Investing in adolescents and young people is central to protecting health, dignity, and opportunity across the life course—and to safeguarding Ukraine’s future human capital. UNFPA works to ensure that young people can grow up healthy, safe, and empowered, with access to accurate information, youth-friendly services, and opportunities to participate in decisions that affect their lives. This includes promoting comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health information, supporting mental health and psychosocial well-being, preventing violence, and strengthening youth leadership and civic engagement. UNFPA’s approach is grounded in rights and inclusion, with particular attention to young people who face multiple barriers—those displaced, living near the front line, or living with disabilities.
In Ukraine, the full-scale war is disrupting education, safety, and development at a formative moment in life. Attacks on civilian infrastructure have undermined education and services: since February 2022, over 4,300 educational facilities have been damaged, and schools continue to face disruption from strikes, insecurity, and power outages. The result is not only lost learning time, but also isolation and psychosocial distress, as children and young people spend long periods learning online or in shelters rather than in safe, supportive school environments.
Displacement adds another layer of risk. For young people, frequent movement can mean interrupted schooling, loss of social networks, and reduced access to sports, youth clubs, and other protective community spaces. The scale of emotional distress and learning loss among children is immense, with 77 per cent of school-aged children reported to be impacted due to displacement. In communities close to the front line, where services are severely constrained, young people face heightened exposure to insecurity and a chronic sense of uncertainty about the future.
UNFPA works with the Government of Ukraine, municipalities, youth organizations, and partners to strengthen youth engagement and youth-led community resilience. UNFPA supports platforms and tools that help communities understand and respond to young people’s needs, enabling evidence-based youth policy and investment decisions at local level. UNFPA also supports youth participation in decision-making processes, creating pathways for young people—including displaced youth and youth with disabilities—to contribute to community recovery plans and public dialogue. Through peer-to-peer approaches and youth-friendly programming, UNFPA strengthens young people’s resilience skills and psychosocial well-being, helping them cope with stress, loss, and uncertainty and to support one another.
UNFPA also promotes comprehensive sexuality education and trusted sexual and reproductive health information through out-of-school learning and digital outreach, equipping adolescents with scientifically accurate knowledge about their bodies, relationships, consent, and health. By investing in youth well-being and meaningful participation now, UNFPA helps Ukraine protect a generation growing up in war—and supports communities to rebuild with stronger, more inclusive institutions for the future.
Protecting youth well-being during war is an investment in Ukraine’s long-term recovery. Adolescence is a critical window for building skills, relationships, and a sense of agency. When young people are excluded from decisions or cannot access education, health information, and psychosocial support, the impacts can last for years—affecting livelihoods, social cohesion, and community resilience. Conversely, when young people are supported to participate, learn, and lead, they become a driving force for local recovery, innovation, and social solidarity, even in the most challenging conditions.
