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Current Requirements (US$)$690.3 million
Crisis Overview:
The war in Ukraine has precipitated one of the largest refugee crises in the world. Since its escalation in February 2022, almost 6.8 million refugees from Ukraine have been recorded globally, with 92 per cent in Europe. Partners across the region have come together through three consecutive coordinated and comprehensive Regional Refugee Response Plans (RRPs) to protect and assist refugees from Ukraine hosted in 11 countries. Governments have been in the lead of this response since the beginning, and the RRP supports them to address the evolving, yet persisting, humanitarian needs.
Based on population movement trends since the start of the conflict, it is expected that refugee movements to and from Ukraine will remain largely stable in 2025, barring any unforeseen significant developments inside the country. Refugees from Ukraine continue to face challenges, particularly among vulnerable groups like women, children, older people, and those with disabilities. Family separation heightens risks of gender-based violence (GBV) and trafficking. Economic inclusion remains a struggle, with many refugees limited to informal, lower-wage work due to language barriers, skill recognition issues, and limited training opportunities.
Access to healthcare is a pressing concern, with refugees facing high costs, long wait times, and language barriers, especially for those with chronic illnesses. Mental health needs are significant but largely unmet, and gaps in education leave half of school-aged children unenrolled, posing long-term risks to their development. Coordinated efforts are needed to reinforce protection, healthcare, education, and economic support to ensure refugees’ stability and prospects amid ongoing displacement.
The response will therefore ensure effective access to legal status, rights and services as well as address refugees’ needs and vulnerabilities in the host countries and communities, with targeted multisectoral support as necessary in the areas of protection, health, mental health, education, socio-economic inclusion, basic needs, and social cohesion.
Warsaw, Poland
Kristina, 36, and her children Roma, 12, Emanuel, 9 and Gizella, 4, have found a comforting community at the Foundation Towards Dialogue. For Kristina, this place is full of warmth, where she can connect with other Romani and Ukrainian mothers, creating a sense of home and belonging.
UNHCR/Anna LiminowiczResponse priorities in 2025
For 2025, the Ukraine RRP seeks $698.4 million to protect and assist more than 2.1 million refugees and 41,500 affected host community members in Moldova. The RRP targets refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. Included in the response plan are also other refugees living in the same communities as refugees from Ukraine, people who are stateless or at risk of statelessness.
As the refugee situation becomes more protracted, and the coordinated response enters its fourth year, the focus is shifting from addressing urgent humanitarian needs to ensuring refugees have effective access to legal status, protection and rights and are included in their host countries’ societies and national services. This requires sustainable, long-term responses that empower refugees to rebuild their lives with dignity while making meaningful contributions to the societies that have welcomed them. To help make progress against these longer-term goals, partners have developed a two-year plan aligning the response more closely with government plans.
Slovakia
Ukrainian refugees find solace and purpose through sewing, helping to rebuild their lives, foster hope, and promote inclusion in their new communities.
UNHCR/Martina MatejovaPartners will focus on ensuring the sustainability of the response, by promoting effective inclusion in national systems and services, refugee empowerment and self-reliance in support of host governments, local authorities, and national and local civil society. This may also include consolidating or transitioning service delivery as well as coordination systems to the Government, where feasible and appropriate. Efforts to strengthen the capacity of national systems and institutions benefit refugees and host communities alike.
Emphasis will also be placed on strengthening localization by continuing the engagement with national and local civil society organizations, municipalities, and refugee-led organizations in order to support and strengthen local capacity and consolidate the response across the country, including in rural areas or urban centers other than capital cities. These actors play a central role in this Plan, ensuring that the response is tailored to the specific needs of communities.
Nevertheless, support may still be needed to enable governments to identify evolving refugee needs and expand services to address those needs. Supporting host government preparedness measures and efforts will also remain important, focusing on the possibility of increased numbers of arrivals during the winter months if attacks on critical infrastructure continue and the energy situation in Ukraine does not improve.
Suceava, Romania
Ukrainian refugees participate in Romanian language courses organized by Suceava Youth Centre (National Youth Foundation) building skills for integration and connection.
National Youth Foundation/Radu AndonieThe Ukraine 2025-26 RRP is guided by the four following regional strategic objectives:
- Support host countries to ensure that refugees have continued access to legal status, protection, and rights, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups and including age, gender and diversity considerations.
- Support host countries in their efforts to include refugees in national systems–decent work, social protection, health, education, child protection services–with a particular focus on outreach and inclusion of vulnerable groups and including, age, gender and disability considerations.
- Strengthen social cohesion and peaceful coexistence between refugee communities and their hosts.
- Advance localization of the response, by supporting national and local civil society, municipalities and local authorities, as well as coordination structures, sharing and building capacities and supporting sustainable programming.
The Plan supports government leadership and will remain closely aligned with national strategies and is underpinned by the principles of partnership, equality, and transparency. Mainstreamed across these four strategic objectives are several cross-cutting response priorities, including government ownership, sustainability, one-refugee-approach, accountability to affected people, age, gender and diversity, and the protection from sexual exploitation and abuse.
Working with local partners to improve refugee response
An important element of the Ukraine RRP is to work with and through local partners, supporting them to tailor their programmes to better meet refugees’ needs while also strengthening their capacity to navigate international financing. In Poland, in 2025, RRP partners will participate in the Social Behavior Change Communication Strategy initiative. This strategy seeks to better understand the factors influencing refugee behavior, in order to improve communication. The strategy will focus on social and economic inclusion, social cohesion, skills development, language learning and collective shelter environments, among others. In Moldova, the Refugee Coordination Forum will bring together 40 civil society representatives and local authorities in the last quarter of 2024, to strengthen their capacity to protect refugee rights and undertake institutional development. Through six learning modules, participants gain valuable skills in areas like non-profit management, organizational development, financial sustainability, project management, external relations and advocacy. In Bulgaria, inter-agency partners joined forces to enhance information dissemination on vaccination for children, a key requirement for school enrolment. With support from RRP partners, the Ministry of Health conducted vaccination campaigns and information sessions reaching refugee parents and caregivers ahead of the 2024-2025 academic year. As a result, more than 4,200 refugee children have been enrolled in Bulgarian schools, representing a 17 per cent increase compared to the previous school semester. In Romania, to strengthen local fundraising, RRP partners in the refugee coordination forum have initiated a peer learning program on fundraising and a mapping of funding opportunities. Further, in October, RRP partners participated in a “Donor Meet-Up” with representatives from 14 donor countries and 26 private-sector entities. This marketplace-style event facilitated networking and partnership-building.
2024 in review: Response highlights and consequences of inaction
Response highlights
Protection
960,000 individuals accessed protection services
30 Sep 2024Child protection
8,065 participants trained on child protection and children’s rights
30 Sep 2024Education personnel
21,000 education personnel trained or received support to better respond to the needs of refugee learners
30 Sep 2024Education
113,000 children participated in non-formal education programmes in the host countries
30 Sep 2024Consequences of inaction
Moldova | Refugee inclusion
Underfunding at this critical juncture risks undermining the country's progress in refugee inclusion, potentially setting back two years of reforms that support over 100,000 refugees–4 per cent of the population, including 81 per cent women and children.
Bulgaria | Community space
For smaller community-based and refugee-led organizations, underfunding affects their capacity to maintain community spaces for refugees that offer protection services and bring together refugees and the local community.
Bulgaria | Mental health and psychosocial support
Out of the targeted 42,000 individuals in need of mental health and psychosocial support services and activities, partners have reached 19 per cent during the year. Funding gaps affect the ability to retain specialized professionals–such as doctors, occupational therapists, child psychologists, and skilled teachers–to address the diverse needs of children with autism, development disabilities, and other specific needs.
Romania | Vocational support
With limited resources, partners cannot sustain language classes, job placement, or vocational training, essential for refugees’ economic independence. Over 7,800 individuals, including 3,000 needing vocational support and 4,800 awaiting entrepreneurship guidance, are directly impacted.
Romania | Education
Of the 45,000 refugee students enrolled during the 2023/2024 school year, only 30 per cent attended schools regularly. Education hubs that assist 9,000 students in transitioning to Romanian schools are also at risk of closure.
References
- As of 15 October 2024.
- With people still fleeing the war and hostilities across Ukraine, some refugees undertaking pendular movements and short-visits to Ukraine and host communities, and other refugees have returned to Ukraine on a more permanent basis.
- In the case of Moldova partners will provide targeted support to vulnerable, individual members of the host community.