Highlights
During the month of November, there was a sharp increase in fighting in eastern Ukraine, registering over 2,000 incidents daily.
More than 4,500 children were unable to go to school for several days due to an attack which damaged a main pipeline that supplies drinking water and centralised heating for more than 80,000 people on both sides of the ‘contact line’ in Donetsk oblast.
UNICEF repaired and rehabilitated over 17 km of pipelines to ensure uninterrupted access to safe drinking water in Donetsk oblast.
2,500 children, of whom nearly 60 per cent are girls, placed a call to a UNICEF-supported hotline to receive psychological and legal assistance.
Antiretroviral (ARV) medicines were shipped to Donetsk non-government controlled area (NGCA). With this delivery, the critical needs of patients in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts NGCA will be met until the mid-2017.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Limited humanitarian access to and within the non-government-controlled areas (NGCAs) of eastern Ukraine remains a concern. The ongoing hostilities along the entire length of the ‘contact line’ continue to pose a risk to life, safety and security for civilians, especially children. The cumulative impact of the armed conflict erodes the coping capacity of local communities, increasing the vulnerability of children. Given the number of damaged houses, growing poverty, as well as interruptions to electricity, water and gas supplies, a great concern is the lack of heating in kindergartens, schools, maternity units and primary healthcare centres. With primary health care services deteriorating in the rural areas and along the ‘contact line’, the risk of outbreak of communicable diseases in eastern Ukraine is a serious concern. Moreover, the ongoing dilemma of ‘cross border’ payment for utilities remains a worry for the WASH Cluster. The State Company “Popasnyanskyi Rayonnyi Vodokanal” (PRV) that distributes safe drinking water in Luhansk oblast, with over 600,000 of its beneficiaries residing in NGCA alone, is under threat of having its electricity cut off due to owing money to a local privately owned electricity provider.