How the Finnish Red Cross is using donated funds in the Ukraine crisis
The Red Cross is helping people affected by the Ukraine crisis in both Ukraine and its neighbouring countries. It has also provided help in countries where people have fled to, including Finland.
The key objective of our aid is to meet basic needs: to offer food, water and health care to people suffering from the conflict, provide housing for people who have fled their homes and support people’s livelihoods in the middle of the conflict.
Funds donated to the Finnish Red Cross used for aid work
The Finnish Red Cross's aid is directed to the International Red Cross's relief operation, which supports the Red Cross's humanitarian work in Ukraine and the surrounding areas. Additionally, donations to the disaster fund have been used to assist people fleeing from Ukraine in Finland.
The donated funds:
- give financial support to the international aid operation of the Red Cross
- send aid workers to Ukraine and its neighbouring areas
- send material aid to Ukraine and its neighbouring areas
- help people who have fled from Ukraine to Finland
In addition to financial aid, the Finnish Red Cross has sent accommodation and medical supplies and an entire health clinic to Ukraine. With the support of the disaster fund, 10 mobile health units have also been established in western Ukraine. The mobile health unit includes a doctor and a nurse who provide primary healthcare and psychosocial support to those in need.
With the donated funds, we have also sent dozens of aid workers to the operation. These include professionals in logistics, health care, psychosocial support, communications and organisational development, as well as specialists who assess the changing humanitarian situation and need for aid.
At the beginning of the relief operation, our disaster preparedness unit focused on logistics, but it also organized the transportation, storage, and distribution of international Red Cross material aid to Ukraine.
We have also allocated a total of 25 million euros to the International Red Cross's cash assistance program, which helps the most vulnerable – such as people who host refugees fleeing other parts of the country free of charge.
In addition to the emergency aid, the Finnish Red Cross provides long-term support to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society’s health programme, among other causes. The health programme works to reinforce the healthcare and social services of people, especially those in the most vulnerable positions. These are delivered by the Ukrainian Red Cross Society through the mobile healthcare units and home visits across the country.
We also strengthen the preparedness of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society and the operations of its local branches.
The funds donated to the Disaster Relief Fund have been used in Finland to support people arriving in the country. We offer them e.g. clothes, hygiene supplies, food and drink and other basic necessities as required. Donations have also been used in arranging psychosocial support. However, the funding of legislated reception operations is always managed by the Finnish Immigration Service.
How is the aid delivered to Ukraine and its neighbouring areas?
The Finnish Red Cross guides the funds from the collection for Ukraine allocated to helping people through the International Red Cross.
Both the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) work to help those suffering from the crisis. This work is funded together by the Red Cross Societies of different countries, including the Finnish Red Cross.
The work of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society is also supported directly together with other European Red Cross societies.
When the conflict has been going on so long, help must be provided in a sustainable and long-term manner. People’s livelihoods and mental resources also need to be supported.
The funds guided to the aid operation by the International Red Cross are used to procure e.g. food, water, hygiene and accommodation supplies, clothes and medical supplies. Furthermore, cash grants are distributed to families for purposes such as buying food, and people’s livelihoods are supported.
People are also offered first aid and psychosocial support. The Red Cross is also helping with evacuations.
The aid is delivered as cooperation of the entire Red Cross movement: tens of thousands of volunteers, employees of the Red Cross organisations of Ukraine and its neighbouring countries and aid workers from the International Red Cross and the national Red Cross organisations.
The aid operation in Ukraine is exceptionally challenging; the number of people fleeing their homes is staggering, the conflict has dragged on for a long time, the needs vary a great deal within the country itself, and services such as energy infrastructure and healthcare have suffered due to the conflict.
All funds collected in our emergency aid collection will be used to help those suffering from the conflict. Our support offers both emergency aid and long-term support.
Will all of the proceeds from the collection be directed solely to helping
Ukraine?
The Disaster Relief Fund is not committed in advance to any specific target to ensure that funds can be used to provide aid in the event of accidents and crises with short notice. The Disaster Relief Fund allows us to aid those in need, be it in Finland or abroad.
However, the conflict in Ukraine caused an immense need for urgent help both in Ukraine and its neighbouring countries. That is why all one-time donations made to the Disaster Relief Fund from 24 February to 16 May 2022 were directed to helping those suffering from the crisis in Ukraine. Since 17 May 2022, a targeted collection has been running to help the people suffering from the crisis in Ukraine.
This collection is still ongoing:
- Donate through our website: www.redcross.fi/donate/ukraine-crisis/
- Send the text message SPR15 to 16499 (€15)
- through MobilePay to the number 11646
- Donate directly to our bank account: OP FI52 5000 0120 4156 73. Recipient: Finnish Red Cross. Reference number: 6020.
How much of donations goes to aid work?
Donated funds are efficiently used for aid work. Collection expenses consist of the expenses of collection methods, service providers and marketing and the salary costs of fundraising employees.
Collection expenses vary by year and collection. In the collection for Ukraine, however, we have made exceptional savings in collection expenses, as several media have taken part by offering free visibility for the collection and many banks have waived their service fees.
We will only know the precise percentage of the expenses after the collection ends, but the expenses have been very small thus far:
- 3.4 per cent in 2022 including personnel costs
- 4.1 per cent in 2023.
- The Ukraine collection gathers donations to our Disaster Relief Fund, where the collection expenses must not exceed 20 per cent. The rules of the Disaster Relief Fund and its monitoring regulate the use of the donated funds.
Why do you not use all donated funds immediately?
As the need for aid will continue for years to come, our aid work also needs a long-term approach.
The conflict has caused large-scale humanitarian suffering and destruction. Help will be needed for a long time even after the fighting some day comes to an end. In particular, the need for basic healthcare, physical and mental rehabilitation, and securing livelihoods will persist for a long time.
“When the conflict has been going on so long, help must be provided in a sustainable and long-term manner. People’s livelihoods and mental resources also need to be supported. We also have to be prepared to support the country’s reconstruction, where the local operators – such as the Ukrainian Red Cross Society – play a major role,” says Toni Jokinen, the Head of the International Aid Support and Coordination Unit.
The Finnish Red Cross is committed to supporting the Ukrainian Red Cross Society and those suffering from the crisis for as long as support is needed.
Follow our work in helping people affected by the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine
