By this autumn residents of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts will already be able to receive administrative and social services quickly and without having to stand in queues, in specially equipped vehicles – ASCs

Kramatorsk / Sievierodonetsk, 19 August 2020 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, with financial support from the Government of Canada, is to hand over ten modern mobile Administrative Services Centres (ASCs) to communities in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts this autumn.

The mobile ASCs, which are specially equipped trucks, will drive to remote areas near the “contact line” in eastern Ukraine, as well as to checkpoints between government-controlled and non-government controlled areas, to provide administrative and social services to community residents. Thanks to the mobile ASCs, people who for certain reasons are unable to visit stationary centres, as well as locals living in non-government controlled territories, will be able to receive the services they need quickly in the vehicles, right at the checkpoints or near their homes.

The manager of the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, Victor Munteanu, stressed that the launch of mobile administrative services centres in eastern Ukraine would help bring administrative services closer to people living in communities that are continuing to suffer from the consequences of the armed conflict, and would help ensure the long-term recovery of the region.

“Our key task is to guarantee that all residents of communities in the east, especially the elderly, people with disabilities and families with small children, encounter no obstacles to obtaining much-needed services,” added Mr. Munteanu.

“Canada is proud to support the network of mobile ASCs, which from the very start will be integrated into the work of the stationary administrative service centres in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts,” said Ashley Mulroney, Director of the Canadian Development Programme in Ukraine.

“The services available at the mobile centres will be matched as closely as possible to the individual needs of the most vulnerable groups, including the elderly, who find it difficult to get to stationary centres, and will be provided based on their feedback and needs,” she added.

The mobile ASCs will provide services almost identical to those that are currently available at stationary centres. For example, people can:

• apply for subsidies and receive help from the government;
• register their own business or real estate;
• obtain a child’s birth certificate;
• obtain a certificate showing they are parents of a large family, or a child from a large family;
• apply for and obtain a pension certificate.
  

Each vehicle has four workplaces for ASC specialists, social services specialists, specialists from the pension fund and specialists on free legal aid. The mobile ASCs are also equipped with all the necessary technical infrastructure and communications: heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems, electricity and water supplies, bathrooms, navigation and video surveillance, and built-in furniture and computer equipment.

To prevent the transmission of the coronavirus, all precautionary measures, such as masks, hands sanitizers, temperature screening, and the maintenance of a safe distance between ASC specialists and visitors will be arranged.

Currently, technical preparations and test operations of the first two mobile ASCs are underway ahead of their transfer to the communities of Siversk and Popasna in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts respectively. The total cost of the two mobile ASCs is US $370,000. The procurement of the ASCs and other technical arrangements are being carried out under the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, with the support of the Government of Canada.

The mobile ASCs will not only help make administrative services as accessible and convenient as possible but will also promote the long-term recovery and development of communities affected by the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Background

The United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP) is being implemented by four United Nations agencies: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Thirteen international partners support the Programme: the European Union (EU), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, and the governments of Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland & the UK.

Media enquiries

Maksym Kytsiuk, Communications Associate, the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, maksym.kytsiuk@undp.org, +380 63 576 1839