Backgrounder - Canada’s support for women and most vulnerable in Ukraine

The Government of Canada has announced that it is providing over $32 million to support the economic empowerment of women and the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in Ukraine.

Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada and local partner All-Ukrainian Charity Foundation “Gorenie”: $5.1 million

Through the project Supporting Economic Prosperity for Women and Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine, the foundations will help internally displaced persons, women with disabilities and women living in rural or peri-urban areas in the regions of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk to find jobs in existing garment enterprises or create livelihoods through entrepreneurship to meet the basic needs of their families.

SOCODEVI and local partner Dnipropetrovsk Agricultural Advisory Service: $7.9 million

The project Entrepreneurship Development for Conflict-Affected Rural Population in Eastern Ukraine (WeProsper) will focus on supporting women-led agricultural value chains and promoting sustainable agricultural production, rural women’s economic empowerment and increased distribution of products by establishing agri-food cooperatives. This project supports women and the most vulnerable and marginalized living in rural Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

ACTED: $4.3 million

The project Securing Women’s Economic Empowerment in Donbas will target rural women, the elderly, unemployed women and men of pre-retirement age, single-headed households with multiple children, and youth, including those who have been internally displaced. This project aims at creating economic opportunities for the most vulnerable, conflict-affected populations of the Donbas region through livelihood grants, small business training and a savings and loans initiative.

Pact Inc.: $7.8 million

Women Included: Nurturing Growth and Security (WINGS) supports women directly through skills and business development activities, including finding employment or starting a business. It targets Roma women, women with disabilities, survivors of gender-based violence, women who have served prison sentences, women living with HIV, veterans, widows and internally displaced persons.

United Nations Population Fund: $7 million

The Achieving Municipal Breakthrough in Effective Response to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Ukraine (AMBER) project aims to increase security and protection from sexual and gender-based violence for women and girls in Ukraine by supporting a prevention and response system in municipalities and communities across the country.