From 2022, children in the frontline regions spent up to 7 months in shelters – UNICEF – News

How many hours did the children of the frontline regions spend in shelters?

UNICEF

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, children in the frontline regions were forced to spend 3 to 5 thousand hours or 4-7 months in shelters.

This is stated in the statement of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“The war in Ukraine destroyed children’s childhood. It harmed children’s mental health and their ability to learn.

The children survived two years of cruelty and isolation; they are separated from their families, experience loss of loved ones and forced relocation, have problems with access to education and health care services. They need an end to these horrors.”– said the executive director of UNICEF Catherine Russell.

During the two years of the full-scale invasion, the alarm was sounded about 3,500 times in the Zaporizhia and Kharkiv regions, and 6,200 times in the Donetsk region. It is especially difficult in the cold season, because sometimes there is no heating or electricity in the shelters.

Many children in Ukraine faced the psychological consequences of the war. Surveys show that half of children aged 13-15 have trouble sleeping, and one in five have intrusive memories or thoughts related to the war. This is one of the symptoms of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

UNICEF also claims an increase in the level of anxiety, excessive fear, phobias and sadness in children, as well as a decrease in interest in learning, sensitivity to loud sounds, etc.

“Education gives children a sense of hope and stability. But millions of Ukrainian schoolchildren have problems with access to education or do not have the opportunity to study at all“, Catherine Russell noted.

According to the latest PISA-2022 data, compared to 2018, education in 2022 is characterized by many gaps: children actually lost two years of reading and one year of mathematics.

As a reminder, according to the results of a recent survey, the number of Ukrainians satisfied with life has decreased compared to 2022.