State Secretary Gabrič visits Ukrainian children in Strunjan

State Secretary Melita Gabrič with Ukrainian children in Strunjan | Author MZEZ

Slovenia is implementing this project in partnership with Caritas Slovenia which, for the second year running, is organising a holiday by the sea for children and young people from war zones, who can enjoy ten days of peace and quiet without sirens or bombs. So far, 100 children have benefited from this kind of help.

The war in Ukraine has affected some 5.7 million school-age children and young people and destroyed more than 1,300 educational institutions. Children in Ukraine, especially those in war zones, face impossible conditions and spend thousands of hours in basements and subways due to constant air raid alerts.

During her visit, State Secretary Gabrič stressed that Slovenia's humanitarian aid to Ukraine is aimed at alleviating the plight of children, as nine out of ten Ukrainian children show signs of psychological and emotional trauma. In Ukraine, 1.5 million children are at risk of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems.

In addition to psychosocial rehabilitation, Slovenia is supporting the reconstruction of houses destroyed in the war and the construction of psychosocial support facilities through a strategic partnership with Caritas Slovenia in Ukraine. We have also provided humanitarian aid in the form of food and medical supplies to the most vulnerable groups in Ukraine.

Through ITF projects, Slovenia has provided training for more than 150 teachers to identify and address children's psychosocial needs. In addition, nearly 1,000 Ukrainian children from 20 schools have so far received psychosocial support.

Since the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, Slovenia has been providing humanitarian aid to the country and, together with international partners, has also been supporting its reconstruction. According to the Slovenian Ministry of Defence, from the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine until 2024, the Slovenian Government has allocated 80.2 million euros for humanitarian and material aid to Ukraine (including the material aid provided by the Slovenian Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief and the costs of providing care for Ukrainian refugees, which amount to 55.7 million euros). To date, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has allocated 8.94 million euros from its humanitarian and development aid budget. A further 6.2 million euros will be made available in 2024 (a total of 15.4 million euros at the end of the 2022-2024 period).

On 11 June 2024, the Slovenian Government adopted a decision that Slovenia will allocate 5 million euros from its budget for further humanitarian aid in 2024 to support the reconstruction of Ukraine and to mitigate the impact of the war in Ukraine on global food security. This year, in addition to the 5 million euros, Slovenia plans to allocate approx. 1.2 million euros from the regular funds of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs earmarked for development and humanitarian aid for ongoing multi-year projects already being implemented or planned by Slovenian institutions and international cooperation agencies in Ukraine.

Under the strategic partnership between the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and Caritas Slovenia, more than 54,500 vulnerable people from more than 10,300 households in crisis areas in Ukraine, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Moldova, Syria, Turkey, Malawi and Morocco have received emergency humanitarian aid.

As part of the project Psychosocial Rehabilitation of Armenian Children - Victims of Armed Conflict, 16 children, attended by three female companions, are currently receiving rehabilitation treatment in Debeli Rtič.