Cash and Resilience for Ukraine - Phase 4

Four years of full-scale invasion have devastated civilian populations across eastern Ukraine, with Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts bearing particularly severe impacts. In Kharkiv Oblast alone, 1.54 million people require humanitarian assistance, facing extreme and intersectoral conditions that strain every aspect of daily life. Ongoing violence, systematic attacks on infrastructure, and repeated strikes on industrial and energy assets have created catastrophic conditions near active hostilities.

Mass displacement continues as people flee destroyed homes and communities, while government social protection systems operate beyond capacity. The war has fundamentally eroded social cohesion, creating tensions between displaced populations and host communities already stretched to breaking point. Healthcare services remain critically limited due to destroyed facilities and severe staff shortages. Mental health disorders have reached acute levels, with elevated rates of PTSD, depression, and stress-related conditions reflecting widespread feelings of hopelessness.

Building on previous project phases, CARE4U Phase 4 directly addresses these multifaceted challenges through an integrated approach combining protection services, legal assistance, psychosocial support, and shelter rehabilitation.

The objective of CARE4U4 is to enhance resilience and well-being of conflict-affected populations in Eastern Ukraine. Phase 4 will continue restoring safe and dignified living conditions for conflict-affected households and support community recovery by ensuring inclusive access to rights and services.

CARE4U4 applies a complementary and holistic approach combining shelter, protection, psychosocial support services and cash assistance to empower beneficiaries to address their needs. The project extends beyond immediate relief to create lasting change through strengthened protection systems, enhanced access to essential services and entitlements, and restored safe living environments that enable families to rebuild their lives with dignity. CARE4U4’s intervention will focus on the following outcomes:

• Protection: In addition to security issues, government services and humanitarian access are strained in the targeted oblasts. Gender-based violence, housing, land and property rights issues, and child protection concerns additionally represent protection issues. To address these needs, CARE4U4 will provide holistic case management to support minority groups and people facing discrimination to obtain rights and access services, complemented by legal assistance and provision of individual protection assistance. This protection framework ensures vulnerable populations can access essential services and entitlements while reducing exposure to further harm.

• Psychosocial support services (PSS): The wide-ranging stressors experienced by Ukrainians have pushed the mental well-being of much of the population to a breaking point, and there is a high demand for increased availability of PSS. CARE4U4 addresses well-being needs through a holistic approach combining individual psychological counselling and psychoeducation group sessions addressing stress-related topics.

• Shelter: Homes in the targeted oblasts often suffer conflict-related damage. CARE4U4 provides humanitarian repairs at the household level and of war-damaged common spaces in apartment buildings, either by providing cash or arranging contractors. This will contribute to restoring safe and dignified living conditions: based on results from previous phases, 97% of households receiving shelter support achieve adequate housing conditions.

The integration of capacity building on inclusion and gender-based violence prevention ensures that Ukrainian partners can sustain and expand these critical services, creating long-term impact and resilience.