GLOBAL CITIZEN FORUM
Global Citizen Forum Launches Fundraiser with UNHCR
Hosts an important evening in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR to provide immediate support to the current humanitarian crisis around Ukraine.
In partnership with UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency, the Global Citizen Forum launched United for the Ukraine Emergency — an emergency fundraising campaign to provide humanitarian aid to refugees and displaced people affected by the crisis in Ukraine.
“While the humanitarian situation in Ukraine deteriorates, the immediate need for help increases,” shared Talimka Yordanova, CEO of the Global Citizen Forum during the fundraiser reception hosted at the Four Seasons DIFC, Dubai.
“The global community must stand in support and solidarity amid the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since WWII,” she affirms.
Within just over a month from the start of the war, over 4.6 million refugees fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries and more than more than 7 million people have been internally displaced within Ukraine. These numbers are growing by the day, prompting the urgent need for life-saving protection for people forced to flee and those who are stranded in hard-to-reach locations.
UNHCR, who have been on the ground in Ukraine for 28 years, since 1994, and has provided emergency assistance in eastern Ukraine since the start of the conflict in 2014, have stepped up their operations both within the country and surrounding regions — and remains firmly committed to support all affected populations. At the start of the emergency, UNHCR launched an initial urgent appeal for US$510 million to be able to deliver the emergency response inside Ukraine and in the neighbouring countries, and the needs are increasing as more people are forced to flee.
“With global displacement on the rise in Ukraine and other less visible crises, today more than ever, we need the support of all members of the society in order to reach as many refugees and internally displaced people around the world. When the needs are great, so should our efforts, and we are grateful for the outpouring of support that people have shown, knowing that its only with our collective action that we can alleviate some of the pain felt by displaced populations,” said Houssam Chahine, Chief of UNHCR’s Private Sector Partnerships in MENA.
From emergency relief on the ground to helping refugees seeking shelter and safety as they are forced to flee their homes, the United for the Ukraine Emergency fundraiser has focused its efforts within 5 critical areas: protection, shelter, basic survival needs, core of relief items, and cash assistance.
“We are faced with one of the most catastrophic displacement and refugee crises in recent history, and while it is painful to watch, it is also uplifting to see the unprecedented level of support the people from host countries are showing,” shares Talimka. “Let’s all remember for a second that this could be us, this could be our homes, our parents, our children, our memories and our dreams for the future. Being a refugee is not a status, it is not something one chooses – it is every single one of us fighting for our lives, our safety, our families and our dreams.”
