Ukraine’s elderly struggles for scant medical care and food insecurity amidst ongoing war

It was the 17th day of heavy shelling, unceasing terror, severe food shortages, and darkness – the days of explosions repeated with clockwork frequency.

Iryna, 62, was in the kitchen, sorting through the last remaining grains for the month. Nikolay, 64, was carrying from the jars stored in the basement of the house. In the darkness of that March evening, he used the last candle to light his way to the basement.

Popasna, a small city in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, was rendered in complete darkness since the early days of the war. Iryna and Nikolay, like hundreds of other residents left in the town, faced massive gas, water and electricity disconnections. But at that time, they didn’t even know that this was what saved them later on.

During that evening, in a matter of seconds, a deafening explosion shook the house’s foundation and echoed through the air marking the first, seemingly endless minutes. The light blinded them both for a few moments of total numbness.

Walls shook, cupboards and other pieces of furniture were thrown into the air, and windows were shattered with a shower of glass.

Suddenly, the air became heavy with the sour scent of smoke. Everything slowed down. And what was only moments before a beautifully decorated living room with a wooden table clothed in a clean ironed tablecloth, a sofa where the couple spent their evenings, and a library filled with over two decades’ worth of books, turned into a jumble of charred debris and wisps of gray smoke.

“We were lucky that the whole city lacked electricity and gas, which saved us. The fire didn’t spread,” shares Iryna. “We were close to burning alive,” she adds, tears trickling down her dark blue eyes.

Realities of the elderly amid war

Despite spending two days traveling through Bakhmut, they managed to flee their hometown and arrived in Dnipro on March 15, 2022. Up until now, she is unable to recall their escape, or the route. Everything is blank – total numbness. “All I remember is that I thought I’d flood the car with tears,” says Iryna.

She is financially dependent on her pension, social assistance, and humanitarian aid due to her invalidity status. Her husband and her share a few square meters apartment with their daughter and two nieces in Dnipro. While the couple tries to start from scratch, their son is serving on the frontlines.

He is currently on rotation – the regular cycle of deploying and returning troops. Usually, soldiers often move back home or to a new location after serving a tour of duty in a combat zone.

Iryna and Nikolay have recently received World Vision’s multi-purpose cash assistance, an initiative supported by Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH). The project aims to assist 35,000 internally displaced people affected by the war in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Chernivtsi and Mykolaiv Oblasts.

Cash interventions in local economies can encourage small businesses and offer an opportunity for early recovery.

“We’re immensely grateful for the cash assistance,” shares Nikolay. He adds, “A big part of our pension goes to the payment of rent. We are left with some pennies to cover our other basic needs like food and medicine.”

The biggest financial challenge they encounter is related to paying for medical care and rehabilitation. The pre-war health issues were magnified by ongoing stress. “It is very expensive. The cost of medications and treatments has doubled,” explains Iryna.

According to the most recent studies, the cost of medicine and financial restraints remain the primary hurdles to accessing healthcare, particularly for the elderly.

When compared to pre-war levels, the cost of medicine is substantially higher. Since the start of the war, the average cost of essential medications has increased by 44% for analgesics and 40% for domestic brand antibiotics as of July 2023.

Along with limited access to healthcare facilities in some frontline areas, price increases are a result of supply chain disruptions. Sedatives, antibiotics, sedatives, painkillers, and medication for cardiac conditions and high blood pressure are the most difficult to obtain, as stated by World Health Organization (WHO).

Aside from using the cash assistance for medical basic needs, Iryna and Nikolay purchased essential food items to carry them through another week. According to a World Food Programme (WFP) 2022 assessment, the eastern and southern areas of the country have the highest level of food insecurity, with one out of every two households experiencing food insecurity.

As stated in the assessment, one-third of households nationwide are affected by food insecurity, with internally displaced families being the most impacted.

Households mostly rely on cash purchases to access food. “Most IDPs struggle with securing a job. They, like us, lost their homes and belongings. Humanitarian aid has become one of the key sources of income for meeting our food needs,” explains Nikolay.

World Vision has provided food assistance to over 550,000 individuals in Ukraine, including the internally displaced. To address food security concerns, World Vision distributes multipurpose cash across the country, reaching more than 421,000 people.

Cash aid enables IDPs to select their own food products and adjust their diet to their cultural, nutritional, and health needs. “Cash interventions in local economies can encourage small businesses and offer an opportunity for early recovery,” explains Pavlo Robota, World Vision’s Cash and Voucher Coordinator.

“Liza, close your eyes, and imagine you are home”

Iryna and Nikolay don’t have a house anymore. Everything is destroyed as if it never existed. But they are hopeful they will have a home to return to. “Having a home not in terms of tangible goods, but more in terms of our pre-war way of knowing ourselves, of knowing our lives,” shares Iryna.

“Our house has been hit seven times since the day we left,” she goes on. “The chances of surviving there were very low. It felt like an apocalyptic scene.”

Before the war they planted a large, beautiful orchard. They dreamt of spending their Sundays with their grandchildren in that orchard. They dreamt of retiring in the house they had lived in all of their lives.

Now, every night before going to sleep, Iryna hears her small granddaughter whispering to her older sister, “Liza, close your eyes, and imagine you are home.”

Liza has a particular passion for the art of drawing. She devotes her skills and love of art to greater purposes. The thirteen-year-old creates on-demand drawings and donates all of her profits to soldiers and volunteers.

“We are just surviving now,” Iryna says. “This wound will stay with us forever,” she concludes, her pale face filled with sorrow.

World Vision has reached out to more than 1,6 million people inside Ukraine, including internally displaced, women and children, supporting them with education, protection, psychosocial support, basic needs services, livelihoods, and cash and voucher programs.

Story and photos by Laurentia Jora, UCR Communications Manager