Poll: Over 70% of IDPs in Odesa plan to return home after war ends

Tamara Mosiychuk, associate professor of the Department of Public Communications and Regional Studies at the Faculty of International Relations, Political Science and Sociology of Odesa National University, and Oleh Mykhailyk, chairman of the board of the charity fund "Side by Side", told this at a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine.

According to the data, 70.4% of respondents plan to return home after the end of active hostilities. The overwhelming majority, 70.1%, cited constant shelling as the main reason for leaving. Other significant reasons were the risk of losing their lives (66.4%) and protecting their children (58.4%).

According to the "Side by Side'' foundation and Odesa National University, 67.7% of IDPs do not want to evacuate abroad. 10% do not have information about the possibility of evacuation, and 14.1% have doubts about leaving.

The main difficulty for 71.2% of IDPs is the lack of free or cheap housing. 62.7% mentioned psychological problems as a difficulty. Almost 70% of respondents named food as the greatest assistance they need. 60.3% also received financial assistance from charitable foundations and organisations.

According to the survey, 95% are women, 40.6% of whom are aged 30-39. Almost 52% of them are currently unemployed, and 18% are looking for work. 35% have one underage child.

Almost 63% of respondents trust charitable organisations the most. More than half, 52.3%, believe it is necessary to create a single centre for IDPs.

Almost 54% of respondents are not satisfied with the level of assistance from local and central councils. More than 90% of respondents said that charitable organisations provided the greatest assistance to IDPs.

Also, almost 80% of respondents said that they lack their own housing to feel happy.

More than 1,580 people took part in the survey. The study was conducted by bachelor's and master's students of the Faculty of International Relations, Political Science and Sociology of the Odesa National University named after I. I. Mechnikov as part of their internship. It was conducted online via messengers. Tamara Mosiychuk, a researcher, noted that this is not a representative survey, but in her opinion, the research corresponds to the trends and needs of internally displaced persons.

The majority of respondents are aged 18-29 (9.6%), 30-39 (40.6%), 40-49 (27.6%) and over 60.

• In Ukraine, before the start of the new school year, doctors and mobile teams will vaccinate children who missed the measles vaccination due to the war or other reasons. Special attention will be paid to IDPs.