PIDHORODNE, Ukraine, 8 November 2022 – Pidhorodne territorial community in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with a population of 25,000, now hosts more than 5,000 internally displaced persons – most of whom are women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities. As of today, more than 400,000 Ukrainians have sought shelter in the province, fleeing from violence in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine following the Russian invasion and full-scale war. At least 6.2 million people remain internally displaced within Ukraine, living far from their homes.

To help the community of Pidhorodne host the new arrivals, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with the financial support of the European Union, and in partnership with Pidhorodne City Council, renovated a school building at Lyceum No. 3 so that it could provide temporary shelter for people who had to escape from Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Since the start of the full-fledged war, the lyceum, with the capacity to accommodate 400 people at a time, has hosted over 2,000 IDPs.

The renovations included a partial repair of the food block premises and installation of kitchen equipment; repair of bathrooms and installation of sanitary appliances; repair of shower rooms and hot water supply, installation of a boiler for heating water; equipping a laundry room with a washing machine and dryer; and partial replacement of electrical wiring.  The city council provided furniture, including beds, desks and tables.

Frederik Coene, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Ukraine said the European Union is working on all fronts to support Ukraine with emergency assistance to respond to the Russian war.  “I am very pleased that in cooperation with UNDP and Pidhorodne City Council we are contributing to improving basic living conditions for people escaping the full-scale Russian aggression,” he said. “Everyone deserves to have access to a safe haven.”

UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Christophoros Politis said UNDP and the international community are working hard to ensure that everyone who needs a safe place to live can find it. “The shelters must provide more than just a roof over people’s heads,” he said. “They should also provide opportunities for childcare, contain health clinics and allow people to live with dignity.”

Andriy Horb, Pidhorodne city mayor, thanked the partners: “We appreciate very much any help we can get in providing displaced people with everything they need: food, clothing, and basic necessities. Also, thanks to the support of our partners, we've been able to create proper sanitary conditions for IDPs. But what's most important is that people now can stay in safe temporary shelters.”

When the displaced are able to return home, the school will return to its original purpose. More than 700 students, 74 teachers and administrators will benefit from the new facilities. Currently, many students across Ukraine attend classes online.

Background: Renovation of a temporary shelter for displaced people in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast is supported by the EU funding for technical assistance (TA) as part of the EIB’s Ukraine Early Recovery Programme. TA was repurposed to meet the emergency needs of the people of Ukraine after the start of the full-scale war in February 2022. Ukraine Early Recovery Programme is a EUR 200 million multi-sectoral framework loan from the European Investment Bank to local authorities to rehabilitate social infrastructure and improve living conditions for internally displaced persons and their host communities in nine oblasts of Ukraine: the Ukrainian government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Odesa, Kherson, and Kyiv oblasts.

Media enquiries

Yuliia Samus, Head of Communications at UNDP Ukraine; e-mail: yuliia.samus@undp.org