Ukraine

$5M

In humanitarian relief reached 7,700 older Ukrainians and their families fleeing war zones in 2021-22

HelpAge was one of the first Canadian non-governmental organizations to be funded by Global Affairs Canada, based on its existing capacity in neighbouring countries such as Moldova

A Rapid Needs Assessment conducted by HelpAge in the oblasts of Lvivska, Chernivetska and Dnipropetrovska, provides insights into the heightened and specific challenges faced by older people in the regions:

With this needs assessment as a guide, HelpAge is scaling up its work, creating targeted programming for older people with and without disabilities. We will help provide multipurpose cash assistance, hygiene kits, community-based protection services, support to care homes, and home-based care.

Update from Ukraine

HelpAge in Ukraine: Global Partnership, Local Impact

When the war in Ukraine first started, we at HelpAge, mobilized quickly. We worked with HelpAge International and local partners on the ground to ensure older people were not left behind.

With funding from the Government of Canada and compassionate donors like you, older people in Ukraine continue to receive care, dignity, and hope. Here are their stories:

In August 2025, Volodymyr and Motrona, an older couple displaced by shelling in Lyman, began rebuilding their lives in a new village with little more than each other. Supported by HelpAge and its local partners, they received financial aid, hygiene supplies, and the steady encouragement of a caring social worker. “Both the money and the hygiene supplies, and especially the attention of the social worker, are a very tangible support for us,” they shared. Meanwhile, Oleh, a 77-year-old who had been displaced twice and was living in unsafe conditions, found stable housing, medical care, and emotional support that gave him strength to start over. “It feels like a new start. I finally feel that I can plan the next steps in my life.”

September’s assistance reached older adults like Svitlana, a 61-year-old woman living with a disability and separated from her children. Now in a modest rental with her husband, she spoke of how HelpAge’s support, especially the visits from a social worker, helping her through emotional pain, isolation, and poverty. “This is very tangible support for me,” she said. In the same month, Mykola, age 75, received critical help after losing his wife, son, home, and identity documents in an attack. With assistance restoring his ID and receiving psychosocial care, Mykola found hope in being seen and supported.

By October, life in frontline cities like Sloviansk and Kharkiv had become increasingly dangerous, especially for those living alone. Tamara, 63, battling cancer and diabetes after two strokes, was supported with essential supplies and weekly visits from a compassionate case worker. “She taught me ways to reduce anxiety and showed me exercises to maintain mobility,” Tamara said. And in Kharkiv, 87-year-old Liubov, visually impaired and twice displaced, received the hygiene supplies she needed to live with dignity. “The main thing is that we are alive,” she said.

Why Our International Impact Work and Your Support Matters

HelpAge Canada believes that protecting the well-being of older people is a shared global responsibility that works best through international collaboration and local leadership. That is why our work extends beyond Canada’s borders: to build trusted partnerships, influence global policy, and deliver direct support in communities facing crises: conflict, climate disaster, or systemic exclusion.

Older people are often excluded from traditional aid models yet are among the most at-risk during crises and recovery. With your support and shared commitment, we work to ensure they are not left behind. And at a time when so many feel forgotten or alone, this support is lifechanging.

As a founding member of the HelpAge Global Network, we need your global impact donations more than ever, to help advance locally led humanitarian response and development, near and far.

More Stories from Ukraine

have received hygiene vouchers or kits that were distributed at 45 refugee accommodation centres across Moldova, allowing refugees to access items such as soap, masks, hand sanitizer, and cleaning products.

With special thanks to our partners