Ukraine: A humanitarian disaster, a generational tragedy

A year on since the escalation of the brutal Ukraine conflict—as talk of tanks, fighters and spring offensives echoes through the corridors of global capitals—the world cannot lose sight of the continued human toll of this war. Nor should we underestimate the challenges facing future generations of Ukrainians or the cost of rebuilding their lives for decades. The scale of the calamity is sobering. Approximately 7.9 million Ukrainians have already fled into neighboring countries — some for the second time in a year.

In the early stages of the conflict, more than 4.7 million people crossed the border into Poland. Women make up nearly two thirds of internally displaced persons within Ukraine, and around 90 percent of the people who have fled the country are women and children. This conflict is not just testing the mettle and resilience of the Ukrainian people. This is a conflict that will test the resilience of the global community as a whole — and one in which the world will be watching how America responds. Are we fair weather friends or are we in it for the long haul?

It is true that the international community and especially the United States have supported the Ukrainian people. The U.S. has also provided billions of dollars in assistance around the world to combat soaring humanitarian needs, particularly the global hunger crises, which have rippled out because of the conflict in Ukraine.

But as the war enters a second year with no signs of the violence abating, we should recognize that this is a generational humanitarian crisis that demands a new magnitude of sustained global support and activation. In 2023, there will be an estimated 17.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance just in Ukraine. Simultaneously, the global impacts of the conflict — hunger, inflation, disrupted supply chains and livelihoods — are getting worse, not better — with the UN forecasting that 339.2 million people will need humanitarian assistance.

CARE was forged in the ashes of World War II, distributing “CARE Packages” sent by Americans to the people of war-torn Europe. However, it was not until 1956 that CARE began winding down its European missions a decade after the war thanks to massive infusions of U.S. aid. Helping the Ukrainian people is going to take that same level of commitment and support we showed then.

Close to seven decades later, CARE is back in some of these same countries — Poland, Romania, Hungary, and even inside Ukraine itself. Not only are we responding to both the immediate humanitarian crisis, but we are also working alongside local partner organizations to address longer-term challenges, such as providing economic, employment and educational opportunities for displaced Ukrainians and helping host communities successfully absorb millions of refugees.

That is why policy makers, donor countries, and the international community writ large must redouble their efforts and renew their will to provide humanitarian and development support to these conflict-affected communities now and for the long-term. There are three ways to do this.

First, host countries must have the resources and funding needed to continue meeting the immediate and longer-terms needs of displaced Ukrainians. Seventy four percent of refugees around the world are hosted by low- and middle-income countries and we need a more effective global system for sharing the responsibility and resourcing for the 103 million people who are forcibly displaced in the world.

Second, we must prioritize support for locally-based humanitarian, social and development organizations — both within Ukraine and in host countries. In our experience in Ukraine the support, guidance and insights of effective local partners is crucial to creating meaningful and scaled impact.

Our efforts must be informed and led by those most affected. In Ukraine in particular, we must reflect the needs of a predominantly female displaced population and prioritize support for women-led organizations in Ukraine and host countries already doing this work. 

Third, we must remember that while the conflict is being fought in Europe, its impacts are being felt deeply across the globe. The destroyed field or delayed grain ship in Ukraine, means hunger for communities in the Horn of Africa or higher prices for those living in poverty in South America. The people of Ukraine are not the only ones suffering because of this war, and we must look to support and stand with these affected communities wherever they are.

The Ukrainian conflict is not just a geopolitical contest, it is a human disaster, and it requires the kind of long-term, concerted, and unprecedented support that the world galvanized, and the U.S. led after World War II. Our response to the human dimensions of the crises will set the stage, for better or worse and will either be another shining example of how we turn toward one another during crises — as we did in the aftermath of World War II, or it will mark the time when we began turning away.

The Ukrainian people are in it for the long the run, and we must be too.

Michelle Nunn is CEO of CARE USA.