Interview with Anastasiia Nenka
Interview with Anastasiia Nenka
Anastasiia at the Annual Meeting of the Action Network on Forced Displacement, standing on the balcony of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
Anastasiia Nenka is the Director of the Women’s Information Consultative Center in Ukraine and a member of the Action Network on Forced Displacement. With a background in public service, she was the first director of Ukraine’s Government Hotline and has collaborated with the UN Security Council. Through her work, Anastasiia advances multiple objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees by empowering forcibly displaced women to lead recovery efforts and access essential services (GCR Objective 2), advocating for inclusive integration that supports long-term solutions (GCR Objective 3), and fostering conditions for safe and dignified return through her work on reintegration and systemic change (GCR Objective 4).
Reflecting on her experience, Anastasiia shares: "My work is primarily focused on internally displaced persons, particularly women. I have been living in Ukraine for 12 years now — a country that has been under attack by Russia since 2014 — and throughout this time, I’ve been working directly with displaced women."
She identifies several pressing challenges in her work, including:
- Limited access to quality services— medical, psychological, and educational — especially in rural and frontline areas;
- High levels of psychological trauma, with little systemic support from the state;
- A lack of housing and long-term integration solutions, especially for women with children;
- Unequal participation of displaced women in decision-making related to recovery and resource allocation;
- Stigmatization and discrimination, particularly in host communities.
But in spite of these difficulties, she is determined to bring about change, saying "Together with other organizations, we are working to make these challenges visible and to empower displaced women to become active participants in shaping recovery."
Through joining the Network and meeting other members, Anastasiia has found hope and support: "I joined the Action Network in 2022, at the time when Russia launched its full-scale invasion, and the number of displaced people skyrocketed across the country. That moment marked a turning point for many Ukrainian communities that lost their homes, security, and access to basic services.
"The Action Network has been a powerful space for support, solidarity, and collective advocacy."
