Ukraine Conflict: Children's Appeal
The outbreak of conflict in Ukraine has forced millions of children and their families to flee their homes, their livelihoods, and their loved ones.
Every day, children’s lives are being turned upside down by their experiences of war. But your incredible support means we can provide life-changing assistance.
While we don’t know how long the conflict will last, Plan International and our partners will continue to be there – through conflict and as communities rebuild and recover.
Escaping the conflict
Viktoriia fled to Romania to escape the conflict with her two children, Leva, 2, and Nikita, 14, leaving her home and livelihood behind. Viktoriia received our cash vouchers which give families the independence and choice in managing their own household needs.
“Thank you very much for everything. When I was told that today you were going to come and give these vouchers I cried because those we don’t know are helping us," says Viktoriia.
Thanks to your support, more families like Viktoriia’s can receive cash and voucher assistance to help them buy essentials like food, clothing and menstrual health products.
Our response
Your donations helped us to quickly mobilise our experts and set up much-needed support across Romania, Moldova and Poland. Together we have:
- Set up mobile child protection units to provide psychological support to children arriving from Ukraine.
- Trained teachers in mental health and psychosocial support in Poland and Moldova.
- Distributed educational materials like tablets to help children keep learning even when they are away from school.
- Provided psychological support to children and their caregivers as they come to terms with their experiences.
- Helped to provide safe schools and shelters where children can continue their education.
Three years after the escalation of the conflict, challenges such as disrupted education, gender-based violence, and widespread mental health issues remain critical concerns.
Plan International's response will continue to focus on mental health and psychosocial support, restoring access to education and protection services, and ensuring that girls and young people are at the centre of recovery efforts.
Evaluation of Plan International’s Ukraine Humanitarian Response in Moldova, Poland and Romania
Plan International’s Ukraine Response spanned three and a half years, with the DEC 2B phase - running from September 2023 to August 2025 - providing targeted support to children, adolescents, caregivers, and local communities across Romania, Moldova, and Poland. An independent evaluation by the Humanitarian Impact Institute (HII) found that this two-year phase remained highly relevant throughout, adapting to the evolving needs of refugees and host communities amid ongoing uncertainty.
Across the 24-month implementation period, the programme delivered strong outcomes in child protection, mental health and psychosocial support, education, SRHR, and inclusion. Partners reached thousands of children, adolescents, caregivers, and frontline professionals through safe spaces, counselling, youth-led activities, legal and social assistance, language support, and community-based protection services. Investments in training also strengthened local systems and improved safeguarding practices.
The evaluation shows that the programme contributed to lasting improvements in wellbeing, confidence, safety, and community connectedness, while reinforcing the capacities of local actors. Although needs remain significant, the DEC 2B phase built meaningful foundations for longer-term resilience and inclusion within both refugee and host communities.
Read inspiring first-hand stories
Disasters Emergency Committee
Plan International UK is a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee, an umbrella organisation that brings together 15 UK aid agencies to tackle major humanitarian emergencies.
Since the start of the crisis in Ukraine, Plan International has been working with the other charities in the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) on an urgent, far-reaching response. In these times of crisis, people in life-and-death situations need our help and our aim, and that of the DEC, is to save, protect and rebuild lives through effective humanitarian response.
Any donations received that exceed what is needed for this emergency will be held in reserve to respond wherever the need is greatest. Thank you for your generosity.
Banner photo: Julia is 5 years old and travelled for hours with her family to reach safety at the Romanian border.