Ukraine

In Eastern Ukraine, the impacts of climate change were felt throughout summer all the way to autumn 2020. Droughts, heat waves, water depletion, and dust storms jointly contributed to the largescale wildfires that particularly affected Luhansk Oblast. These climate risks severely compound an already precarious situation in a region that has been suffering from the effects of protracted violence since 2014.

Every month, IMPACT Initiatives will introduce a member of its staff working in the field and who is actively engaged in collecting information from affected populations to explore what drives them to keep improving humanitarian action. Meet Alya, the compelling 24-year-old Ukrainian whose moral compass, after leaving her homeland in Eastern Ukraine, led her to the REACH offices in Kyiv.

Le Sud-Est de la République Centrafricaine apparaît comme particulièrement affecté par les conséquences d’une crise prolongée, entravant le développement socio-économique et déchirant les liens inter et intra-communautaires. L’accès aux services de base y est dégradé, les activités économiques réduites et la présence de l’État ténue. L’objectif des équipes AGORA sur place? Améliorer le quotidien de 200 000 bénéficiaires d’ici juin 2022, en s’appuyant sur des Plans de relèvement local.

IMPACT Initiatives, notably via its REACH, AGORA, and PANDA initiatives, is increasingly committing research efforts to inform the aid community on how to tackle climate risk. The objective? To identify evidence-based solutions that can be applied in fragile contexts to strengthen the resilience of communities. How? By conducting scientifically robust risk assessments, working with local actors to develop a better understanding of risk, and building local analytical and communication capacities.

To support aid organizations and local partners in putting this concept into practice, IMPACT Initiatives and partners of the Urban Settlements Working Group released the “Settlements Approach Guidance Note” in December 2020.

On the 9th of August, the ACTED and IMPACT teams in Niger lost seven young and talented team members: Antonin, Boubakar, Charline, Leo, Myriam, Nadifa and Stella. Our colleagues were united by a motivation to provide humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable populations in Niger. Three of them, Antonin, Charline and Stella, did so with IMPACT, collecting vital information from vulnerable populations to ensure that their voices are heard when humanitarians make decisions that affect them. While they were all driven by commitment, empathy, and solidarity, they each brought their own capacities and talents to enrich the team.  

We call on the Security Council of the United Nations to create a reporting, monitoring and investigation mechanism that – while preserving humanitarian space – would make attacks against humanitarians a systematic trigger for action aimed at enhancing judicial cooperation so as to bring perpetrators to justice and deterring future attacks.