The additional USD 14.5 million provided by Japan will enable UNHCR to build in Moldova the capacity of service providers, support people with specific needs and provide legal assistance for refugees from Ukraine. This will also help to support and equip Moldova’s Refugee Accommodation Centers, which provide refugees with a place to stay whilst they determine their longer-term options, IPN reports, quoting a press release of UNHCR.

Amidst the largest outflow of refugees in Europe in decades, Japan has generously responded to UNHCR’s call for assistance, with two separate contributions to support Ukrainian refugees entering the Republic of Moldova. The first, signed on 11 March 2022, will ensure that vulnerable refugees from Ukraine have access to documentation, legal assistance, comprehensive access to services to mitigate the risk of sexual and gender-based violence, and child protection services.

The people of Japan also provided an additional USD 14.5 million to UNHCR on 5 April 2022.

“UNHCR is thankful to the people and government of Japan for their generous support to refugees from Ukraine”, said Francesca Bonelli, the UNHCR Representative in Moldova. “We shall make sure the money goes to meeting the basic needs of the refugees who fled with very little belongings, leaving everything else behind. “

As of 5 April, Moldova has welcomed more than 396,000 refugees from Ukraine, an astounding display of solidarity from a country of 3 million people. More than 4.2 million have now fled Ukraine, with a further 6.5 million internally displaced – alarming numbers that continue to climb as the crisis continues.