Humanitarian situation in Ukraine deteriorating at alarming pace, says UN agency
Kiev (Ukraine), March 12: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has informed that the humanitarian situation in Ukraine is deteriorating at an alarming pace.
According to the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, 1.9 million people have been internally displaced and over 2.3 million have crossed international borders out of Ukraine. As per the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 1,506 civilian casualties were recorded between February 24 and March 9 at the end of the day, including 549 individuals killed, 41 of them were children. The real number could grow dramatically.
The OCHA, in a daily briefing, stated that "Three things are critical in the short term, as Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths has stressed: civilians, whether they stay or leave, must be respected and protected; safe passage is needed for humanitarian supplies; and we need a system of constant communication with parties to the conflict."
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In terms of response, humanitarian organisations are deploying more people across the country and trying to get supplies to warehouses in various locations, including in order to help those in need.
The United Nations and its allies have reached almost 500,000 people in Ukraine with humanitarian aid, including life-saving food, shelter, blankets and medical supplies.
"Given the scope and complexity of the humanitarian operation being deployed, the UN and partners are expected to reach significantly greater numbers if humanitarian access is secured," OCHA stated.
By March 9, the UN Refugee Agency had delivered 85 metric tonnes of humanitarian aid to reception and transit centres in Vinnytsia, central Ukraine, which is housing refugees fleeing conflict further east.
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-PTC News
