violations has contributed to the current crisis,” he said.

The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and head of OCHA, Martin Griffiths, said: “Each day the crisis in Sudan continues, the humanitarian situation grows ever more desperate. Despite the raging violence, humanitarian workers – including our heroic local partners operating on the frontlines – are pressing ahead with their efforts to deliver aid to people in need.”

He said the pledges – which include an additional $22 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund – would provide a “lifeline for millions of people living in the world’s most dangerous and difficult conditions.”

Time for ‘durable peace’

The head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi said the commitment shown by donors to those affected “comes just in time, as our resources for the situation are dwindling.

“The pledges will save lives and help alleviate some hardship. Ultimately, of course, only a durable peace will allow the Sudanese to restart their lives.”

Addressing the Human Rights Council, Hassan Hamid Hassan, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sudan to the UN Geneva condemned the murder of West Darfur governor Khamis Abdullah Abbaker, assigning responsibility “to the rebel forces”.

The destruction earlier this month of the Soviet-era dam and hydroelectric plant in an area reportedly under Russian control since its invasion in 2022, has caused widespread flooding across southern Ukraine, washing away homes, destroying sanitation and sewage systems and crippling water supplies.

In a statement, Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown vowed that the UN would press on with relief efforts, “and do all it can to reach all people – including those suffering as a result of the recent dam destruction – who urgently need life-saving assistance, no matter where they are.”   

The UN would also continue to engage to seek the necessary access. 

“We urge the Russian authorities to act in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law,” she said, adding: “Aid cannot be denied to people who need it.”

The emptying of Kakhovka Reservoir has left tens of thousands of people in southern Ukraine without access to piped water, mainly in the Dnipro region. 

The reservoir – one of the largest in Europe – is reportedly 70 per cent empty, according to Ukrainian authorities. 

The width of the reservoir has also decreased from three kilometres to one, while the water level is now at around seven meters, well below the 12-metre operational threshold, the UN’s main humanitarian coordination wing, known as OCHA, reported at the end of last week.