Humanitarian Assistance
With the onset of the conflict on 24 February, Hungarian Interchurch Aid immediately started to prepare its response. The disruption of supply chains coupled with a huge displacement crisis meant that during the chaotic spring months, providing emergency access to basic food and non-food items as well as health & hygiene products was critical. However, where fighting ceased as new territories were liberated, the importance of in-kind aid remains paramount to this day.
To support humanitarian operations in Ukraine logistically, HIA set up warehouses in Budapest, Berehove and Lviv in the first days of the war. During spring, HIA delivered in-kind aid to support the tens of thousands of displaced people arriving in Western Ukraine from the war-affected regions. More than 250 community shelters received food, sanitary products, clothes and household appliances throughout the year. As time went on and Russian troops were forced into retreat from their positions in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson regions, HIA reoriented its in-kind aid programme towards the liberated territories. With a focus on hard-to-reach locations - where international aid organisations rarely venture - HIA has delivered aid in places where military activity is still ongoing, such as Kherson itself.