The conflict in Ukraine continues to take a ever-larger toll on the country’s population. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, reports that since 24 February 2022, more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine, making this the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.
Although starting as an emergency crisis asking for urgent help, it is now becoming clear that Ukrainian refugees will also need long-term and structural help and support to overcome this tragedy. The majority of them (up to 90%) are women, mothers and children.
Both Generali and The Human Safety Net, a movement of people helping people whose mission is to support refugees and families, have joined together to respond to both needs: emergency response and long-terms support.
Thousands of Generali people have spontaneously contributed to this effort by donating, volunteering, or proposing innovative ways to activate Generali's capabilities to have a concrete impact for these refugees.
This news is the first of a series that will regularly share all initiatives from Generali, its people and The Human Safety Net and the tangible impact it has on Ukrainian refugees.
News from Generali Emergency Fund in Partnership with UNHCR
As an immediate response to the crisis, a first amount of € 1 million activated for UNHCR to deliver first assistance on the ground. In Ukraine, Poland, Moldova and Romania, the funds are used to:
- Offer Protection: more than 70,000 people received targeted protection assistance at border crossing points, online and in locations where people have fled. This includes protection counselling and services, including psychosocial support and legal aid.
- Core Relief Items: more than 260,000 people have benefitted from core relief items and food assistance.
- Give Multipurpose Cash Assistance to more than 150,000 individuals (73,000 families). These first payments will tide refugees over, allowing them more dignity and independence until they can work or receive social support.
The first concrete impact of the unprecedented employees’ donation fund for UNICEF’s Blue Dots
UNICEF is a partner of The Human Safety Net. Generali employees’ donation fund enabled a contribution of €1 Million to the Blue Dots project. 14 UNICEF Blue Dots can open in four countries (Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Italy). They welcome up to 7,000 children and mothers every
The Blue Dots:
- are welcoming spaces of support and protection for children and families. They are located along major escape routes and at refugee registration sites or reception facilities.
- Deliver practical support to help them continue their journey if they want to reach friends, family or specific communities.
- Offer children a safe and welcoming space to rest, play or be a child at a time when their world has suddenly been turned upside down by fear and panic, and they are experiencing the trauma of leaving family, friends and all that belonged to them.
Read the story of Emma,of a 5-year-old girl, Emma, who arrived at a Blue Dot in Romania
Offering a temporary home to refugees
Amongst all initiatives, Generali is building a framework to offer refugees a temporary home where they can feel secure and experience a sense of family life. Amongst others:
- Generali is offering some of its apartments to host refugees (in Germany, France, Czech Republic, Italy and Austria) or rent accommodation (Poland)
- Generali customers have also opened their home to welcome refugees. To facilitate this and offer protection, Generali has offered their clients an extensionof Multi-Risk Household & Personal Liability coverage to the hosted refugees (France, Switzerland and Germany)
- Free insurance: temporary free motor insurance (Czech Republic) or free insurance for volunteers helping refugees (Poland) have also been activated.
Looking Ahead
A taskforce at Group level has been set up to coordinate all group efforts and continue to activate the power of our net.
Photo credits @UNICEF/ Holerga @UNHCR