NOK 1 billion to Ukraine before the winter

‘Ukraine’s civilian population has suffered greatly as a result of Russia’s brutal war. The efforts of the Ukrainian people to deal with daily attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure have been heroic. They need our help to make it through another winter of war,’ said Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt at the opening of the Third Humanitarian Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) on Ukraine in Oslo.

The SOM is being co-hosted by Norway and the EU. The meeting will focus on the difficult humanitarian situation the war in Ukraine is causing as well as look at ways to provide the right help to the civilian population at the right time. The meeting will also discuss how to implement good solutions for the transition between short-term humanitarian assistance  and long-term reconstruction efforts.

The 150 participants at the meeting include representatives of the Ukrainian authorities, the UN, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, humanitarian organisations and donor countries.

The UN estimates that more than 17 million people in Ukraine are in need of humanitarian assistance. Some 5 million people are internally displaced and more than 6.2 million have fled from Ukraine and sought refuge in other countries due to Russia’s war.

The humanitarian funding is being channelled via the UN, including the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. NOK 650 million will go to the UN and NOK 350 million to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The funds will be used to provide life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable people, children, refugees and the internally displaced, helping to ensure that they have access to shelter, food, water and sanitation, education, health care and psychosocial support, as well as protection against sexual and gender-based violence. The funding is being  allocated under the Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine.

Norway’s contribution to the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund is also used to provide key support to local civil society organisations in Ukraine. 

‘The role taken on by the local organisations is impressive; they are the first to reach vulnerable groups, and to get to areas close to the front or where control has been regained from the Russian occupations. There is widespread humanitarian need in the Russia-occupied areas, and it is extremely difficult to gain access to these areas,’ said Ms Huitfeldt.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Norway has provided more than NOK 3.5 billion in humanitarian support to Ukraine and the refugee response in neighbouring countries.

More information about Norwegian support to Ukraine and neighbouring countries can be found here.