Jaime Wah, Deputy Head of Delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Ukraine, is wrapping up her mission after more than four years in the country. In an interview with Humanitarian Media Hub, she reflected on the Ukraine she first saw in 2019 and the one she is leaving today, on the price humanitarian workers pay under fire, on the principle of neutrality that many Ukrainians find hard to accept, and on the lessons the Ukrainian Red Cross is already passing on to the world.
Kyiv before and after
Jamie Wah first came to Ukraine in 2019, arriving in Kyiv by plane — something that is no longer possible today.
“Ukraine in 2019 was like any major European city, very busy, very bustling. The traffic I remember was terrible. But yeah, it was very different than it is today. I think today the conflict has changed how people go about their lives. A lot of people have left, a lot of big businesses, international businesses closed initially and then now some of them have reopened but not all of them. So I think at least Kyiv is not what it used to be but there’s still some parts of it that are still there,” she recalls.
Before 2022, she worked in Bakhmut, where she collaborated closely with a local hospital on developing an emergency department project. That city is at the heart of the story that has stayed with her throughout the mission. In 2022, during her first week working with the International Federation in Kyiv, she was asked to deliver and open a generator at a hospital on the outskirts of the capital.
“When I exited the car, I was surprised to find that it was the head doctor in Bakhmut who had relocated her hospital and her team and was using her medical license in Kyiv region and it was an emotional experience. I remember us crying and looking at photos back in 2019 of the project that we had in Bakhmut,” she says.
The equipment once procured and donated to the hospital in Bakhmut had been evacuated by the doctor and brought to Brovary. “To see that she was rebuilding what she had in Bakhmut in Kyiv region that was really really amazing to see,” Jamie Wah says, noting that the team had gone through very difficult times and lost colleagues.
Peace talks and changing needs
Asked whether the current talk of negotiations and a possible peace process risks drawing attention and money away from what people actually need, Jamie Wah answers that needs will evolve either way.
“If there is a peace agreement obviously this would be a really good thing that the fighting would stop, that people could develop and create what their future would be and their needs will obviously change over time. So hopefully if there is a peace agreement then businesses can develop, communities can be rebuilt, people won’t need to just focus on preparing for if their apartment will be damaged in the night. So I think things and needs will change, I think society will change and I think it would be changing for the better,” she believes.
The year of the volunteer and the Movement’s most dangerous year
2026 has been declared the year of the volunteer, and an ever larger share of the work now rests with local groups and Ukrainian Red Cross volunteers. According to Jamie Wah, closeness to communities is both the movement’s strength and its vulnerability.
“The Ukrainian Red Cross also embodies this, they’re in every community, they know what the community needs, they’re able to respond quickly, they’re there to help the government in their response,” she notes.
That closeness comes at a cost. “Especially over this last year there has been very much attacks on Red Cross workers and volunteers worldwide. I think this year is slated to be one of the most dangerous years for the Red Cross movement. In Ukraine, Ukrainian Red Cross also a few years ago lost six volunteers. Just in 2026 the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the network of Red Cross, we’ve lost 21 people during the operations,” Jamie Wah says.
“It is not only providing life-saving assistance but people are putting their lives at risk and I think even though that happens, I think it’s very important that the work continues, that communities continue to be supported even if it is difficult,” she stresses.
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Ukrainian lessons the world Is studying
Last year, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society held a two-day forum where it shared its experience with European governments and national societies. Preparing for an armed conflict, Jamie Wah says, is now appearing on the agenda of many countries.
“What has happened in Ukraine, the learnings of being prepared, having conversations with the government, pre-positioning and preparing contingency stocks and strengthening logistics capacity was something that we were able to do with Ukrainian Red Cross Society over the last couple of years and I think this has very much helped Ukrainian Red Cross respond to the need and to be better prepared and to plan,” she explains.
One of the most striking examples she cites comes from the first aid unit. Ukraine now has a larger population of people with physical disabilities, and the team realized that traditional first aid trainings were not adapted to them.
“How do you do CPR or how do you do certain procedures if you’re in a wheelchair, if you have an amputation or if you have a visual impairment. And so Ukrainian Red Cross Society over a period of time did some research with different hospitals and people with disabilities and they were able to provide an annex to the training manual for first aid that is now being used and integrated in the global first aid reference center hosted by the French Red Cross,” Jamie Wah says. These findings will help shape how first aid is delivered to people with disabilities globally. And that came from Ukraine.
Neutrality that is hard to accept
Neutrality is one of the founding principles of the Red Cross, and the movement is present on every side of the front line. Jamie Wah admits this is difficult to explain to Ukrainians.
“It’s a very difficult question because I think especially when you’re living in a situation and in a country that is being constantly attacked it is hard to be neutral. But I think this is one of the principles of the Red Cross movement is that we look at the individuals. There are needs everywhere. There are needs here, there are needs on the other side of the front line and that front line has moved over time,” she says.
She recalls a conversation with a colleague who could not understand why the Red Cross operates on the other side — until a close family member went missing. “They realized that having dialogue and having access and having the Red Cross presence on the other side allows research to be done, allows conversations with the other parties that maybe the Ukrainian side is not able to have but answers and communication needs to be established,” Jamie Wah explains. Losing access means losing information.
The choice between home and safety
With money tight, some displaced people are going back home, even to areas near the front line. Jamie Wah knows such people personally from her time working in Bakhmut and Sloviansk.
The Ukrainian Red Cross runs community centers across the country to give displaced families an alternative. “They’re working in various community centers across Ukraine to provide displaced families with opportunities to learn new skills through the reboot program and entrepreneur program to have social businesses to look at other alternatives than to just go home,” she says. Teams also help people obtain documentation and access social services and government assistance, which eases their integration into new communities.
At the same time, she acknowledges that there will always be those who decide to return, especially among the older generation. “Each person has their choice where they want to live. So at least for the Red Cross to understand that there are other options and to support people where they are but when they do choose to go back to understand that they will be supported as much as there is access to support them to help them feel not alone and I think that is the purpose of the Red Cross and people in difficult situations and circumstances to know that they’re not alone,” Jamie Wah says.
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Keeping Ukraine from being forgotten
International funding is shrinking, and the world’s attention is shifting to other crises. “This year has been a very tumultuous year. It’s been very difficult with conflicts, new conflicts and old conflicts. I think more than ever in the history there are many armed conflicts. There’s also massive natural disasters as well and so humanitarian funding is being stretched both here in Ukraine and across the world,” Jamie Wah states.
She is convinced that aid must follow the greatest needs and stay clear of politics. “I know there’s a trend that humanitarian assistance comes with terms and conditions or it comes with political agendas and I think as much as possible humanitarian assistance should be void of that,” she stresses.
The conversation about resources, in her view, must also be a conversation about peace: “If there is no need to recover and to fix damaged homes and businesses then we could save a lot of money. So I think the idea is that focus on the peace process, focus on these initiatives will result in overall less spending on the need for humanitarian assistance and hopefully there’ll be peace.”
What the headlines miss
International media, Jamie Wah observes, focus on large missile strikes on Kyiv. The reality is far broader.
“What people don’t really understand is that the Ukraine has been in conflict since 2014. There hasn’t probably been a day that Ukraine hasn’t been attacked. This is a long-standing conflict. It’s 12 years and it’s ongoing,” she says. Around 30% of Ukraine’s territory is almost constantly under air alerts.
“Our sleep is interrupted most nights and that is the reality that is in Ukraine that it is taxing on people’s mental health,” she describes. “The constant strain of not knowing what’s going to happen of constantly you know being disrupted in the middle of your day. You know we’ve been having many conferences that have to go and go down to the shelter and so these types of disruptions happen on a daily basis for us.”
What she takes with her
After four years in Ukraine, Jamie Wah leaves with gratitude and hope.
“I’m going to be leaving with lots of friends lots of great colleagues you know seeing what Ukrainian Red Cross and the network of the Red Cross partners here in Ukraine have been able to accomplish in the last four years for me is is a huge blessing and a huge you know it’s been a great pleasure for me. I know there are challenging times ahead for Ukraine and for the Red Cross as well but I do hope that there is a very peaceful future in the near future and that peace does come to Ukraine and that Ukraine does prosper and that people can go back to not just responding to the conflict but rebuilding their lives,” she concludes.
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