UNDP will also provide evidence-based research and analyses to strengthen the National Recovery and Resilience Building Plan for Ukraine

 

 

Kyiv, 15 April 2022 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched a new initiative to support the Ukraine Government’s crisis response and coordination.

In response to the mounting humanitarian challenges and the increased risks of further deterioration of the socio-economic situation caused by the war in Ukraine, UNDP kicked off this new initiative to strengthen effectiveness in crisis coordination and response planning between the central government, the oblasts/rayons and other stakeholders like the international community, CSOs, and the private sector, building on the existing strategic partnerships.

Manal Fouani, interim UNDP Resident Representative to Ukraine said that the government of Ukraine had shown an incredible institutional capacity to rapidly respond to the increased humanitarian needs as the situation continues to change daily. “This is only a demonstration that investment in developing national capacities and advancing administrative reforms allow for enhanced crisis management and response at war times,” Fouani said.

“However, the scale, intensity, and impact of the war in Ukraine is expected to impact 18 million people in their lives and livelihoods requiring not only humanitarian assistance but wider arrays of social and economic services. This will put enormous pressure on the Government and other national and international partners to provide critical services to the war affected population,” added Fouani. “UNDP’s main priority is to ensure that the core government functions are sustained, and institutions remain fully functional and with increased capacity to respond, manage and cope with complex humanitarian and development challenges.”

The project focuses on the following five areas of work:

·        Strengthening the crisis/emergency governance structures;

·        Building data/information analysis systems to support prompt and efficient responses;

·        Creating an aid management system to better coordinate both humanitarian and development support through a new “SpivDiia” platform;

·        Enhancing the Government capacities in strategic communications through consular support to the temporarily displaced Ukrainians in the EU countries; and

·        Establishing an internal decision support unit to coordinate assessments, and provide capacity building and technical support to government and national institutions on damage and losses assessment.

The project also will provide analytical support, for example, identifying the strengths and comparative advantages of Ukrainian businesses and assessing the potential trade turnover between Ukraine and the European Union as per Ukraine’s EU Association Agreement and the EU Green Deal.

Oleksandr Bankov, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, welcomed  UNDP’s support in strengthening the Ministry’s capacity in analyzing the prospects of accelerating Ukraine’s economic revival in the context of the EU integration. 

With this, UNDP will also assess the impact of war on Ukraine’s progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as on the specific needs of women, people with disabilities, elderly, and other vulnerable groups, and to build on gathered data and analysis to support in developing the National Recovery and Resilience Building Plan for Ukraine.

The UNDP project will provide institutional support to the Government, including digital solutions for improved delivery of public services like state financial support and housing and will strengthen resilience of those communities hosting a growing number of internally displaced persons.

UNDP also will research and publish evidence-based products capturing the impact of the war on the social, physical, financial, human, and natural assets in Ukraine. This will provide the much-needed insight to the impact of the war. These damage and impact assessments will be conducted in close collaboration with the Government, local and national partners, universities, think tanks, CSOs, other UN agencies, and development partners.

Anatolii Kutsevol, Deputy State Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, said that the new project would help the Government to address existing challenges in preparing a reliable data on damages assessment caused by the war as well as to enhance the capacity of various central and local authorities in preparation of the necessary actions for crisis recovery in Ukraine. “The project will also support the Government in the provision of necessary demining equipment,” he added.

Media inquiries:

Yuliia Samus, Communications Team Leader, yuliia.samus@undp.org