Locations
Vuhledar, Donetsk Oblast, 26 November 2020 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, in partnership with the Government of Canada, has transferred a mobile Administrative Service Centre (ASC) to Vuhledar community in Donetsk Oblast.
The mobile ASC, a specially equipped truck, will drive to remote areas, rendering public services to the most vulnerable populations, people living close to the ‘contact line’ and people who are unable to visit stationary centres.
The Director of the Canadian Bilateral Development Programme, Ashley Mulroney, said that Canada is proud to work with the UNDP to bring vital administrative, social and legal services to the people of Vuhledar and surrounding rural areas. “We believe, that accessible, needs-based and gender-sensitive state services are a pre-condition for building resilient and peaceful communities in Ukraine,” Mulroney added.
The mobile ASC will provide services almost identical to those that are currently available at stationary centres. For example, people will be able to:
- 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, and;
- receive passport services.
UNDP Resident Representative Dafina Gercheva said that the COVID-19 pandemic and the related quarantine have further exacerbated the formidable challenges that the communities affected by the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine are facing. The lockdown has disrupted service delivery and prevented some populations, especially vulnerable groups from access to pensions, services, healthcare, etc. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to ensure unhindered delivery of public services to all peopleliving in conflict-hit eastern Ukraine.
“Today we have transferred to Vuhledar community a mobile centre, which has been established with the financial support provided by the Government of Canada. This is yet another step towards making administrative and social services equally accessible to all,” Gercheva said.
“People living through the armed conflict for so many years, and now through the COVID-19 pandemic, must have unhindered, and most importantly, in times like this, safe access to public services. We will continue to make every effort to cover the whole region with accessible services and to build a peaceful future.”
The vehicle has four workplaces for ASC specialists, social services specialists, specialists from the pension fund and specialists on free legal aid. The mobile ASC is equipped with all of the necessary technical infrastructure and communications, and is specially equipped for persons with disabilities.
The mayor and head of Vuhledar ATC, Andrii Silych, expressed gratitude for the international technical assistance, noting that: “Given the specifics of Vuhledar community, where the administrative centre is a small industrial town, and most of community’s area is rural, with part of those territories are located on the ‘contact line’ – the importance of this event for the community is hard to overestimate. Thanks to this ASC ‘on wheels’, we now have a real opportunity to bring public services as close as possible to the people living in our community.”
The procurement and other technical arrangements, worth U.S. $190,000 (or over UAH 5 million), were carried out under the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme with the financial support of the Government of Canada.
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 and the UK.
Media enquiries
Maksym Kytsiuk, Communications Associate, the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, maksym.kytsiuk@undp.org, +380 63 576 1839
