Donor delegation visits newly opened facilities in Mariupol, reconstructed thanks to EIB loan and EU support

November 18, 2021

Building of nursery overhauled, equipped to support inclusive group of 25 children; social rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities reconstructed, capacity more than doubled.

Photo credit: Artem Hetman / UNDP Ukraine

Mariupol, Ukraine, 18 November 2021 – A delegation of officials from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 17-18 November 2021 visited two newly opened facilities in the Donetsk Oblast coast city of Mariupol – Nursery No.106 and Livoberezhnyi social rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities.

The projects to overhaul the facilities were jointly funded by the EIB and from the city and oblast budgets under the Ukraine Early Recovery Programme, a EUR 200 million multi-sector framework loan. The programme also has an EU grant-financed technical assistance component of EUR 1.5 million, and is implemented jointly by the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development and local government bodies, with technical support from UNDP.

Nursery No.106, located at 25A Kuprina Street, Mariupol, now has an inclusive group of 25 children, two of whom have special educational needs, and 21 of whom are the children of ATO/JFO combatants. The two-storey building, which was built in 1973, was completely refurbished, with the replacement of the roof, windows, internal heating system, ventilation systems, and water supply and sewerage networks. The work also included landscaping and the installation of fencing.

Nursery No.106

Photo credit: Artem Hetman / UNDP Ukraine

The total cost of the project (including equipment) was over UAH 69.56 million (around EUR 2.318 million at the current exchange rate), of which the EIB contributed UAH 49.5 million (around EUR 1.65 million). Another UAH 17.1 million (around EUR 570,000) came from the oblast budget, and UAH 2.96 million (EUR 98,670) from the city budget.

Greeting the delegation, Mariupol City Mayor Vadym Boychenko said: “Mariupol is developing with thought and care for everyone. The main goal is for all residents of our city to have equal opportunities for development. Our international partners help in this. In particular, together we create a safe, comfortable and barrier-free educational environment for the comprehensive development of our children and their quality rehabilitation. A striking example of this is the modernization of Nursery №106, which creates modern conditions for children, as well as the Livoberezhnyi social rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities, where they can receive quality support not only in health but also in socialization. Together, we’re building a Ukraine of equal opportunities.”

The second project involved major repairs to Livoberezhnyi social rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities, which is located at 20A Meotydy Street in Mariupol.

The Mariupol Territorial Community has 1,700 families who can use the services of the social rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities, including 200 families in the category of internally displaced persons. The overhaul of the centre has more than doubled its capacity, from 80 children with disabilities aged two to 14 per year, to up to 200 children with disabilities aged from under one to 18 per year. The number of staff has been increased from 10 to 17.

Social rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities

Photo credit: Artem Hetman / UNDP Ukraine

The total cost of the project is nearly UAH 44.1 million (around EUR 1.47 million), of which the EIB contributed UAH 32.4 million (EUR 1 million), and the city budget UAH 11.7 million (EUR 390,000). Work carried out included equipping the centre building with two lifts for children with disabilities, and improving the adjacent territory. The project also provided a vehicle specifically equipped for transportation of children with disabilities.

During the visits, Roy Draycott, Senior Sector Specialist of the Regional Development Division at the Resident Representation of the European Investment Bank in Ukraine, stressed that the EIB, as the EU Bank, actively supports the recovery of social infrastructure in Ukraine.

“Improved and modern infrastructure is a major investment in the future of communities in eastern Ukraine,” Draycott said. “These two renovated facilities in Mariupol give the children and their parents more chances to learn and to be treated in a comfortable and supportive educational and clinical setting.”

Lesia Didenko, Deputy Head of Department of Regional Development Priority Projects Implementation at the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, stressed the importance of local authorities’ partnership with the European Investment Bank and UNDP in Ukraine within the Ukraine Early Recovery Programme.

“Our goal is to provide Ukrainians with equal and barrier-free access to social infrastructure,” Didenko said. “And the modernization of buildings and the material and technical base of key facilities, such as kindergartens, schools, hospitals, within the UERP is an important step towards this goal. We’re proud of the excellent results we have achieved together with our partners from the European Investment Bank and UNDP in Ukraine.”

Igor Kistenyov-Kavkazkii, Team Leader/Project Manager, UNDP Technical Assistance, UERP, said: “In working to restore educational facilities such as these in Mariupol, we aim to ensure Ukraine’s educational development goes forward in a fairer, better way, with nobody left behind.”

Media enquiries:

Olga Sushytska, Communications Officer, EIB, o.sushytska@ext.eib.org, +38 067 243 63 55

Yuliia Samus, Communications Team Leader, UNDP Ukraine, yuliia.samus@undp.org, +380971391475

Background

About the EIB: The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its member states. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards achieving EU policy goals.

About the EIB in Ukraine: The EIB has worked with Ukraine since 2007. Ukraine has been the main recipient country of EIB support in the Eastern Neighbourhood, accounting for more than 60 percent of EIB lending activity in this region. The bank focuses on social and economic infrastructure, transport and connectivity, local private sector development, energy efficiency, climate action, and innovation. Since 2007 the EIB has invested above EUR 7 billion in the country.

About the Ukraine Early Recovery Programme (UERP): The Ukraine Early Recovery Programme is implemented in accordance with the Financing Agreement between Ukraine and the European Investment Bank. Through the programme, the EIB provided EUR 200 million in multi-sectoral framework loans to local authorities to rehabilitate important utilities and transport infrastructure and improve living conditions for internally displaced persons and their host communities in nine oblasts of Ukraine: the Ukrainian government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, and Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Odesa, Kherson, and Kyiv oblasts.

About UNDP in Ukraine: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) establishes partnerships with government, business, and communities, promoting the development of countries, increasing their ability to withstand crises, and supporting economic growth to improve the quality of life of all. In Ukraine, UNDP's work focuses on three program areas: inclusive development, reconstruction and peacebuilding; democratic governance; energy and environmental protection. Today, Ukraine has one of the largest UNDP programmes in Europe.