International organizations, namely UNDP, UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), plan to launch a number of programs in Ukraine to help internally displaced persons and to ensure economic and social recovery of the areas affected by the Donbas conflict, with the use of funds being allocated by the government of Japan.
The official ceremony of signing of two out of the four planned
programs took place in Kyiv on April 30, an Interfax-Ukraine
correspondent reported.
The signed were UNDP’s projects “Rapid Response to Social and
Economic Issues of Internally Displaced People in Ukraine” ($6.3
million) and “Economic and Social Recovery of Donbas Region” ($5
million).
In the pipeline are UNICEF projects aimed to improve the access of
children from the affected territory in eastern Ukraine to high-quality
education ($3.7 million) and an ILO project for rebuilding schools and
hospitals ($1.4 million).
Ambassador of Japan to Ukraine Shigeki Sumi noted that the current
aid is meant for providing services and improving living conditions of
internally displaced persons from Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
Their number as of today has grown to about 1.2 million people.
Ukrainian Minister for Social Policy Pavlo Rozenko in turn said: “I
hope that these projects, which will be implemented in the near future,
will demonstrate the effectiveness of both the [Ukrainian] authorities
and representatives of the international community and civil society.
The whole world is with Ukraine today, the whole world wants to help
us.”
UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine
Neal Walker said that the life of internally displaced persons in
Ukraine is hard today, their living conditions are difficult, and they
face problems with finding a job. What is more, an attitude to displaced
persons has become hostile to a certain degree, and in this connection,
UNDP would like to remind of the need to show solidarity with them. The
first project of assistance to Ukraine, which was funded by Japan, was
signed in November 2014, according to him. Today the United Nations is
expanding its presence in the issue of assistance, he added.
