Attachments
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
The shelling of civilian infrastructure continued in May with several incidents reported, one of them leading to the stoppage of the Donetsk Filter Station, which supplies water to 345,000 people on both sides of the line of contact. There were eight specific incidents in which the filter station facilities and staff were exposed to direct attack between 17 April and end May. On 28 May, a 15-year-old girl was killed when a shell exploded in the yard of her home in Zalizne, Donetsk oblast. Through the WASH and Education clusters UNICEF monitored the situation, systematically calling on all sides to cease hostilities.
Summary Analysis of Programme Response
WASH UNICEF continued to supply liquefied chlorine gas, sodium hypochlorite, activated carbon, aluminum sulfate and flocculantto 6 filter stations and 10 production departments of Voda Donbassa.Having replaced degraded pipes, UNICEF ensured that 163 households with 418 beneficiaries were reconnected to water supply in Lysychansk in Luhansk GCA. In Toretsk and Avdiivka 145 people benefitted from access to water supply through similar interventions. In Donetsk NGCA 31 water tanks and 70 boilers were installed in educational and health institutions improving resilience to unexpected water breakdowns and hot water supply interruptions for 14,164 vulnerable individuals. A total of 5,826 children and their teachers benefitted from access to hygiene supplies in schools and kindergartens in Donetsk NGCA. In addition, 6,708 children, women and persons with disabilities received individual and family hygiene kits in the towns and villages of Donetsk NGCA. In May UNICEF reached 25,000 boys and girls with messages on personal hygiene rules and mine safety at the ‘Children Kinofest’ movie festival in 24 cities and towns all over Ukraine including 4 towns in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts (GCA).
CHILD PROTECTION UNICEF, through 15 mobile teams, continued to provide assistance to survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and to children affected by violence in Donetsk and Luhansk areas (GCA). In May, a total of 550 GBV survivors and 105 children (46 boys/59 girls; 4 children with special needs) affected by violence benefited from PSS first aid and referral services. UNICEF trained 51 community professionals on GBV and prevention of violence against children to increase their awareness of international and national norms and legislation and to strengthen their professional capacity to deliver quality services.
EDUCATION In May UNICEF distributed educational supplies, school furniture, sport equipment, playground items and educational kits, to 8,838 children in 20 educational facilities in Donetsk NGCA and 23 educational facilities in Luhansk NGCA. UNICEF also provided ECD and hygiene kits as part of its emergency support to Svitlodarsk School # 11 and Toretsk School # 13 in Donetsk GCA following shelling incidents in close proximity to the schools. In addition, teachers trained by UNICEF on psychosocial support were mobilized and delivered immediate counselling to their peers as well as traumatized children.
Online Life Skills Education was accessed by 159 teachers from 129 schools in GCA of Donetsk and Luhansk which in turn benefited over 3,975 children. An additional 188 teachers were trained on conflict resolution skills within the framework of a mediation programme initiated in 10 ‘Safe Schools’. This training will ensure 375 children are reached with mediation and conflict resolution assistance.
HIV & AIDS To ensure uninterrupted Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) for people living with HIV in NGCAs of Donetsk and Lugansk regions, UNICEF continued to procure and distribute life-saving anti-retroviral medicines (ARVs) and commodities. Since January, 24,114 people received HIV-related services (11,021 persons living with HIV were on ARV treatment and 13,093 pregnant women received HIV counselling and testing).
Security While the intensity of shelling remained relatively consistent throughout the month, the death of a 15 year old girl in Zalzine, confirmed the continuing severity of the threats facing children and their caregivers on both sides of the contact line in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.