Government of Germany, through KfW, partners with UNICEF to support social services for Ukrainian children

The German Government's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is partnering with UNICEF to support integrated social services for war-affected children and their families in Ukraine and has recently signed a new commitment of 35 million euros in support of the initiative. The program is implemented with KfW Development Bank.

KfW’s ongoing partnership with UNICEF was instrumental in enabling UNICEF to scale up its humanitarian response in the first weeks of the war, allowing the provision of life-saving humanitarian response from the outset. UNICEF also strives to strengthen the provision of assistance and services available for internally displaced people in Ukrainian municipalities. 

UNICEF's integrated services project ensures that local systems can cater for the multiple needs of internally displaced children and families, as well as the hosting communities.

The interventions will cover child protection, education, access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services, and social protection systems in Western and Central Ukraine, including Kyiv, with a particular focus on areas hosting the highest number of internally displaced people.

"UNICEF works closely with municipalities and partners to re-establish and rehabilitate critical facilities and support infrastructure, as well as maintain access to learning and social activities for children. Our experience shows that despite all the traumas children face, they endure significantly less stress if they are supported in returning to school, remaining connected to their families and peers, and get back some normalcy in their lives. We do our best to make this happen, and we would very much like to thank Germany and the German people for their continued support in enabling this," said UNICEF representative Murat Sahin.

Youth participation and empowerment will also be an essential focus of the project to help young people improve their coping mechanisms, develop self-confidence, and become active agents in building resilient communities.

As for November 2022, over 14 million Ukrainians have fled their homes, of whom some 6.5 million people have been internally displaced, including an estimated 1.2 million children. Western and Central Ukraine are hosting the majority people displaced, who are primarily women and children.