Kyiv, 13 July 2022 — An expert discussion on how the rights to social services and access to healthcare are being observed in Ukraine, was held in Kyiv, initiated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine.

Representatives of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the National Health Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Secretariat and the regional network of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, civil society organizations, and human rights experts discussed the results of monitoring of the observance of the rights to social security and healthcare in Ukraine.

During the expert discussion, Yulia Sokolovska, the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, stressed that social protection and the delivery of social services that leave no one behind should be placed at the center of early recovery initiatives.

“Access to social services and healthcare are fundamental human rights, and are vitally important in the war setting. In partnership with UNDP, we comprehensively analysed social policies to develop new approaches and programmes to enable Ukraine to build back better and to enhance the capacities of service providers to respond to crises,” said Yulia Sokolovska.

“We will work together to ensure that social policies in Ukraine are accessible, modern, and effective.”

The regional network of the Ombudsperson Office has been monitoring the observance of the human rights to social security and healthcare in 21 territorial communities in 21 regions of Ukraine for five months, from October 2021.

The report contains conclusions and recommendations about what actions should be taken to ensure the right to social security and healthcare for everyone, including the most vulnerable population groups, such as elderly people.

Olena Ursu, UNDP Ukraine Democratic Governance Team Leader, stressed that the need for access to healthcare and social services is rapidly growing, especially now in the context of the full-scale war.

“Ensuring access to healthcare and social services is critically important during the war, particularly to meet the needs of the most vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities, elderly persons, women, and children. UNDP Ukraine is partnering with the Government of Ukraine, human rights organizations and civil society to secure the well-being of the most vulnerable population groups,” highlighted Olena Ursu.

The full monitoring report is available here.

The monitoring was conducted with the support of the Human Rights for Ukraine project, which is being implemented by UNDP Ukraine and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.

Media enquiries

Yulia Samus, UNDP Ukraine Communications Lead; e-mail: yuliia.samus@undp.org