07 January 2025

Children find safe haven at barrier-free spaces in Kharkiv

Nine-year-old Vanya, who lives in the town of Zlatopil in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, is like many boys. He loves construction, Minecraft and learning. The war disrupted his studies – but, for the last four months, he has been thriving thanks to sessions with a developmental specialist, speech therapist, psychologis...
25 November 2024

National survey on the perception and awareness of social policy in Ukraine

A social policy centered on human needs requires incorporating public opinion regarding its effectiveness and alignment with people's needs. This issue has gained particular relevance amid contemporary challenges, especially as spending on social protection and support has been overshadowed by defense expenditures...
08 April 2024

Families in Ukraine continue to flee home after two years of war

Seven-year-old Hlib paints a picture of the sun, with yellow rays, happy eyes and a smile. But he has not been smiling much lately – the scar on his head still hurts. In early March of this year, his village in Ukraine’s Sumska region came under fire, and the intense shelling destroyed the family home. Both Hlib a...
02 April 2024

Spilno Spots remain safe haven for children in Ukraine

Olena will always remember one autumn day in 2022 when she and her daughter walked through their war-ravaged home city of Balakliya, in Ukraine. As a result of the violence, empty streets, destroyed homes, and shuttered schools and shops defined the skyline. But then a spark of hope emerged on the main square – a white tent with blue lettering. "I…, “We counted the explosions”, Before the full-scale war broke out in February 2022, Olena worked as...
09 February 2024

Foster families find strength in UNICEF and partners

Five-year-old Izabella lives in a foster home with five other children. Like millions in Ukraine, her world fell apart with the outbreak of the full-scale war in February 2022, when she and her foster family were forced to flee from the Kharkivska region to a village in the west of the country. Nataliia, her foste...
19 July 2023

UNICEF supports the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine on its digitalization agenda

The Forum presented the progress of the digital transformation strategy in the social sphere, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Social Policy with the support of partners such as WFP, TAPAS, EGAP, UNICEF and the World Bank. The ministry's leadership also announced plans for key reforms in the coming ye...
23 December 2022

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 i...
21 December 2022

UNICEF brings back the joy of childhood to Balakliia, experienced 8 months of isolations

Balakliia in Kharkivska region was liberated in early September. Since then, parents with children every day rush to its central square to visit UNICEF's Spilno Child Spot. Spilno Child Spot in Balaklia Spilno Child Spot in Balaklia Inside the tent, there are toys and colorful furniture. Three administrators meet...
05 November 2022

UNICEF and Ministry of Social Policy partner Up for social workers in Ukraine

UNICEF has partnered with Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy to support and enable social workers across the country, as the war continues to devastate the lives of families and children. Children with disabilities that are not with their biological families, families displaced and living in temporary shelters, a...
09 April 2022

UNICEF and the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine sign a Memorandum in support of children affected by war

UNICEF and the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine signed a Memorandum consolidating efforts to protect childrens’ rights. The focus will be on the protection of the rights of orphan children, children in institutional care, children from foster families, family-type orphanages, foster families that have been tak...
07 December 2021

Bakhmut, Vinnytsia and Lviv receive UNICEF’s Honorary International Status of Child and Youth Friendly Community

Bakhmut, Vinnytsia and Lviv are the first cities in Ukraine to receive the honorary international status of a youth-friendly community. The status is granted within the framework of the eponymous UNICEF initiative, aimed at supporting local authorities in the fulfilment of children’s rights. The Ministers awarded ...
06 December 2021

Kyiv and UNICEF Are Launching a Joint Campaign to Find Foster Parents and Caretakers

On the occasion of the 75 th anniversary of UNICEF, the city of Kyiv and UNICEF in Ukraine launched a joint information campaign to promote alternative family forms of childcare and to find families who are ready to adopt children. These are foster families, family-type orphanages, etc. Recruitment of families who...