Ukrainian Red Cross Participated in the Fourth High-Level Humanitarian Meeting Held in Brussels under the Auspices of the European Commission

Ukrainian Red Cross Deputy Director General participated in the Fourth Humanitarian Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) on Ukraine hosted by the European Commission on 16 April in Brussels.

This high-level meeting convened key humanitarian stakeholders, donors, and Ukrainian institutions to assess strategies for ensuring effective aid delivery in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war. Among the challenges discussed were securing funding for the current year and transitioning from immediate humanitarian relief efforts to long-term recovery and reconstruction amidst ongoing conflict.

The meeting was opened by Janez Lenarčič, the Commissioner for Crisis Management, and Iryna Vereshchuk, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Areas.

During the meeting, Illya Kletskovskyy emphasized the Ukrainian Red Cross Society’s efforts in bridging humanitarian response with the development initiatives that the URCS already embraces. Additionally, Mr Kletskovskyy called for strengthening local civil society organizations to bolster long-term community resilience and cohesion on the way to early and long-term recovery. An exemplary illustration of such collaborative efforts is the Alliance of Ukrainian Civil Society Organizations, of which the URCS is a founding member.