Today, around 160,000 women in Ukraine are raising children with disabilities. According to a new study by the NGOs Epiprosvita and Academy of Cognition, most of these families survive on up to 20,000 UAH per month.
State support covers less than 20% of the actual needs for a child’s medication and rehabilitation. Mothers are often required to provide constant care, which effectively deprives them of the opportunity to work — or even to have an hour to themselves.
Nearly half of the surveyed women live with severe anxiety, 40% experience symptoms of depression, and one in seven (15%) admits to having thoughts of self-harm. The situation is further worsened by the war: 40% of these mothers are internally displaced, having lost access to familiar doctors, support networks, and close relatives.
Seventy percent of women have no access to respite care services. They are left alone to cope with their child’s condition, social isolation, and financial hardship.
This is a large-scale social issue and an economic loss. Women aged 30–45 — typically at the peak of their professional lives — are pushed out of the labor market due to the lack of systemic support.
At the same time, most of them are willing to work: with flexible schedules, remotely, or part-time. However, they face multiple barriers — from the lack of childcare services to employer discrimination and the risk of losing social benefits. Mothers of children with disabilities represent a significant group of women with strong professional potential that remains largely unrealized and excluded from the labor market today.
