From her bedroom window, Liubov can see the vines and rosebushes of the garden, one of the few distractions in her day. The view also helps the 83-year-old woman forget the air raid sirens and explosions that still echo in her head since she fled Ukraine.

“People are very hospitable here. It is quiet and I receive my medicines, but I miss my flat in Odesa,” she said. “There are days when I feel like packing and going back, but I am too afraid.”

Through a project led by UN Human Rights, Liubov and hundreds of other marginalized refugees from Ukraine get better access to basic services in Moldova, including medicines, care, and assistive devices for children and adults with disabilities. Liubov has diabetes and cannot get out of bed without help.

With funding from the European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (DG ECHO), the program aims to protect the human rights of refugees with special needs such as older persons, persons with disabilities, children, single mothers and members of the Roma community.

“Every refugee has a story of loss and trauma behind them,” said Bea Ferenci, head of UN Human Rights Moldova. “This initiative seeks to improve their access to services and assistance, and also guarantee the human right of all refugees to equality and non-discrimination.”

Vital support

UN Human Rights has provided support to refugees fleeing Ukraine to Moldova since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on 24 February 2022. Nearly one million people displaced from Ukraine have arrived in Moldova, and approximately 124,000 remain in the country, seeking safety from an armed conflict that has entered its third year.

Government figures show that about 80 percent of those arriving are women, children and older persons. They are exposed to different risks, including finding housing, accessing health care and falling into poverty. Many refugees have used up their savings and increasingly rely on humanitarian support to meet basic needs, according to a recent study from the Norwegian Refugee Council.

As her health worsened and air raids kept her up at night, Liubov packed a few belongings and left on a bus for Moldova accompanied by a roommate. Liubov was too sick to walk, and so Moldovan border guards carried her on a wooden chair across the border. Today she lives in a rented house in Basarabeasca in southern Moldova. With the support of a UN Human Rights officer, Liubov began receiving diabetes medication, supplied by a local NGO.

Since it was started in June 2023, the UN Human Rights project has supplied diabetes and cancer medicines, diapers, walking aids, wheelchairs and eyeglasses, and other assistive devices through a referral system that connects refugees with Moldovan and international NGOs.

The project covers all administrative regions of Moldova, including the left bank of the Nistru/Dniester river. During field visits to humanitarian centers, distribution points and refugee accommodation centers, UN Human Rights officers identify individuals at risk who require specialized services, support, or assistance, for referral to relevant service providers.

UN Human Rights Moldova has conducted interviews with 2,130 refugees from Ukraine and 546 members of host communities, collecting data on their human rights situation and experience of discrimination.

This allows the Office to produce comprehensive and disaggregated data of various refugee groups, including marginalized communities, said Olha Florynska, a UN Information Management and Reporting officer in Moldova.