Emergency Appeal — A Rapid Response Tool To The Challenges Of  War

Emergency Appeal is a response tool used by Caritas Ukraine, a multi-sectoral project that has served as a lifeline for over 2 million beneficiaries over the past three years. It is an integral part of Caritas Ukraine’s programs, specifically in Food Security and Livelihood, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), Shelter, and Protection. Each year, a new, unique project is created, which adapts to the evolving needs of the affected population in Ukraine.

Emergency Appeal focuses on frontline and border areas, as well as regions serving as humanitarian hubs due to the significant influx of evacuated persons. The project’s flexibility and large-scale support allow us to respond quickly to new challenges and provide necessary assistance in a timely manner.

Features Of The Emergency Appeal Project

Emergency Appeal aims to provide multi-sectoral assistance to the population affected by military actions in Ukraine, targeting both those who remain in dangerous areas and those who are evacuated. The project ensures that people in the greatest need have access to essential support, including hot meals, safe water, sleeping improvement kits, and housing solutions.

Our transit kits — food, hygiene, and sleeping kits — are vital during the first days of evacuation. They help preserve the dignity of evacuees and save lives.

Speed of response is critical to providing quality assistance. This is made possible by maintaining reserves (both financial and material), preparing staff, and constantly monitoring the situation at various levels (local and national), with the involvement of government authorities and key humanitarian, social, and economic actors.

By planning activities in advance and assessing risks, crises can be mitigated. For instance, if population evacuations are conducted without prior preparation, particularly regarding temporary accommodation (TA) and collective shelters (CS), the mortality risk for people with disabilities may increase due to worsening health conditions. Another example is Mariupol, where coordinated operations could have saved more than 110,000 lives.

Activity Areas 

In 2025, the key areas of emergency response included:

FOOD SECURITY — food packages and support for evacuees;

WASH — hygiene kits and improved conditions in collective centers;

SHELTER — integration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) into communities and volunteer programs;

EDUCATION — work with children in child-friendly spaces;

PROTECTION — assistance for beneficiaries facing crisis situations.

Public Benefit

Through Emergency Appeal projects, we can provide rapid assistance in the most critical situations, addressing the urgent needs of the affected population. Timely response helps mitigate the destructive impact of crises.

Today, Caritas Ukraine leads two critically important initiatives that set new standards in humanitarian response, ensuring effective, safe, and coordinated aid delivery:

1. Development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Hot Meals
   Many organizations neglect sanitary and hygiene standards, which we cannot allow. Our SOP ensures that all hot meal distributions meet the highest safety and hygiene standards.
2. Joint Emergency Response Protocol
   We have brought together international and national humanitarian organizations, government agencies, and police to create an effective emergency response protocol. This group aims to establish clear guidelines for safe humanitarian access, ensuring effective cooperation and coordination with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the police, and government authorities. Our goal is to protect beneficiaries, volunteers, and professionals during their activities.

What Has Been Done

Geography Of Emergency Response In The Emergency Appeal Format

The Emergency Appeal project will be implemented in 2025 through five local Caritas organizations in the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Given the intensification of hostilities, the food security and rapid response program may expand based on military challenges. In addition to responding near the frontline and to intensive missile attacks, the response will also extend to areas where the energy crisis during the autumn-winter period will affect home heating and water supply.

Categories Of Beneficiaries

The project focuses on representatives of vulnerable population groups. Special support and attention are given to:

Areas Requiring Strengthening And Development

The most urgent challenges currently relate to the approaching winter:

1. Winter Preparation
   Due to significant damage to thermal power plants, frequent power outages have been occurring since the summer. This situation is expected to worsen during the winter months. Ensuring access to fuel for heating is critically important to help people survive the harsh winter conditions. Providing fuel for heating is essential to prevent a severe humanitarian crisis during the cold months.
2. Food Security
   Given the increasing difficulty in logistics for distributing food kits and the simultaneous development of local food producers and markets, it makes sense to provide multi-purpose cash assistance instead of food kits in areas where logistical and market opportunities exist. This approach not only supports local businesses but also allows our staff to focus on other urgent emergency response needs.
   At the same time, for categories of beneficiaries such as people in transit, people with disabilities, and those in areas with limited access to utilities, food kits that do not require electricity or gas for preparation are essential.
3. Support for Points of Resilience
   These are open tent shelters where people can stay during power outages. Support is needed to provide heating and hot meals for vulnerable groups in these shelters. Adequate equipment and support for these points will help keep people warm and nourished during long periods without electricity.
4. Cross-cluster Coordination
   There is a need for a joint response protocol for organizations to cooperate with other cluster groups, local coordination hubs, and regional administrations.

By focusing on these urgent needs, Caritas Ukraine aims to reduce the impact of the winter season and the ongoing war on the most vulnerable population groups.

Case Studies

1. Psychosocial Services at the Collective Center for IDPs by “Caritas Zhytomyr”

2. Emergency Repair Assistance in Komyshuvakha

3. Case Management at the Crisis Center “Caritas Zaporizhzhia”

4. Hot Meals for IDPs from “Caritas Sumy”

Donors and Partners

These organisations are part of the international family of Caritas or Catholic communities that support the humanitarian mission in Ukraine. Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 164 regional Catholic aid, social work and international development organisations operating in more than 200 countries and territories around the world.

Private Donors and Partners

We are grateful to the companies, foundations and private donors who have joined our mission of assistance.