Third of Ukrainian IDPs have money only for food

More than a third of internally displaced persons who fled the conflict in Donbas only have enough money for food, says a recent survey by the International Organization for Migration.

Some 10% are even forced to save on food, coordinator for emergencies and stabilization at IOM's Representative Office in Ukraine, Marco Kimenton, told a press conference in Kyiv, adding that their organization has been conducting such surveys since March 2016.

The official noted that the coronavirus crisis has dealt a significant blow on IDPs and their families.

As for the employment level, there are no significant changes, but as for average income, it continues to decrease precisely due to the pandemic, the study says. A quarter of IDPs say that they were put on partially paid vacations.

Roman Lunin, Program Manager at the IOM Representative Office in Ukraine, noted that the level of IDPs' satisfaction with access to employment decreased by almost 10%, from 73% in September 2019 to 64% in March 2020.

In total, 56% of the IDPs are employed, while the share among the entire population of Ukraine is 67%.

He clarified that a sharp drop in the employment level among IDPs is observed in western Ukraine and Kyiv – at 17% and 16%, respectively.

According to Irina Lokteva, an expert with the National Monitoring System of the IOM Representative Office in Ukraine, amid the complicated situation on the labor market, the IDPs' financial situation has also deteriorated somewhat.

Read alsoUkrainians representing Donbas to take part in Minsk talks on a regular basis – Zelensky's OfficeThe survey results say 10% of IDPs said they had to save even on food, 35% of the respondents noted that they only have enough money for food, 41% - for food and basic needs, 10% - enough for basic needs, with some savings available, while 4% did not answer this question.

Also, the research data indicate that in April-June 2020, the average monthly income per one member of the IDP household stood at UAH 3,350, which is UAH 281 lower than in September 2019, and UAH 624 below the actual subsistence minimum.

"The number of respondents who confirmed that they had to spend their already limited savings increased by a third – from 29% in September 2019 to 40% in June 2020," Lokteva said.

The IOM office in Ukraine conducted two rounds of regular interviews with internally displaced persons from March to June. The poll was conducted among more than 12,000 respondents by phone and personal interviews, including with the IDPs who returned to the areas beyond government control.

Issues of IDPs in Ukraine

After the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014 and the start of the anti-terrorist operation in Donbas in April of the same year, a large number of internally displaced persons from Crimea and certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions flew to government-controlled areas.

As of August 5, the number of registered IDPs from the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Lugansk regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea stood at 1,397,304.