With the establishment of a mobile service for social services, community residents have access to home care and palliative care services.

Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, 22 December 2021 – Communities of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts are now able to apply to the mobile social service for home care and palliative care.

A pilot project to organise and operate the mobile social service was implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine within the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme with financial support from the Government of Canada and the European Union.

Specially equipped cars will now be given to the Vuhledar, Velyka Novosilka and Druzhkivka communities of Donetsk Oblast, and the Bilokurakyne, Popasna, Troitske and Lysychansk communities of Luhansk Oblast.

The Mobile Social Service for Home and Palliative Care is a specialised functional service of the Social Services Centre for providing comprehensive care and care for the elderly, people with disabilities, and patients who cannot take care of themselves and need constant assistance.

Palliative care is required for people living with serious illnesses such as heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, dementia, Parkinson's disease and more. Palliative care can be helpful at any stage of the disease, helping to improve quality of life and helping to treat symptoms.

The coordinator of the Local Governance and Decentralisation Reform Component of the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, Olena Ruditch, said the proposed mobile social service would significantly improve the quality of life of vulnerable groups, especially in remote communities in eastern Ukraine.

“Older people and people with disabilities face many different barriers to exercising their rights, so community social protection programmes need to be as observant to their needs as possible,” Ruditch said. “By implementing a human rights-based approach to social protection, we support local authorities and jointly expand access to social services for those who need it most.”

Among the main tasks of the mobile service are informing recipients of social services and their families about the social services of home care and palliative care, the procedure for applying, and conditions of assistance, as well as providing in-kind assistance (self-care assistance, including laundry, repairs, cleaning, etc.), transport and other services according to the needs of community residents.

The mobile centres are furnished with equipment for gardening and cleaning yards, hairdresser and  medical worker equipment cases, equipment for sanitary and hygienic care, etc.

During the official handover ceremony of the specially equipped cars, the head of Donetsk Oblast State Administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said the mobile social service would allow the local authorities to ensure compliance with state social standards even in the most remote parts of Donetsk Oblast.

"The introduction of the mobile service will further strengthen the capacity of local communities to fulfil their powers in the field of social protection and social services, will allow timely and high-quality social services to be provided to the most vulnerable," Kyrylenko added.

In addition, the mobile service will:

•          identify potential recipients in need of home or palliative care;

•          determine the individual needs of the elderly and people with disabilities, draw up an individual plan, agree to the provision of social services of home care or palliative care;

•          assist in self-care, travel in household conditions, housekeeping,

•          promote the provision of medical services, health monitoring;

•          provide psychological support;

•          help people get a job in hospices, social protection institutions, etc.

Cars for three pilot communities in Donetsk Oblast were handed over on 22 December. The official handover ceremony for Luhansk Oblast will take place on 29 December.

The establishment of a mobile social service and its provision with equipment worth U.S. $245,000 (approximately UAH 6.6 million) was carried out by UNDP under the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme with the financial support of the Government of Canada and the European Union.

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 Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

Twelve 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 and Switzerland.

Media enquiries

Vlada Soloviova, Communications Associate, UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, vlada.soloviova@undp.org, +380 95 529 4240.