Solidarity needed: Belgium sends support to rebuild schools and hospitals in Ukraine

Since the start of the war against Ukraine, the Russian army has caused more than 120 billion euros worth of damage. Countless homes, hospitals and schools are in ruins. One in five Ukrainians have had no access to healthcare or medication since February. Almost half of all Ukrainian children are missing lessons at school. Recent coordinated attacks on power supplies are causing massive power cuts, leaving millions of people in the cold. All this while winter temperatures in Ukraine can drop to as low as -25°C, for weeks at a time.

Minister for Development Cooperation Frank Vandenbroucke stresses how great the need is: "The destruction in Ukraine is incalculable and the Russian army's targeting of energy and healthcare facilities is making daily life almost impossible for many people. With winter approaching, the first thing we must do now is ensure that people’s basic needs are met: a roof over their heads, access to medicine, hospitals that can stay open, clean drinking water, food, and protection from the bitter cold. Children must be able to continue to go to school, safely. As Hans Kluge, regional director for Europe at the World Health Organization said earlier this week, 'this will be a question of survival'. Solidarity with the people of Ukraine is the only answer."

"Children in Ukraine continue to suffer the devastating impact of war, including from explosive weapons, unexploded ordnance and remnants of war, and the inability to access schooling online or in-person – many schools have been severely damaged or destroyed and, due to disabled civilian electricity infrastructure, online lessons are unable to function. Moreover, as winter is now upon us, the lack of electricity means that many children are struggling just to keep warm," added Murat Sahin, UNICEF representative in Ukraine.

Belgium will, therefore, immediately step up its efforts with a number of new initiatives.

In cooperation with UNICEF, the UN organization responsible for protecting children worldwide, Belgium is providing support to school-going children and young people so that they can continue their lessons in a safe environment. Nine million euro will go towards, among other things, restoring sanitary facilities in school buildings and constructing bomb shelters. UNICEF will also help parents with feeding their newborn babies and young children.

Through the International Organization for Migration (IOM), ten million euro will be spent fixing hospitals, schools, and damaged water infrastructure. A dozen hospitals, all in regions bordering the front lines or newly liberated by the Ukrainian army (Kyiv, Kharkiv and Sumy), will be able to repair the damage they suffered from the bombing and fighting. This will enable them to reopen their doors to patients to provide urgent care. Another priority is to repair water pipes, sanitation, and heating systems, especially in schools.

This solidarity comes on top of initiatives already underway since the start of the war. Together with the Ukrainian Humanitarian Fund, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and the International Red Cross Committee, among others, Belgium has been providing support to the population in Ukraine, and school children in particular. The NRC, for example, ensures that education can continue in the heavily affected south of the country. With Belgian support - two million euro - the organization provides teaching materials and psychosocial counselling for the children, their families, and teachers. In an already ongoing project with IOM, nearly 6,000 households in and around Kyiv are receiving help to repair, renovate and insulate their homes against the winter cold. The Belgian contribution here amounts to three million euro.

"We expect the Russian army to do everything in its power to break the resistance of the Ukrainian citizens in the coming months. Their attacks on care and energy facilities are clearly geared towards that. This package confirms our support for the people of Ukraine. For many Ukrainian families, this will hopefully provide some hope, in what will nevertheless be very dark days," Minister Vandenbroucke said.

Finally, Belgium is joining the Ukrainian government’s "Grain from Ukraine" initiative, which will send grain shipments to countries with high and immediate needs. The Belgian contribution amounts to ten million euro. This will sponsor shipments to countries such as Sudan and Yemen - countries where millions of people live with acute hunger or do not know where their next meal is coming from. The United States has also already announced its support for the project, donating twenty million dollar.

The additional aid now going to Ukraine amounts to twenty-nine million euro. Since the start of the war in February 2022, Belgian development cooperation has delivered a total of 61.5 million euro in aid.