The girl is standing in front of a bombed residential building in Dobropole in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine: 70 percent of children do not have access to basic goods and services Humanitarian assistance About 70 percent of children of Ukraine – this is about 3.5 million boys and girls – currently do not have access to vital goods and services, such as sufficient food and proper housing. This is evidenced by the new data published today by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The proportion of children living in the conditions of material deprivation increased from about 18 percent in 2021 – before the start of the escalation of the war in February 2022. As explained to UNICEF, this means that children do not receive full food, do not have clothes corresponding to the season, and the necessary training materials, and also live in an unheated house. Such restrictions impede the normal development and directly affect the future of young Ukrainians. 60 ~ h2 > growing deprivation level 60 > “War continues to destroy the life of Ukrainian children. To invest in them and in the services on which their well -being depends is the best way to ensure the future of Ukraine, ”said UNICEF Executive Director Katherine Russell. – Humanitarian assistance is aimed at satisfying urgent needs and achieving sustainable results. But she should not replace long -term investments in the restoration of Ukraine, which will benefit children now and in the future. ”Since the beginning of a full -scale war, at least 2,786 children were killed or injured. Every third child in the country lives in a house without a working water supply and sewage, and almost half – do not have access to the game space either at home or on the street. Blows on the objects of water supply, sanitation and energy, as well as to orphanages, schools and medical institutions, in combination with poverty growth, exacerbate the situation. 60 > Ukraine also faces serious demographic challenges: the birth rate has decreased by 35 percent, millions of women and millions of women and millions of women and millions of women and millions of women and millions of women and millions of women The children were forced to leave the country. ~ 60 > investment in the future of the country 60 > permanent access to high -quality and inclusive social services – education, healthcare, social support – is decisive. This is especially important for children living near the front line, as well as for children with disabilities, pupils of boarding schools and foster families, as well as those who were forced to leave their homes. ~ 60 > “The opportunity to protect and support children and youth of Ukraine – from babies to adolescents – there are now. The future of the country depends on this, ”said Russell. “ We must put children – their education, safety, health and development – to the center of efforts to restore Ukraine. This means that we must invest in early development, high -quality education and skills, the necessary youth for a successful future. First of all, the children of Ukraine should be protected from further suffering. They need peace, ”she added.