Throughout April 2026, hostilities continued to drive civilians from their homes in the eastern and northern regions of Ukraine. According to the World Health Organisation’s Health Cluster, around 11,340 people passed through the country’s transit centres. This figure reflects the scale of displacement caused by instability on the front line, the destruction of critical infrastructure and mandatory evacuations ordered by local authorities throughout the month.
The report documents the humanitarian community’s response to this influx of people. Seventeen partner organisations worked in six transit centres, providing new arrivals with primary healthcare and psychosocial support. In total, the partners reached 3,881 people, of whom 3,097 received primary healthcare and 784 received mental health and psychosocial support.
Where did people come from and where were they going?
The largest exodus of people was recorded in the Donetsk region. People were leaving primarily Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, where prolonged fighting was compounded by an unstable front line and disruptions to gas and water supplies. In response to the situation, the regional authorities opened an Interim Evacuation Centre in Sloviansk at the end of March, and on 21 April another such centre began operating in Kramatorsk.
Data from the International Organisation for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix show that over 24,000 people left the surveyed settlements over the course of the month. Approximately three-quarters of these displacements occurred in the second half of April, indicating a deterioration in the situation towards the end of the month.
Registration of arrivals was highest at the transit centre in Lozova, where 5,293 people sought assistance. Second place went to the city of Kharkiv with 1,865 registered, and third to Pavlohrad, where 1,603 people were registered. The majority of evacuees came from the Donetsk region.
The Kharkiv region added around 1,970 new displaced persons to the overall figure, a trend driven by changes on the front line in the northern districts. Mandatory evacuations and intensified fighting also prompted people to leave in the Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The reception network expanded on 1 April when a new transit centre opened in Shostka, Sumy region. It was intended to respond to displacement from the north-east of the country, and over 500 people were registered there within a month.
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How the healthcare system worked
In April, seventeen partners of the Health Cluster deployed mobile outreach teams to six transit centres. The teams provided basic primary healthcare and psychosocial support, coordinating with local authorities. To ensure adequate coverage and avoid duplication of services, the partners operated on a rotation basis.
The Health Cluster, together with the Protection Cluster, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Co-Chair of the Health Coordination Group, visited two Interim Evacuation Points in the Donetsk region. Medical care remains available there through existing facilities, and partners are bolstering support through donations of over-the-counter medicines and a daily presence at designated transit centres along the evacuation route.
In Shostka, Sumy region, the Health Cluster coordinated efforts with a partner who was already supporting a nearby primary healthcare facility. This arrangement was intended to ensure that medical services would be available to those arriving at the transit centre as needed.
Kharkiv Region
In the Kharkiv region, the pattern of arrivals at the transit centre in the city of Kharkiv changed over the course of the month. The largest influx occurred between 8 and 15 April, after which the number of arrivals gradually decreased towards the end of the month. Nine partners worked at the centre, providing services to 906 people. Of these, 775 received primary medical care and 131 received psychosocial support.
The Lozova transit centre received the largest number of evacuees of all the centres. Seven partners provided services to 1,231 people here, of whom 1,033 received primary medical care and 198 received psychosocial support. The pattern of arrivals was uneven, with a noticeable peak in the middle of the month.
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Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
The Dnipropetrovsk region accommodated displaced persons in several transit centres simultaneously. In Pavlohrad, six partner organisations provided assistance to 647 people—393 of whom received primary medical care and 254 received psychosocial support. The number of arrivals peaked between 16 and 23 April.
The Voloske transit centre was served by eight partners, who assisted 541 people, of whom 428 received primary medical care and 113 received psychosocial support. The largest influx arrived here in the first half of the month.
Four partners worked at the transit centre at Dnipro railway station, providing services to 108 people — 85 received primary medical care and 23 received psychosocial support. In Zaporizhzhia, four partners assisted 448 people, of whom 383 received primary medical care and 65 received psychosocial support. A local paramedic was also working at this centre, as recorded as of 30 April.
Obstacles to providing assistance
Evacuees arriving at transit centres often face difficulties accessing public services due to a lack of personal documents. This temporarily restricts their access to medical care and medicines under the ‘Affordable Medicines’ programme.
Patients in critical condition are referred to the nearest hospitals, whilst those with minor injuries usually rely on partners in transit centres for further care, including wound dressing. Given the short duration of stay, humanitarian medical support remains essential for timely access to basic services.
Accessibility issues persist for people with disabilities, who report barriers when entering transit centres and moving around within them. The situation highlights the need for further adaptations to make the premises inclusive.
A lack of funding has directly affected service coverage. Due to a shortage of funds, two partners ceased the deployment of mobile outreach teams in transit centres in the Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions in April. The health cluster is actively coordinating efforts to mitigate gaps in coverage and maintain continuity of care for evacuees.
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