Two years on from the start of the conflict, there are still 3.7 million displaced people - mostly women and children - in Ukraine: civilians that have been forced to abandon their homes because of the war. They are joined by almost 6.5 million refugees who have left Ukraine to find safe haven in another country.
A genuine humanitarian emergency for which CDP Foundation, a no-profit organisation established in 2020 by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, sought to provide a solution by launching the “Ukraine Emergency” call for tenders in March 2023. As part of this initiative, three different projects to help the people affected will be carried out in Italy and Ukraine. The funded initiatives also include support for the work in Ukraine of the UNHCR, the United Nations agency for refugees, which since 1950 has helped and protected people all over the world who have been forced to flee their homelands because of war and persecution.
Through the partnership with UNHCR, CDP Foundation will contribute to distributing basic items such as tarpaulin sheets, cooking sets, mattresses, thermal blankets and solar lamps to around 19,000 displaced people in Ukraine in an effort to help mitigate the distress caused by evacuation, particularly at this time of year characterised by extremely cold temperatures across the country. The distribution activities, which began in January, will be focused particularly in the areas with the highest concentration of displaced persons, in line with the more extensive United Nations aid plan for Ukraine which aims to support a total of 2.7 million people in 2024, 350,000 of whom with basic relief items.