Ukrainians named “effective healthcare and rising life expectancy” as the top development priority for the nation, according to a recent nationwide United Nations survey of experts and the general public titled, Ukraine after 2015: Realizing the Future Want for All.
The report is Ukraine’s
contribution to shaping the global development agenda to be discussed
during the 68th session of the UN General Assembly in autumn 2013.
“For all of us,
employees of the United Nations, the national consultations are both useful and
interesting. We felt the society’s growing need in a clear action plan for
transformational development. The level of optimism, interest in participation
and willingness to act that we felt during consultations inspire us to new
attainments,” said Ricarda Rieger, UNDP Country Director in Ukraine on June 3.
Findings of the large-scale
consultations were presented in Ukraine on June 3, as part of the Post-2015
UN Development Agenda. Ukraine was one of 83 countries that held national
consultations on identifying sustainable development priorities for 2015 and
beyond.
Findings show that after healthcare, experts and the general public
named “equal opportunity and social justice,” “access to quality education,”
“decent work,” “modern economy,” “developed infrastructure,” and a “healthy
environment” as the nation’s six other top development priorities.
The UN agency in Ukraine held 4,568 national consultations, and
altogether polled nearly 25,000 residents of Ukraine via online surveys and
crowdsourcing platforms.
A UN news release noted that among those polled, opinions differed on
how to best cover the healthcare costs in terms of having a public-private mix
or exclusively through insurance companies or state budget expenditures.
Life expectancy after birth in Ukraine is 68.8 years, according to the
UN report, which is second to last among highly developed and developed
nations, and is behind 29 nations out of 47 with average human development
levels.
Some 75 percent of respondents said the difference between the rich and
poor in the country must be narrowed. The report showed that there is a direct
link between the need for eliminating poverty and upholding human rights in
labor, social security, medical care and education.
Kyiv Post intern Taras Ivanyshyn and editor Mark
Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected]
and [email protected],
respectively.
