Fighting continues unabated in eastern Ukraine. Civilian casualties continue to be recorded (70, including 16 deaths in March 2017, and an estimated 11,000 casualties, with over 2,000 deaths, since the beginning of the conflict in 2014—source: OHCHR). Critical water and electrical facilities continue to be damaged despite repeated calls on parties to the conflict to respect the civilian nature of infrastructure and de-militarise the adjacent areas to allow safe repairs. Some 1.18 million people are at risk of losing sustained water supply.
Queues at checkpoints registered a record hit in March, with over 960,000 crossings compared to 550,000 in February. This is largely due to the compulsory verification for IDP pensioners imposed by the Ukrainian Government (resolution #637, 28 December 2016) at Oshchadbank. The verification takes place every three months from the date of opening their account at Oschadbank. Should they fail to present themselves, their social benefits could be suspended. This mandatory requirement has resulted in a massive movement of people, mostly pensioners, across the 'contact line', long queues and overcrowding at the bank branches (reportedly up to 500 people a day) and bus stations. At least one death and three hospitalisations among pensioners at the checkpoints have been reported in March. Field reports indicate that some people from NGCA were not able to complete their ID verification and were forced to stay overnight in GCA at their own expenses, while some had to wait for three days to complete the verification process.
According to the latest Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis, an estimated 620,000 people in the Donbas are food insecure, nearly 38,000 of whom are IDPs.
While humanitarian needs remain high, the HRP continues to be severely underfunded. Despite some contributions are yet to be reported, only 7 per cent of the funds requested (US$14.1 million) have been received to date. Persistent underfunding may lead to suspension of some life-saving services, including health and psychosocial services through mobile outreach for vulnerable women and adolescent girls by UNFPA and partners;
WFP's provision of food assistance and early recovery activities aimed at enhancing local livelihoods and people's resilience to shocks are also at risk. Handicap International's operations to respond to the needs of people with disabilities in eastern Ukraine came to a halt at the end of March due to the lack of funds.
