Ukraine crisis – mental health winterization and protection - Adra Canada 2024

November 2024 – The 2024 Humanitarian Needs Response Plan reports that 6.5 million people across Ukraine require support within the protection cluster and its sub-clusters. The ongoing trauma increased levels of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and limited access to mental health services worsen the situation. The protection cluster identified psychosocial support as a key objective with about 500 000 people across Ukraine requiring individual or group mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services. To date 270 000 people have been reached showing the urgent need for more partners to address this gap. The Winter Response Plan (WRP) states that nearly 4 million internally displaced persons in Ukraine have significant humanitarian needs including 85 000 individuals currently living in shelters. With Global Affairs Canada’s support ADRA provides mental health winterization and protection assistance to affected persons with intersecting vulnerabilities in the 5 most-affected oblasts of Ukraine. Project activities include: (1) providing age and gender responsive and inclusive MHPSS according to culturally accepted norms; (2) facilitating community-based MHPSS and peer support groups that are inclusive and responsive to different ages and genders; (3) providing gender training and awareness to staff and communities; (4) distributing environment-friendly winter kits to households and providing training on environment-friendly energy use. The first winter trainings season focuses on cash assistance while the second winter season focuses on non-food items; and (5) training and equipping staff on equitable and inclusive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) increased immediate access to age and gender responsive inclusive and culturally appropriate mental health and psychosocial support for persons suffering conflict related critical mental health and psychosocial life-threatening challenges; (2) increased access to essential environment-friendly household winterization kits to vulnerable conflict-affected households; and (3) enhanced gender responsive and inclusive access to SGBV and SRHR referral services for women adolescent girls and other survivors. The expected ultimate outcome is to reduce suffering increase and maintain human dignity and lives saved in conflict-affected population in Ukraine.