Decision: Not to activate the DERF to respond to the crisis in Mykolaiv, Ukraine.

Alert Type: Spike in Protracted Crisis Date Received: 23-8-2022

Alert Title: Emergency safe water and food access to populations in urgent need in Mykolaiv, Ukraine Decision Date: 25-8-2022

By: DERF Fund Management

Alerting Organisation(s): Flygtningbørn.dk and Mission 10forty.

Crisis country and location(s): Ukraine, Mykolaiv.

Decision: Not to activate the DERF to respond to the crisis in Mykolaiv, Ukraine.

Reason:

It is assessed that the situation in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, is not a spike within the protracted crisis, but rather a continuation of the development that started in February 2022. Therefore, the alert is not timely, in the sense that the DERF only can open a call if it is possible to respond within the first three months of a crisis or due to a spike in a protracted crisis. The crisis in Ukraine has, since its inception on 24th February 2022 witnessed several ebbs and flows (Mariupol, Kherson, Kharkiv etc.) with the situation in many areas of Ukraine characterised as being severely volatile and highly fluid. It is furthermore assessed that the funding gap is less serious than in other humanitarian crises around the world.

Assessment:

The battle of Mykolaiv started on February 26, 2022, as part of the southern Ukraine offensive against the Russian invasion. By April 2022 all but a few of its surrounding villages were under Ukrainian control again. Russia keeps having the area under siege and recently intensified their shelling in southern Ukraine (OCHA, 2 August 2022).

Damage and disruption to essential water supply infrastructure have left families in Mykolaiv without access to safe water or sanitation. On April 12, 2022, both lines of the Dnipro-Mykolaiv water pipeline were destroyed as a result of Russian shelling. From April 13, 2022, the centralized water supply in the city of Mykolaiv was stopped. Damage is in the no-go area between the warring parties, making it impossible to access for repairs. Another water supply pipeline was shelled on 14th August 2022 drastically increasing civilians’ needs for clean water.

Spike: The above description leads to the assessment of that there is no clear spike in the described situation, but rather ebbs and flows in attacks, albeit gradually worsening the situation. Being located close to the frontline of the war, the decrease and increase in shelling is assessed not to be a spike in the ongoing crisis/war.

Timeliness: The main problem of access to clean water is described to have started in April 2022. It is not within the mandate of the DERF to respond 5 or more months later, but only within the first 3 months of a crisis or a spike in a protracted crisis. Even if the situation worsened during the month of august, the crisis remains the same.

Funding gap: Information provided in the Ukraine Flash Appeal 2022 (Financial Tracking Service - OCHA) indicates that the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) is funded with 57,4%. US$ 4,292,463,880 are required to finance the HRP, whereof US$ 2,462,454,191 have been granted (2022). The amount of funds available is relatively large and there is a large number of international actors involved in the response.

Taking the small size of DERF funds available into account, together with the fact that the DERF already allocated DKK 8,2 million for Ukraine, it is assessed that the funding gap is not significant enough to trigger another call for applications for Ukraine.