Ukraine rebuilds lives amid war with UN-backed programs
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- UNOPS rebuilt schools in frontline areas like Bezruky, restoring education for over 15,000 children in the Kharkiv region with reinforced structures and repurposed basements as shelters.
- UNESCO is implementing a child-centered curriculum reform in Ukrainian schools, training teachers like Yurii Tkalenko to adapt education to students’ needs with support from the Global Partnership for Education.
- UNFPA supports protected maternity units across conflict zones, enabling mothers like Anastasiia from Donetsk to safely give birth despite displacement and ongoing hostilities.
- ILO launched a Nanny School program that has trained 80 women to care for infants, with nearly half securing formal childcare jobs, expanding economic opportunities for women.
- UN Women's She Drives project enabled Oksana in Kryvyi Rih to become a bus driver after career training, challenging gender norms in public transportation roles.
- WHO trained more than 300 rehabilitation specialists across Ukraine to fit and adjust wheelchairs, with nine now training others, supporting amputees like Oleksandr recovering from drone injuries.
Why it matters: Over 25,000 patients have been treated in frontline hospitals like Zaporizhzhia’s despite bombardment, showing that sustained international funding and localized programs are keeping critical services operational — directly enabling civilians to survive, work, and rebuild under fire.
