The desire to bring back the joy of the holidays to children has united UNICEF and the Ministry of Social Policy in their efforts to support vulnerable families and children during the Christmas and New Year period.

Under the Memorandum of Cooperation, UNICEF is providing cash assistance totaling $102 million to 123,000 large families (almost half a million people).

"Thanks to the cooperation of the Ministry of Social Policy with UNICEF, 123,000 families with many children and those who have a child with disabilities will receive significant financial assistance from this organization to survive the difficult winter period. We are grateful to the UN Children's Fund and continue our joint work to support families," said Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine Oksana Zholnovych.

The list of recipients of such assistance, in particular, includes families with four and more children, as well as families raising children with disabilities.

"Cash assistance from UNICEF will help the most vulnerable families and children in Ukraine to survive the coming difficult winter. Additional financial resources will allow families to buy the most necessary things. The 70,000 school bags with stationery, learning and art supplies that will be distributed on board the Ukrzaliznytsia train heading to eastern Ukraine is our way of helping children affected by the war to learn and develop, as well as have fun, which is very important for their mental health. We hope that at least for these holidays we will be able to return families to normal life despite the abnormality of the situation. Financial assistance and gifts will be useful for the holidays, as well as will give hope and happiness to children who have suffered from the war almost every day for the last ten months," said Murat Shahin, UNICEF Representative in Ukraine.

The UN Children's Fund launched a joint humanitarian cash assistance programme with the Ministry of Social Policy on 31 March 2022. The programme aims to help meet the needs of families with children in Ukraine, who are among the most vulnerable to the effects of the war. As of 30 November 2022, 196,435 families in Ukraine have received cash assistance totalling $191 million.

The UNICEF cash programme is funded by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, the European Union, the governments of Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, as well as UNICEF humanitarian resources.