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.

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.

IMPACT Initiatives shared key conclusions of its AGORA research in Ukraine at the annual UN RPP Board meeting, in an effort to inform local and national authorities and contribute to building a sustainable humanitarian exit strategy in this critical transitional period. Using the hromada as its main unit of analysis, the assessment surveyed close to 15,000 residents and 1,100 service providers in 23 hromadas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts to understand recovery priorities from communities and evaluate barriers to quality service provision.

In March 2020 the Ugandan government took quick action to prevent the spread of COVID-19 across its borders. However, the recommended preventative behaviors were not met with broad acceptance in Uganda. IMPACT Initiative, as part of its participation to the U-Learn consortium, conducted a mixed-methods assessment to understand why.

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.

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.