Mine pollution in Ukraine poses a threat to farmers and humanitarian organizations

A weekly press conference was held under the moderation of Rolando Gomez, Head of the Press and Foreign Relations Department of the Information Unit of the UN Geneva Office.

UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office (OCHA) Spokesperson Jens Laerke stated that the war in Ukraine continues violently and said that the east and south of the country are the regions most affected by the war.

Stating that OCHA and its humanitarian partners continue to reach people in need in Ukraine, Laerke stated that 5.4 million people were reached by the end of April.

“Aid includes cash for more than 2.1 million people and food for 3.5 million, while providing access to healthcare and medicine for nearly 3 million people,” Laerke said. said.

Pointing out that the war, which increased its violence, has a heavy price on civilians living near the front lines, Laerke said, “Mine pollution poses a threat to farmers who want to return to their farms and employees of humanitarian organizations. This is especially true in Kharkov, where dozens of mine-related accidents are reported every month. It is worrying for the agricultural areas in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.” used the phrase.

Laerke emphasized that aid to the regions controlled by Russia is extremely limited, and said that humanitarian organizations lost access to approximately 60,000 people in 40 towns and villages close to the front lines in Donetsk, Kharkov and Luhansk regions.

Call for “resource increase” for Ukraine

Birgitte Bischoff Ebbesen, European Director of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said that 11 thousand hours have passed since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.

Ebbesen stated that the needs have increased in Ukraine, where the war has been going on for more than a year, and that resources should be increased to meet them.

Stating that many people in Ukraine do not have access to basic needs such as water, energy and medical care, Ebbesen underlined that internally displaced persons face lack of income and increasing stress.