UNHCR operates as part of the inter-agency humanitarian response, working in close coordination with local authorities and humanitarian partners. UNHCR is leading three clusters – Protection, Shelter and NFIs, and Camp Coordination Camp Management (CCCM).
Protection Cluster
UNHCR leads the Protection Cluster in Ukraine, alongside Right to Protection (R2P) as co-chair.
Key figures
UN agencies, national and international NGOs
coordination hubs in Dnipro, Kyiv, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Uzhhorod
people reached collectively in 2022
people reached under General Protection (awareness-raising, protection information counselling, transportation services, psychosocial support, case management and legal assistance) in 2022
Objectives for 2023
- ensure vulnerable IDPs, non-displaced persons and returnees are provided with principled, suitable and gender-responsive specialized protection assistance to address risks to their physical safety and well-being; and
- ensure IDPs, non-displaced persons and returnees are supported with General Protection, Gender-based Violence, Child Protection and Mine Action interventions to access basic services and their legal and human rights.
Under General Protection, UNHCR and R2P coordinate 49 partners with a target of assisting 1.7 million IDPs, 1.6 million non-displaced people and 1.1 million returnees in 2023.
The response strategy includes delivery of specialized protection assistance; expansion of outreach and protection services through enhanced engagement with CSOs and networks of volunteers; strengthening the capacity of communities and authorities to implement protection systems and inclusive protection activities; strengthening the protection analysis to inform a response that supports accountability to affected populations and ensures continuous prioritization of the most at-risk and vulnerable individuals.
Key activities
- case management
- emergency cash for protection
- hotlines
- individual protection assistance
- legal assistance
- protection counselling and protection monitoring
- psychosocial support
- referral to specialized services and transportation
- advocacy, assessments, awareness-raising, capacity building, community-based protection, and institutional support
Dashboards, tools and important links
The Cluster has rolled out an updated Protection Monitoring Tool as well as a Services Advisor tool to better inform referral and operational prioritization.
Other resources
Ukraine: Protection Analysis Update – June 2023
Protection Cluster Hub Factsheets
Dnipro | Kyiv | Lviv | Uzhhorod | Vinnytsia
Visit Protection Cluster webpage for more information and resources.
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Shelter and Non-Food Item (SNFI) Cluster
UNHCR leads coordination of the SNFI Cluster in Ukraine, alongside the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) as nation co-chair and People in Need as co-chair in the Eastern hub.
Key figures
UN agencies, national and international NGOs
coordination hubs in Dnipro, Kyiv, Lviv and Vinnytsia
people reached collectively in 2022
people reached with NFI support for households, collective sites and bomb shelters
people benefitted from emergency shelter assistance and house repairs
people supported with winterization assistance in 2022-2023
Objectives for 2023
In 2023, SNFI Cluster has two sectoral objectives that work together, in a complementary and mutually reinforcing way to ensure provision of shelter assistance and essential NFI support:
- to provide shelter assistance responding to needs of IDPs, people who remain in war-affected areas and returnees. This includes consideration of cross-cutting themes such as protection, inclusion, accountability to affected populations (AAP), housing, land and property (HLP), and environmental issues
- to provide essential NFI support based on needs for IDPs, people who remain at home, and returnees at the household level, including those residing in collective sites (CSs). Implementation of this objective will include efforts to promote a greener NFI response
Key activities
- emergency shelter support
- temporary housing
- light and medium housing repairs (cash and in-kind)
- heavy repairs
- refurbishment of collective sites, rental support and hosting family support
- provision of NFI kits for collective sites, households and bomb shelters
- provision of winter specific NFIs including clothes and heating, as well as support for winter energy needs (cash and in-kind)
Latest documents
Intro Shelter/NFI Cluster 2023.
Shelter Information Damage Assessment and Response Database – June 2023 Update
Interview with John Wain, the Coordinator of the Shelter/Non-Food Items Cluster for Ukrinform.
Visit Shelter, NFI Cluster webpage for more information and resources.
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Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster
UNHCR leads the CCCM Cluster in Ukraine, which was activated in March 2022 following the escalation of the war in Ukraine.
Key figures
international and national partners
regional hubs in Kyiv, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Dnipro
people reached in collective centres in 2022
people are planned to be reached in 2023
The overall objective of the CCCM Cluster in Ukraine is to ensure a coordinated multi-sectoral response and operationalized data for protection and assistance to IDPs residing in communal settings, improving their quality of life and dignity during displacement, while advocating for transitional and durable solutions. The Cluster works to ensure that needs of communities are at the centre of the response, while minimum CCCM and SPHERE standards are met, and local capacity is developed.
Objectives for 2023
- improve living conditions in collective sites through enhanced site coordination and management, including facilitating multi-sectoral assistance by humanitarian actors, in support of government and other local site managers;
- strengthen self-organization of displaced populations in collective sites and improve access to information, in order to strengthen IDP mobilisation, participation and leadership in collective sites; and
- build the capacities of the Cluster partners and relevant stakeholders, including national actors, authorities at all levels, and site managers, to strengthen the protection environment for IDPs in the collective sites, ensure access to basic services, and multi-sectoral humanitarian response. Key activities include site monitoring through the Collective Site Monitoring (CSM) tool; establishing site management support teams, CCCM systems, community projects, and feedback and complaint mechanisms; and conducting capacity building for site managers and other stakeholders.
Latest documents
Ukraine Collective Site Monitoring: Round 7: March 2023
Map of the active collective sites (Ukraine, April 2023)
Map of the inactive collective sites ready to host IDPs in emergency (Ukraine, April 2023)
Visit CCCM Cluster webpage for more information and resources.
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