Ukraine

The Shelter/NFI Cluster’s interventions are closely aligned with Strategic Objectives 1 and 2 and are designed to support and reinforce all four Strategic Priorities under the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP). The Cluster’s work directly supports the HNRP Strategic Objective 1 by delivering timely, life-saving assistance in areas of highest severity through emergency shelter support, repairs, and targeted winterization measures that reduce exposure to the elements, protect lives, and enhance thermal comfort. It also advances Strategic Objective 2 by improving living conditions and supporting the continuity of essential services, particularly in displacement-affected communities where inadequate shelter and damaged infrastructure impede access to health, education, and social services, including heating and electricity.

Across the four Strategic Priorities of the 2026 HNRP, the Shelter/NFI Cluster will contribute as follows:

Strategic Priority 1 - Frontline Response

In the 0 to 50 km frontline zone, the Cluster will provide lifesaving support to households facing ongoing hostilities and severe seasonal risks. Assistance will include emergency shelter kits and construction materials to close the building envelope and seal damaged homes and social facilities from further deterioration. Essential NFIs and winter heating will support vulnerable families in withstanding harsh winter conditions amid widespread energy disruptions. In the area 20 km beyond the official areas of active hostilities1, Humanitarian repairs of private housing and apartment buildings, along with the refurbishment of collective centres, will further ensure safe, thermally efficient and habitable conditions, and sustained access to essential services in the most severely affected communities.

Strategic Priority 2 - Evacuations

To support safe, dignified movement from high-risk areas, the Cluster will provide essential NFIs, winter heating and personal insulation for both individual and shared use in transit centres, interim evacuation points, invisibility points, and bomb shelters. Communal NFIs in addition to technical advice on suitability of Transit Centres will seek to ensure minimum safety, technical, and accessibility standards for evacuated populations, including older persons, persons with disabilities, and households with children. To accommodate newly evacuated populations and help prevent overcrowding in transit facilities, Shelter Cluster partners will support the maintenance, refurbishment, and care of transit and collective centres to ensure safe and dignified temporary living conditions. This immediate support contributes to the broader objective of facilitating timely transitions and enabling access to adequate and sustainable housing solutions.

Strategic Priority 3 - Response to Strikes

Following attacks on residential areas and critical infrastructure, the Cluster shall enable a rapid emergency response through the provision of shelter kits, NFIs, and repair materials to secure damaged structures and restore habitability. Humanitarian repairs for homes, social facilities, collective sites, will reestablish safe living conditions, while short term rental support will offer immediate housing alternatives for households whose homes have become uninhabitable.

Strategic Priority 4 - Support to Vulnerable IDPs

To promote safe, adequate, and sustainable living conditions for displaced families, the Cluster will provide rental support, insulation of substandard homes, and humanitarian repairs for conflict-affected IDPs. Continued refurbishment of collective sites will improve safety, accessibility, and dignity for IDPs who remain in communal accommodation settings. These interventions reduce protection risks, prevent secondary displacement, and strengthen the coping capacities and resilience of displaced households.