LocationsChernobyl Disaster: Honoring the Past, Building the Future
April 26, 2025
Each April, Belarus pauses to mark the anniversary of one of the most devastating nuclear disasters in history: the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant meltdown. Nearly four decades later, the catastrophe’s shadow lingers. About 12% of Belarus remains contaminated by radionuclides - a stark reminder of nuclear accidents’ far-reaching, indiscriminate toll on people and nature.
Yet Chernobyl’s legacy extends beyond tragedy. It has also become a testament to endurance and cooperation and a call to address the long-term challenges such disasters impose. Today, Belarus is transforming its hardest-hit districts, particularly in the Mogilev and Gomel regions, into hubs of renewal and innovation.
Since 2006, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has played a central role in coordinating international efforts linked to Chernobyl’s recovery and rehabilitation in Belarus. Thirty-nine years later, the narrative has shifted. Chernobyl is no longer just a chapter of loss; it now stands as a narrative of recovery, resilience, innovation and partnership.
For years, Mogilev and Gomel were cast as regions defined by social and economic hardship, with communities grappling with trauma and uncertainty. This perception hindered progress. But through collaboration with international and national partners, UNDP has helped rewrite that narrative - shifting focus from emergency aid and management toward sustainable, long-term development.
More than 200 UNDP-backed initiatives have tackled healthcare, economic development, radiological safety, environmental education, social integration, and nature preservation -delivering measurable progress.
In healthcare, initiatives have focused on reducing non-communicable disease risks and promoting better lifestyles, benefiting over 34,000 residents. Almost 17,000 women have been screened for breast cancer.
During the pandemic, the UNDP and Belarus’s Health Ministry secured millions in medical equipment, including US$1 million for Mogilev Regional Hospital alone, strengthening critical care.
Agricultural revival has been just as remarkable. Innovative technologies have transformed more than 2,000 smallholdings to nurture crops in soils once deemed unsafe. On average, these small businesses have increased their market profits by 5-20%. Simultaneously, entrepreneurs have clustered to share resources and incorporate digital tools, spurring economic growth. To date, over 100 local enterprises have received roughly US$2 million in support, creating more than 600 new jobs and introducing over 300 new products and services to the market.
Environmental renewal remains a priority. In close partnership with governmental agencies, the UNDP has made strides in restoring valuable peatlands and floodplain meadows of Belarus’ south, ecosystems crucial to biodiversity and local livelihoods.
In 2022 alone, authorities safely disposed of 330 tons of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the affected regions, signaling progress in addressing long-term contamination concerns. UNDP has also strengthened conservation in protected areas while nurturing ecotourism as a sustainable economic model.
Environmental education, particularly among youth, is gaining traction through a growing network of “green schools,” cultivating awareness and stewardship in the next generation.
Despite these achievements, significant challenges remain. The need for new employment opportunities and increased investment is pressing. This year, UNDP is launching 11 pilot initiatives aligned with advancing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the most impacted regions.
For instance, in Bobruisk, artificial intelligence will enhance medical diagnostics. Rural youth will be trained in precision agriculture and 3D modeling, opening career pathways in emerging fields. In the town of Mozyr, Belarus’s first coffee training center designed for people with disabilities will open – a sign that inclusive economic development is on the rise.
Supported by the China-initiated Global Development Fund, two further projects aim to address critical needs: one to prevent wildfires in the Chernobyl exclusion zone - fires that risk releasing trapped radiation (notably, levels spiked 16-fold during 2020’s blazes) - and another to improve healthcare access in remote districts. The forthcoming Inter-Regional Medical Center at Mozyr City Hospital will serve six rural districts with modern equipment and life-saving technologies.
Sustainability underpins every dimension of this work. UNDP helps develop the Regional Sustainable Development Strategies for Mogilev and Gomel that will situate the SDGs within local realities, emphasizing resilient infrastructure, forward-looking industries, and a circular economy.
Looking ahead to 2026–2030, these regions will remain central to the UNDP’s Country Programme for Belarus, which commits to turning a site of tragedy into a beacon of development and hope.
The UNDP’s work in Belarus stands as a powerful example of what sustained international cooperation, local partnership, and community resilience can achieve. While Chernobyl’s imprint remains, it has also sparked a collective determination to build a better future.
As Belarus honors the memory of the past, it also forges a path toward renewal beyond disaster -one shaped by partnership, innovation and growth.