By Yash Nanayakkara
A large group of Ukrainian refugees resting in an athletic centre. (The RAND Corporation)
The Russia-Ukraine crisis has been going on for more than 180 days on end, with no sign of a ceasefire coming to the rescue of Ukraine and its people. Initially, Russian President Vladmir Putin’s goal was to overrun Ukraine and dispose of its government, thus ending the argument involving Ukraine’s decision to join the Western-led NATO, which led to the spark that turned into the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
With the elongating and development of this crisis, the Ukrainian refugee crisis does so as well. With over 6 million people, as of May 24th, who have fled Ukraine and taken refuge in European countries, including Russia, it is clear that the outcome of these refugees, along with the host countries, will be negative in most current theories, due to the main issue that there are many existing negative implications that this crisis will have on the Ukrainian refugee population and whatever country is hosting them, which can be divided into three parts – healthcare, social and economic.
Healthcare is one of the many factors that have, and will further, affect the Ukrainian refugees as a whole. Firstly, communicable diseases are a major threat to this refugee population, who are in conditions that make them vulnerable to the spread of diseases like Covid-19 and measles. On average, most of these Ukrainian refugees are not vaccinated against any of these diseases, simply because many of them could not afford to do so even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Therefore, it is not a surprise that these life-threatening diseases are spreading like wildfire throughout these refugee populations. Crowded, poorly ventilated basements and refugee shelters, combined with the low refugee vaccination rate, is a condition that is simply promoting and accelerating the spread and development of these communicable diseases, the most prominent being Covid-19 and the common influenza.
A chart showing the number of internationally displaced people (refugees) as a whole. (Statista)
Countries like Poland and Denmark have even removed their strict vaccination policy so that unvaccinated refugees will also be allowed into such countries. However, although this is beneficial from a humanitarian perspective, it simply adds to the tension that these refugees are now prone to transmitting diseases amongst their host families, thus brewing another possible uncontrolled outbreak of Covid-19 or other uncommon diseases, for example the new ‘monkeypox’ virus. So, it is evident that these loose health regulations may not beneficial.
Foodborne and waterborne diseases cannot be ignored here. The WHO public health situation analysis of 2022 for Ukrainian refugee-hosting countries shows that most refugee camps have deteriorated water, sanitation, and hygiene (commonly known as WASH), which are shared among this mass population, which implicates the danger of waterborne diseases.
Food is also not up to standard, thus implicating a possibility of obtaining foodborne illnesses. Illnesses that come under these two categories include acute watery diarrhoea and cholera, which are leading causes of death and child mortality and morbidity around the world.
This is why it is clear to people that many of the weak, malnourished, and exhausted refugees in these crowded, poorly built refugee camps with little to no professional medical support, may not be able to survive these acute illnesses. Furthermore, disease prevention guidelines such as wearing a mask are hard to push forward in a massive community that is suffering one of the worst refugee crises in recent history.
In addition to these health compromises, hospital care has also been put to the limit in host countries, with numerous Ukrainian refugees occupying wards and ICU beds, suffering from injuries, various communicable diseases, and non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases.
Roughly 40-50% of Romanian ICU beds are being occupied by these Ukrainian refugees, which is an instance of how such a country’s healthcare system can be put under strain. This could lead to the excessive use of resources, as well as a lack of space.
Maternal healthcare also comes under the sector of healthcare implications, as refugee mothers who are about to give birth are now deprived of proper doctors in refugee camps, as well as a lack of access to emergency healthcare if an immediate complication arises, which could occur in at least 15% of such deliveries.
However, although these physical healthcare shortages are important, mental illnesses and trauma inflicted disorders cannot be ignored. Even before the conflict, 12.4% of Ukrainian adults had symptoms in check with the clinical diagnostic for depression, with the statistic for children with PTSD being approximately 22%.
A list of ways as to how mental health factors affect refugees and migrants. (Newsline Institute)
Now, after this refugee crisis began 180 days ago, an estimate of a 5% increase in these refugees with PTSD has been seen, including children, who may have lost one or both of their parents, along with the possible death of other family members.
The importance of assisting these children cannot be emphasised enough, as such trauma and psychological distress will hinder their ability to move on and succeed in life as a whole.
On the mental health of these refugees as a whole, many officials have confirmed that areas for prioritisation are the potential increase in substance use, such as alcohol, as well as the discontinuation of mental health treatment of people who were already suffering psychological illnesses before they had to flee Ukraine.
The UNHCR also stated in a tweet that, “Refugees coming in from Ukraine need access to mental health and psychological support.”
There are many more issues under the social and moral implications of the Ukrainian refugee crisis which are yet to be solved.
Education is a major factor under this aspect which has been affected by the crisis. 3.6 million children have been affected by school closures and attacks in Ukraine, a significant amount of the overall child population in the country. World Vision International, an organisation for children’s health, calculated that a child missing three months of education could reduce average test scores by 11%, something that is universally concerning.
Furthermore, language barriers in new countries will be hard to get past. Therefore, education is definitely a massive factor that has and will further be affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Andrii, age 9, a Ukrainian refugee, is the only child who does not speak French in his new class in Lyon.
Especially taking into consideration is the number of Ukrainian child refugees in the current flow; having such a vast number of children deprived of basic education is simply going to hinder their future prospects, Ukraine’s possible intellectual leaps, and the world’s advancement as a whole.
Another aspect of the social ramifications of the Russia-Ukraine crisis is the vulnerability of Ukrainian women and children. A common pattern that has been pointed out in studies of this particular crisis is that women and young children make up 90% of the Ukrainian refugee population, as many husbands have to stay in Ukraine to serve the police and army, or to try and obtain whatever valuable assets they have before reuniting with their families.
Therefore, these refugees are primarily made up of vulnerable women and children who have no defence against attacks on them. This has led to the increase in cases of rape and sexual abuse in the Ukrainian refugee population, which now go unnoticed in the shadow of the conflict itself.
A Ukrainian child walks on the debris of a house left by a Russian missile strike, on July 9th. (Anadolu Agency/Narciso Contreras)
Gender based violence has also grown among these distressed refugees. This is why many organizations, including the UN, are working towards the protection of these vulnerable female and child refugees against such crimes.
Most people among this new refugee community, who are significantly distressed and upset about the circumstances, have now become misguided as to what is right and wrong.
Seeing as though they have nothing more to lose, these refugees have been known to start stealing and murdering or harming other refugees and host families for any sort of wealth they can get.
Therefore, this sums up all of the primary points about how the Ukrainian refugees are being affected socially and morally by this refugee crisis.
Finally comes the economic ramifications of the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Host countries have been affected the most by the fluctuating flow of refugees into the many regions of Europe and other countries. Healthcare services, as well as funds for food and water and other resources in refugee camps, are being provided by the government for the thousands of Ukrainian refugees now living in said country. Poland, having more than 1.2 million refugees, has promised to dedicate 1% of its GDP to the aid of Ukrainian refugees in the country.
This approximately accounts to 5.3 billion US dollars, a massive sum of money for these underprivileged, traumatised people. This sum of money will go to major institutions and factors that are heavily required by these refugees, including special refugee healthcare, the provision of up-to-standard food and water, and the overall living conditions of these refugees.
While this may seem unrelated to the previously stated point, it definitely is in a unique way – the contrast between the capabilities of developed countries and developing countries also comes into play under this topic. Poland is a relatively developed country, which has the capability to spare 1% of its GDP to these Ukrainian refugees, while other underdeveloped or developing countries like Romania are unable to spend such amounts on refugees.
A group of refugees standing in a line to get past the border into their host country. (Atlantic Council)
Inevitably, they still have to spend on the well-being and functioning of these refugee camps, so such blows to a developing country’s economy will affect the nation financially in the long run. Furthermore, the fact that these refugees may not be able to add any revenue to the economy is another loss to the overall money reserves and income. It has been proven that it takes years for refugees to come back up to normal status after going through an ordeal like a refugee crisis, so governments all over Europe and in other countries will continue to face losses until these refugees are back on their feet and are ready to be productive members of society.
In addition, civilians who are voluntarily hosting refugees in their homes will have to divide their household income to provide for them for a certain period of time, thus affecting individual households and the finances of families as well.
As the Russia-Ukraine conflict rages on, the parallel refugee crisis also worsens in its implications and consequences, as thousands of Ukrainians are put on the road towards a new life. Whether this crisis will solve itself before social, healthcare, and economic impacts blow out of proportion, or whether the waves of refugees, combined with the implications of the conflict itself, will lead to a new global monetary crisis, it is hard to say. However, as we did from the time this crisis began almost 180 days ago, the world will have to continue and adapt to whatever issues or crises come forward in the years to come.
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