From the first day of the war in Ukraine, the ISSA Network mobilized itself to respond to this horrendous crisis. We are in regular contact with our member organizations in Ukraine, which continue to work on behalf of young children, even in life-threatening circumstances. Together with our wider membership and partners, we provide emergency support to young children in Romani communities in a region in Western Ukraine. We are actively supporting and connecting members and partners in neighboring countries, where hundreds of thousands of refugees are fleeing. Together, we strive to ensure that the early childhood development related support offered to refugee families has a strong trauma-informed component.

We need your support to continue in these efforts, as it becomes more and more evident how enormous the needs are and the roll-on effects of this crisis.

Young children are disproportionately affected during times of war. The instability and resulting wounds and trauma inflicted on children and families living in Ukraine, and those fleeing the violence, will be long lasting from generation to generation. The global community must act now. At ISSA, we continue our tireless work towards our vision of a society where families, communities and professionals work together to empower each child to reach their unique potential and embrace values of social justice and equity.

We raise our voice together with international partners at ECDAN, ECPC, ARNEC, AfCEN, ANECD, and Moving Minds Alliance in this joint statement in English, Ukrainian and Russian, and in this editorial, with Eurochild, our European partner in the First Years, First Priority Campaign on ECD. 

Henriette Heimgaertner, ISSA President                                                                             
Liana Ghent, Director of ISSA

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