Supporting sustainability of response and community resilience in Volnovakha raion, Eastern Ukraine By targeting areas and public services that serve both GCA and NGCA populations, the 12-month project is designed to contribute to all 4 strategic objectives of the 2020 HRP by providing protection focused, time-critical humanitarian assistance and access to essential services to all affected populations while strengthening government ownership and response capacity in coordination with development actors. The project also aligns with the HCT’s 2021 priorities – Protection, Access to Humanitarian Services and the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus. While focused on responding to humanitarian needs, the project partners - under ACTED’s lead, IMPACT, R2P, the Danish and Ukrainian Red Cross societies – will work through methodologies, partnerships with authorities and the URCS and by building synergies with development programs to strengthen the sustainability of the response.
Using an area-based approach, 3 prospective hromadas located along the line of contact in the Volnovakha raion will be targeted: Olhynska, Volnovahka, and Myrneska. These hromadas are among the most vulnerable due to: 1) presence of EECP making them hubs for GCA/NGCA residents seeking social services and pensions - straining public services providers in the area 2) history of conflict increases vulnerability to new shocks and 3) compounded vulnerability (limited economic opportunities, exposure to hazards, remoteness of communities, and demographic profiles). This project will support and strengthen hromada capacities through targeted activities in the Protection, WASH, and CSS clusters and will contribute to preparing an effective and sustainable humanitarian exit from GCA. All activities are designed to be implemented in support of upcoming governance changes deriving from the decentralization process. 
Protection: To build the capacities of local authorities so that they are better able to provide quality and non-discriminatory essential services, while protecting the most vulnerable in the population, R2P will conduct trainings, provide legal counseling, and advocate for the provision of quality basic services in conflict affected areas. RC and R2P will support the establishment of sustainable mobile and community level social service provision mechanisms.
WASH: To improve local authorities’ capacity to implement humanitarian response and access to water and sanitation, ACTED will invest in equipment that will improve water safety and ensure local stakeholders are able to maintain/operate the new investments. ACTED will also provide COVID19 related hygiene/IPC supplies, working through authorities, to institutions, public service providers, and vulnerable households. Efforts will be made to build authorities’ capacity on humanitarian standards and distribution best practices. 
CCS: So local actors are better able to take ownership of preparedness/response, ACTED, IMPACT, and RC will support local first responders (volunteers, URCS Emergency Response Teams (ERT) and local authorities (LA)) to build response capacities and reduce vulnerability to shocks. ACTED will work with LAs to adapt their preparedness/response planning and encourage ownership of the response process. IMPACT will support authorities to identify community vulnerability points via in-depth analysis of AGORA and ABRA data. RC will conduct trainings and community workshops which will support first responder’s capacity to take charge of their own preparedness to shocks while also conducting direct capacity building of local URCS branch/ERT.