In the regions of Kharkiv and Sumy, close to the front line, repeated shelling, the collapse of infrastructure, and the lack of specialized services leave thousands of people isolated, without access to healthcare, and in a deep state of emotional distress.
Ukraine is facing an exceptionally harsh winter, while strikes targeting its energy infrastructure have intensified since November 2025. These attacks are degrading essential services and deepening the vulnerability of thousands of people already coping with prolonged electricity, heating, and water outages. Four years on, the goal of the Action Against Hunger teams on the ground remains unchanged: ensuring continuity of essential care, strengthening psychological resilience, and supporting local actors who protect their communities.
According to the World Health Organization, at least 2,700 attacks on healthcare services have been confirmed since February 2022. These destructions severely disrupt the treatment of psychological trauma, chronic health conditions, and maternal and child healthcare. Between January and September 2025 alone, 382 attacks were recorded, marking an alarming increase compared with 2024. The escalation of strikes — drones, air-dropped bombs, and other explosive weapons — destroying civilian infrastructure creates cascading breakdowns across essential services.
In response to this continued deterioration, Action Against Hunger’s mobile teams (psychologists, gynecologists, midwives, doctors, and nurses) intervene weekly in isolated villages heavily impacted by the war.
After four years of conflict, populations living near the front line report symptoms of moral exhaustion, linked to repeated attacks and forced displacement. Women and older people, in particular, are deeply affected, with both their physical and mental health severely deteriorating.
In the oblasts of Kharkiv and Sumy, women are among the first victims of the collapsing healthcare system. In these rural areas, accessing a medical appointment or treatment often requires traveling dozens of kilometers on bomb‑damaged roads — an expensive and dangerous journey. These barriers lead to delayed diagnoses with sometimes irreversible consequences:
“Women aren’t neglecting their health — they simply can’t access it. By the time they finally make it, sometimes it’s too late,” says Anastasia, 27, a gynecologist with Action Against Hunger’s mobile clinic.
In isolated Ukrainian villages such as Kurmany or Andriivka, less than 65 km from the front line, Action Against Hunger teams provide early screening for women’s cancers. On-site breast ultrasounds are conducted:
“This is extremely important: breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Ukraine,” Anastasia explains
Constant air alerts, shelling, and separation from loved ones deployed or exiled: the gynecologist witnesses every day how the conflict affects her patients health.
“Stress disrupts hormonal balance and deeply impacts women’s health. Stress kills the body,” she says. And while many women come for medical examinations, these consultations often become a space for emotional release: “They need someone to talk to, someone to share their worries with. At those moments, you’re not just a doctor, you’re someone who listens and helps them let go of their emotions.”
This is the case for Nina, 35, who was forced to flee the city of Sumy two years ago. Followed by the mobile clinic teams, she found a space to confide:
“I worry for my children, for our future. We lost our home. Everything we built over a lifetime has disappeared,” she shares.
Her story is far from isolated. Like her and her family, 3.7 million Ukrainians are currently displaced inside the country, and the situation may worsen: up to 504,000 more people could be forced to flee their homes in 2026.
Among internally displaced people, older individuals are also particularly vulnerable. Many live in isolation, in areas still exposed to strikes, with limited resources and reduced access to public services. Uprooted from their homes, far from family, and facing constant uncertainty, they experience a deep loss of bearings.
At 75, Olha Drobyazko had to flee her village of Skelytsia after months of relentless shelling
“We held on for two years, then we couldn’t anymore. Shells were flying over us… We slept fully dressed, shoes on,” she recounts.
Her village is now destroyed:
“Today, there is not a single house left : not mine, not my children’s. I have nothing. Everything I had is gone.”
Now living in a small room lent by her brother, she survives on her pension and the allowance for internally displaced people:
“We receive 2,000 hryvnias (39 euros) for displaced people, 2,000… plus my pension.” But for many, this amount is not enough to cover basic needs: “I’d like some milk, to buy a few chickens… But everything is so expensive.”
Displaced against their will, often dependent on relatives, thousands of older Ukrainians carry invisible wounds that go far beyond material loss. Their mental health is profoundly strained by sudden uprooting and the constant fear of a war now entering its fourth year.
For Olha, being separated from her children who remain in Sumy is a daily source of anguish:
“I wait for their calls… Until they call me, I am not myself. I have to take sedatives.”
Like her, many older people endure a silent trauma fed by uncertainty, loneliness, and a life shaped by war. To support them, Action Against Hunger teams refer them to tailored psychological assistance, including individual follow‑ups, group support sessions, and mental‑health awareness activities.
Olha has taken part in several group sessions at the Kurmany clinic, led by psychologists from the mobile unit. These sessions create a safe space to express emotions, understand traumatic stress, identify signs of psychological distress, and strengthen coping mechanisms.
By bringing care and specialists directly to those who can no longer travel, Action Against Hunger’s mobile teams play a crucial role in combating physical and mental isolation. This is vital in rural areas now deprived of transportation and basic services.
“There are no buses here. To reach the main road, you have to walk two kilometers — at 75, I can’t do that,” Olha says.
Roman, a paramedic at the Kurmany medical post supported by Action Against Hunger, sees the impact daily:
“People here simply cannot travel. Some have no way to get medical exams. When organizations come to us and do exams on-site, it is an enormous support for the community.”
Since the beginning of the conflict, Ukrainian civil society has mobilized intensely. Many professionals (doctors, nurses, teachers, school psychologists, social workers, first responders) like Roman have taken on increased responsibilities to meet the needs of their communities.
Their commitment is a cornerstone of the humanitarian response:
“The initial shock phase gave way to the need to act. Many people felt compelled to help protect their community,” Anastasia explains.
Many chose to join civil society or humanitarian work. They help traumatized communities while living in areas hit by strikes themselves. Their direct exposure to the conflict puts them at high risk of psychological exhaustion: chronic stress, sleep disorders, anxiety, depression, feelings of helplessness, or professional burnout threaten them daily.
Given the destruction of infrastructure, dwindling resources, and collective trauma, mental‑health interventions remain central to the humanitarian response in Ukraine. Action Against Hunger is developing dedicated support for frontline workers: psychological support sessions, stress‑management training, confidential listening spaces, and adapted intervention protocols.
The humanitarian response in Ukraine remains weakened by cuts in U.S. and European funding, a setback occurring just as hostilities intensify, with increased strikes on energy infrastructure and growing vulnerability among populations near the front line.
Despite this, Action Against Hunger teams continue to support public health care center and rural clinics, providing medical equipment, medicines, and essential supplies to help local structures maintain a minimum level of care.
After years of war in Ukraine, families are still struggling to survive — wondering if they’ll have clean water, enough food, or medical care. Parents are doing everything they can to provide for their children as homes are damaged and daily life remains disrupted by conflict: the constant sound of sirens, the presence of tanks, and the uncertainty of what tomorrow will bring. Our teams are still there, helping families. Your support helps deliver lifesaving assistance — clean water, emergency nutrition, and critical care —to people who have lost so much.
Today, millions of Ukrainians rely on humanitarian support to get through each day. With your help, we can continue to be there when it matters most.
Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 21 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across 56 countries, our 8,900 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.
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