SITUATION OVERVIEW
Insecurity is still a fact of life for many Ukrainians, and the situation along the “contact line” remains tense in many locations. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) recorded from mid-April 2014 to 31 December 2015, some 30,072 casualties (9,144 killed) in the conflict area, including many civilians. Access in NGCA continues also to be prolematic, with few agencies officially authorised to operate there by the defacto authorities. Government-imposed bureaucratic impediments continue to hamper operations as well. There are continuing difficulties for civilians to cross the frontline. While the Government has made some improvements, including setting up an electronic system to obtain the passes in September 2015, increased a number of staff and expanded some of the crossing points, the situation remains of serious concern. The Government-imposed ban on commercial goods and public transport to areas beyond Government control significantly impacts on the humanitarian situation of civilians.
A December inter-agency checkpoint assessment in Donetska oblast confirmed that the majority of people crossing the ‘contact line’ into GCAs are elderly, many with restricted mobility, single women, families with children and a few single men. People have to stand in long queues for many hours in the cold, with no access to basic services, in areas contaminated with landlines and often insecure. Major gaps in information provision remain, and the overall conditions of waiting are still poor despite the installation of heating points by State Emergency Service.
Inspite of the existing difficulties, humanitarian partners, operating under the HRP umbrella, managed to reach many people in need with the funding available. By the end of 2015, donors disbursed and pledged about US$183 million to the 2015 Humanitarian Response Plan, an increase of $16 million since December 2015. The total amount of funding and pledges is equivalent to 58 per cent of the $316 million required. This includes about $174 million (55 per cent) disbursed and another $9.2 million pledged (3 per cent). The shortfall is $133 million, or 42 per cent.