Ukraine

Summary of needs

The ongoing war in Ukraine has severely impacted children, exposing them to persistent violence, exploitation, physical risk and psychological distress while limiting their access to critical services. Grave violations of children’s rights continue unabated, with at least 659 children killed and 1,747 injured since the escalation of the war.¹ Nearly 3.47 million² highly vulnerable children,³ including 10 per cent with disabilities⁴ and their parents or primary caregivers, urgently need safety, stability and specialized emergency child protection (CP) services. A significant portion of those in need, particularly in the north-east (30 per cent), east (36 per cent) and south (16 per cent), face heightened risks due to escalating hostilities. Children in front-line areas and along Ukraine’s border with the Russian Federation encounter higher risks, including witnessing or experiencing violence, ongoing displacement and deteriorating living conditions.

More than 2 million children (54 per cent girls and 46 per cent boys) are experiencing compounding protection risks and rights violations. A 2024 CP Assessment found that 84 per cent of households identify psychosocial distress as a critical risk for children in their communities, with at least one third of respondents reporting children under five showing visible signs of mental health issues. Nearly half of all caregivers report their children feel unsafe all the time, while 86 per cent express constant worry about their children’s safety. The war has inarguably affected caregivers’ mental health and their ability to provide adequate protection and stability. Family separations have increased as a result of the overall situation, a significant concern for 36 per cent of households.⁵

Attacks on schools and hospitals have restricted children’s access to education and health care, exacerbating their anxiety and psychological stress. The use of explosive weapons in populated areas also poses significant risk to children, including injuries or death,⁶ with 15 per cent of respondents reporting the presence of explosive hazards near where they live.

Recent analysis from Care International highlights that girls face a higher risk of sexual violence and exploitation when involved in unpaid care work, and subsequent sleep and eating disorders. Boys attending classes in Russian-occupied territories, face greater risks of being involved in hostilities,⁷ death and injuries from explosive ordnance, and substance abuse among other harmful coping mechanisms. Children with disabilities face extensive challenges, including limited access to assistive technologies, inadequate infrastructure and communication barriers, which complicate their mobility and participation in society.

Response strategy

In 2025, the CP AoR will target 2.06 million children and caregivers, leveraging prior investments and partnerships with the Ministry of Social Policy, state services, local authorities and communities to address the critical needs. Key elements include prevention, risk mitigation and strengthening the social service workforce to ensure sustainability and local ownership.

The CP AoR prioritizes mainstreaming AAP using a child-centred approach, tailored for age, gender and disability status. The AoR continues to strengthen codes of conduct, child safeguarding and PSEA measures, GBV risk mitigation, and disability inclusion among its members. Partners promote child participation throughout the programme cycle, child-friendly feedback and reporting mechanisms, and increased awareness of how to access and report safeguarding issues.

Targeting and prioritization

In 2025, the CP AoR will prioritize life-saving, specialized child protection services to the most vulnerable 2.06 million⁸ girls and boys and their families (60 per cent children, 40 per cent caregivers⁹), with a focus on regions with severe intersectoral needs (severity phases 4 and 5) and critical phase 3 areas. These include front-line and other hard-to-reach, underserved locations primarily in north-eastern (24 per cent), eastern (42 per cent) and southern (20 per cent) oblasts, where social services are limited. CP AoR plans to reach 86 per cent of the children and caregivers with severe and catastrophic (severity 4 and 5) child protection needs and those with critical needs for severity phase 3. By applying a severity-based approach, the CP AoR will tailor critical protection services to meet the needs of children and caregivers.

CP AoR partners will collaborate with state authorities, other clusters/AoRs and local communities to maximize the impact, ensure sustainability and promote local ownership of interventions. Prioritized prevention and response, and CP actions have been determined through robust, coordinated approaches and collaboration with community and state authorities.

Cost of response

The Child Protection AoR requires $128.9 million for 2025 to reach 2.06 million children and families with child protection services, 8 per cent lower compared to 2024. Child protection services are human resource heavy, labour intensive and dependent on specialized professionals such as case workers and psychologists in delivering services that meet needs and minimum standards – all of which contributes to the overall cost. Partners have adopted various modalities of implementation, including remote, mobile delivery and face-to-face activities, which incur additional costs such as personal protection equipment and duty-of-care, and safety measures. The scale of people to be assisted and the location of service provision also affect the costs, with services in front- line communities, hard-to-reach areas being more expensive. The funding requirement is calculated based on the number of people to be reached with assistance and services per activity and outcome, with costs-per-child calculated for each specific intervention. The cost-per-activity takes into account various factors such as location, skilled labour wages, logistics and modality of implementation.