The pandemic is already intensifying existing structural imbalances in terms of labour markets and inequalities. While food supplies and prices have remained relatively stable, lack of income generation opportunities will limit the ability of vulnerable households to access food and health services. Women, elderly, adolescents, youth, children, persons with disabilities, and non-majority communities experience the highest degree of socio-economic marginalization.

Recovering from crises is a challenging process as it creates greater pressures on already limited human, institutional and financial resources. As part of recovery efforts, UNDP offers tailored macro, meso and micro tools that can be deployed at regional, national and sub-national levels, focusing on response, mitigation and recovery.

Here's what we're doing:

• UNDP/UNV through financing from the UN Secretary-General's COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund have supported the development of the psycho-educational online platform by the University of Pristina. The online platform includes information on mental health, a range of webinars on mental health, tackling issues of depression, family communication and children's mental health, psychological first aid (phone and chat), and psycho-educational videos. The creation of the online psycho-educational platform has supported people to overcome social isolation, to be informed on health and safety guidelines to address the pandemic, and to have access to mental and psycho-social support during and after the pandemic. In addition, the project ensured that over 60 volunteers, half of them women, engaged to provide COVID-19 medical and psychological help, were safe, protected, better equipped, and overall better able to respond to requests for help by the public.
• The Active Labor Market Measure Programme 2 (ALMP2) has provided technical support to COVID response projects; namely the “Mitigation of Impact on Health and Humanitarian Crisis for the most vulnerable groups” project. During 2020, marginalized families relying on social assistance were supported via a voucher scheme that allowed them to purchase critically needed food and hygiene products. The project was managed in close cooperation with Centers for Social Work (CSW) to temporarily support at least 2,500 vulnerable families living in extreme poverty. The ALMP2 amended most of the existing memorandums with the private sector in order to secure continuous income for beneficiaries of labor market measures during periods of lockdown.
• In cooperation with the European Union, UNDP Kosovo continues to enhance the provision of social services and improve access to equitable, qualitative, integrated social protection for the most vulnerable groups, including women and girls.
• 38 UN Volunteers will be mobilized to work at local Center of Social Welfare and trained as a new generation of social workers. Paid internship scheme for the newly graduated psychologists, social workers, sociologists, or other relevant profiles, will be initiated. The scheme’s dual benefit will provide immediate relieve, through additional capacities, for CSW, and for the interns to gain professional experience.
• UNDP continues supporting the Employment Agency through self-employment schemes, and in ensuring that registering of the jobseekers can continue despite restrictions on movement by setting up an online system. In close cooperation with the Centers for Social Welfare (CSW), UNDP will temporarily support at least 7,500 vulnerable families living in extreme poverty by providing monthly vouchers for food, hygiene and other essential items.
• UNDP Kosovo and the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports (MCYS) expanded the Internship programme to provide opportunities for 400 recently graduated young women and men registered as jobseekers at the Public Employment Service in Kosovo as a targeted measure in response to COVID-19’s impact on youth.
• 2020 Human Development Report has been launched with Kosovo launch event with the Embassy of Sweden.