BUILDING A NEW UKRAINE TOGETHER 2015 Achievements Report
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
BUILDING A NEW UKRAINE TOGETHER 2015 Achievements Report
LIVING CONDITIONS OF MORE THAN
1,000,000
people live better
600,000 MORE THAN
30,000
40-60% 52
people are living in apartment buildings with repaired roofs, warm walls, energy-efficient windows, and improved heating systems.
public funds saved through transparent procurement of medicines
reform policy documents developed
20,000
people were improved through 500 micro-projects
KRAIN
2
professionals trained
500
social micro-projects implemented
2,000
new jobs
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BUILDING A NEW UKRAINE TOGETHER 2015 Achievements Report
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
DONBAS RECOVERY AND PEACEBUILDING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Restoring governance functions in conflict-affected areas and promoting reconciliation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Promoting social cohesion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Improving the livelihoods of internally displaced people (IDPs) and people of Donbas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Restarting life with a new job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Restoring social services for the most vulnerable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Boosting local economic recovery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A normal life: looking ahead in Eastern Ukraine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15 17 21 22 23
Making Ukraine green and clean. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Change the light bulb – save the planet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Implementing the Rio conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Low carbon development for Ukraine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Clean bioenergy for Ukrainian schools and kindergartens. . . . . . . . . . . . . • Sustainable future for the people of Nizhyn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27 31 35 37 39 43
Better Lives through Democratic Governance and Reforms. . . • Transparency and integrity: improving governance in Ukraine. . . . . . . . . • Building the capacity of the civil society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Building stronger capacities to promote and protect human rights in Ukraine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Stronger communities - better lives!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • A normal life: Looking ahead in Eastern Ukraine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Supporting decentralization and local governance reforms. . . . . . . . . . . . • Reforming the procurement system for medicines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Supporting social sector governance reforms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • From MDGs to SDGs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
47 49 53
7
11 13
57 59 63 65 67 69 71
Photo Credits: UNDP Ukraine, Newspaper Day, Vitaliy Golovin, Mykola Myrnyy, Yurko Dyachyshyn, Anastasia Vlasova, Olena Shunkina, Leniara Abibulyaeva, Sergiy Gudak, Andriy Nesterenko, Kravchuk, Vasyl Okhrimenko, Mykola Tymchenko, Oleksiy Furman, Andriy Golubtsov
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BUILDING A NEW UKRAINE TOGETHER 2015 Achievements Report
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Until now, Ukraine’s story has been mostly about challenges: challenges facing communities, challenges to curb endemic corruption, challenges to its territorial integrity and to peace within its borders, challenges with the economy, and challenges to the environment that sustains life.
However, challenges are also opportunities: the opportunity change traditional practices in order to live in a more sustainable manner, the opportunity to transform society to be more open and corruption-free, and the opportunity to build better lives for everyone. There is already an enormous groundswell of activity and civic engagement underway, transforming the nation and building a new Ukraine. This is happening in both urban and rural settings all over the country. That is why Ukraine’s story is also about hope and becoming stronger, smarter, greener, and cleaner. Over the past year, we have seen thousands of examples of people taking action to address the challenges they face. UNDP is right there, on the ground, alongside a growing number of international development partners, to help, support, advise, and walk with Ukraine through the challenging times.
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BUILDING A NEW UKRAINE TOGETHER 2015 Achievements Report
Since 1993, UNDP has been one of the largest international development organizations active in Ukraine. Through partnerships with national, regional and local government, civil society and the private sector, UNDP has been supporting Ukraine in its efforts to eliminate poverty, develop people’s capacity, promote energy-efficiency, sustain the environment, and advance democratic governance. In 2015, UNDP upgraded its field presence in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts to respond more effectively to the crisis. More recently, the
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focus has been on supporting Ukraine in meeting the twin challenges of recovery and peacebuilding as well as carrying out a comprehensive governance reform process. The support for Ukraine’s efforts to maintain a ‘green and clean’ environment through energy-efficient practices forms the third pillar of UNDP’s current programme. UNDP also supports the Government in procurement of medicines and in its long-term efforts to reform the public procurement system to bring it in line with the highest international standards.
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BUILDING A NEW UKRAINE TOGETHER 2015 Achievements Report
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BUILDING A NEW UKRAINE TOGETHER 2015 Achievements Report
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Donbas Recovery and Peacebuilding Donbas Recovery and Peacebuilding
The eastern Ukraine conflict, which escalated in 2014, has exacerbated long-standing governance deficits in Ukraine. “The conflict has had a direct and highly negative impact on social cohesion, resilience, livelihoods, community security, and the rule of law,” according to the recent “Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment”, which was conducted jointly by the European Union, the United Nations and the World Bank and endorsed by the Government of Ukraine. Displacement, fear, and diminishing levels of trust are acute social problems, and conflict-related distress across communities is widespread.
While social fragmentation, prejudices, regional divides, and low levels of trust in local authorities and institutions existed prior to the crisis, these issues have been exacerbated as a result of the conflict, in particular in the Donbas region, which consists primarily of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
While most of the Donbas was at some point affected by military conflict, Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts have become de facto divided into government- and non-government controlled areas. Close to one million people have been displaced, especially from areas outside government control, with roughly half of internally displaced persons (IDPs) temporarily settling in the two oblasts’ government controlled areas. Pressure on local resources, service delivery, livelihoods, and governance has been intensifying as the numbers and the duration of stay of IDPs, of which an estimated two-thirds are women and children, increase.
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BUILDING A NEW UKRAINE TOGETHER 2015 Achievements Report
200,000 IDPs and local people
IN EASTERN UKRAINE
CONFLICT
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supported
2,000 jobs created within
12 economic infrastructure facilities renovated
7,000 IDP s received legal advice
73 organizations
1,200 idps
future entrepreneurs trained
47 social care facilities
3,000 IDP s received psychosocial assistance
271 new IDPs businesses
renovated
launched
63 social cohesion
400 IDPs trained in IT skills,
events organized
Business English, and career buildingstrategies
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BUILDING A NEW UKRAINE TOGETHER 2015 Achievements Report
The oblast administrations themselves relocated from their previous headquarters in Donetsk and Luhansk cities to Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk respectively. Some state institutions also relocated to Mariupol or other cities. The conflict in eastern Ukraine has already taken more than 9,000 lives. In addition to the loss of lives, massive internal displacement, and draining of money and resources from local economies, the conflict in eastern Ukraine has led to extensive damage to economic and social infrastructure, with thousands of hospitals, schools, kindergartens, factories, roads, and bridges damaged or destroyed. The Donbas, once the powerhouse of industrial production in the wider region, has seen its economy tumble and is facing the overwhelming challenges of recovery, rebuilding and reorientation.
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In close cooperation with other UN agencies and partners, UNDP is now leading international efforts in eastern Ukraine to restore social services, rehabilitate social and economic infrastructure, boost economic recovery, rebuild governance and administrative capacities in the affected areas, provide social support, and generate employment and spur entrepreneurship among internally displaced persons and local communities.
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BUILDING A NEW UKRAINE TOGETHER 2015 Achievements Report
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Restoring governance functions in conflict-affected areas and promoting reconciliation UNDP is helping to restore governance and promote reconciliation in conflict-affected communities in Eastern Ukraine. The initiatives aim to enhance local government capacities to improve public service provision and include citizens in decision-making. They also aim to reduce social tensions via inclusive dialogue and reconciliation.
Within this broader framework and upon request from the relocated regional administrations of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, UNDP has been supporting a process of reviewing the regional development strategies in a more transparent and participatory manner. The regional strategies will also include aspects of social policy and protection, IDPs, administrative reform and decentralization, and community security. The review process served as a forum for discussing opportunities, concerns, and guidelines for voluntary territorial administrative merger and the creation of new hromadas (territorial communities) in Donetsk oblast and other parts of Ukraine. Territorial merger is a cornerstone of the ongoing decentralization reforms in Ukraine, which will have major implications on financial and administrative aspects of local governance, as well as service delivery. The strategic planning process is helping the authorities to move forward reforms in the region, build the capacity of the administrative staff, and achieve broad ownership of the strategy with the ultimate goal of providing better services to the people.
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BUILDING A NEW UKRAINE TOGETHER 2015 Achievements Report
BUILDING A NEW UKRAINE TOGETHER 2015 Achievements Report
Promoting Social Cohesion The armed conflict has caused deep divisions among or between various groups and communities, while indigenous and international initiatives for peace and dialogue struggle to counter the growing violence and war rhetoric. At the same time, an ambitious but crucial reform agenda and a dire socio-economic situation within Ukraine are placing additional strain on society, which is becoming increasingly polarized over various issues. Developing and expanding the capacity to facilitate dialogue, mediate and actively promote conflict prevention is thus needed more than ever.
To support social cohesion UNDP has partnered with the European Forum for Mediation and Dialogue (MediatEUr) to develop a Dialogue Support Platform that helps Ukrainian dialogue facilitators to connect with each other and with international counterparts in order to share information and experiences, improve their skills and capacities for dialogue, and strengthen efforts to promote dialogue for peace throughout the country. Utilizing modern interactive technology, the Dialogue Support Platform provides a ‘live’ map of dialogue initiatives across Ukraine, as well as a visual representation of issues and themes of local, regional and national concern. This has enabled online discussion and debates, while at the same time serving as a resource hub for facilitators, national policy makers, international partners and donors alike.
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IALOGUE
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Improving the livelihoods of internally displaced people (IDPs) and people of Donbas
The influx of IDPs, multiplied by the deteriorating economic situation in the country, has further aggravated the socio-economic situation and undermined employment and livelihood opportunities for the people affected by the conflict. The main social and economic problems facing IDPs in relocated areas include inadequate housing, lack of employment and income generating opportunities, inadequate access to social services, and security.
Finding a job remains one the greatest challenges for many IDPs. This is often due to a lack of education or relevant experience, or because their professional skills, largely relevant for the large-scale industrial sector, do not match the demands of the host communities’ labour market. The amalgam of these factors has overstrained the capacities of local governments to provide adequate services and has even led to tensions between and within host communities. For many IDPs from the heavily industrialized regions finding a job in a new location provides a great challenge. This is often explained by a lack of experience and a steep gap between the demands of the labour market and the professional skills that many IDPs can offer. Unlike many industries that experienced a sharp decline in performance during 2015, Ukraine’s IT sector managed to
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BUILDING A NEW UKRAINE TOGETHER 2015 Achievements Report
grow through political and economic turmoil. UNDP partnered with IT companies and trained 400 IDPs in IT skills, Business English, and career building strategies, opening up opportunities for the most talented and contributing to Ukraine’s success in this promising field. To diversify the employment and livelihood opportunities and boost local economies UNDP supported 2,000 aspiring entrepreneurs. As an initial step, UNDP analyzed the market and produced a study helping aspiring entrepreneurs to identify ten potential market niches and 30 business models. To fill the skills gap, 48 five-day business skills training courses were offered to 1,200 future entrepreneurs in 12 Ukrainian cities. 250 people have received small grant seed-funding to kick-start or expand their small business.
In 2015 UNDP supported local authorities, NGOs and the private sector in creating more than 2,000 jobs for IDPs and the local population of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
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Restarting life with a new job The war caught up with 19-year-old Vova Hilchenko when he was in a youth custody center.
One evening after working a shift Vova was watching TV and saw on the news that a shell had hit the school where he used to study. It was just a couple of months before his release and he realized that if he returned to his native Alchevsk he, as an ex-convict, would most likely be handed a Kalashnikov gun and forced to join one of the armed groups. This was not the road that he wanted to take and he started to look for an alternative path. It came through the Svitlo Nadii (Light of Hope) Poltava NGO, supported by UNDP. The NGO helped him with accommodation, training and employment. Now he works as a carpenter and dreams of opening his own furniture business one day.
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“I did a lot of stupid things that I regret. I want a new life,” says Vova.
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For 14 years Svitlo Nadii has been helping people in crisis situations, including ex-convicts and drugabusers, IDPs, and the homeless, to start a new life. It helps people from vulnerable groups with accommodation and provides them with legal and psycho-social support and professional training to help them get on their feet. To sustain its work and provide jobs to the needy it has a furniture making business and sewing shops employing 50 people. One of its clients, Irina S., had to flee with her daughter sometime in 2014, when heavy shelling started in her native Luhansk.
“I was so scared and wanted to keep my child safe from this horror. Yes, I miss my home, but at the same time I like Poltava and my new job. It is very peaceful here.� Vova and Irina are among the 1,500 IDPs who were employed through UNDP IDP employment programmes. UNDP works with NGOs, companies, and local authorities to identify employment needs and generate new jobs. It also analyzes local labour markets and helps people to obtain the skills that are in need in particular communities.
UNDP support is not limited to vulnerable groups and the low-skilled labour force; it has also partnered with an IT company, Boolava, which relocated from Donetsk, to create jobs for 54 highly-qualified IT experts. Bringing in and harnessing IT expertise will help to spark innovation and turn a largely agriculture-based local economy into a knowledgebased one. In total more than 400 IDPs are being trained to become IT professionals.
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Restoring Social Services for the Most Vulnerable
Thousands of people have lost access to specialized medical care institutions located in the territories that are not under government control, and the influx of IDPs has led to overcrowding at existing social facilities, which were already in poor shape due to lack of proper maintenance over the past decades. The most vulnerable, including the elderly, people with disabilities, and families with children, have been most affected.
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Social care facilities renovated
To mitigate the adverse effects of the conflict on people and to bridge the gap in access to social services, UNDP partnered with local authorities, civil society, and the private sector, and renovated 47 critically important social care facilities serving over 200,000 people. Seven healthcare institutions, three rehabilitation centers for people with disabilities, two assisted-living facilities for the elderly, three social services centers, one center for children at risk, one rehabilitation center for ex-convicts and reformed substance abusers, one school, and one kindergarten have been renovated. Eleven centers serving the elderly and people with disabilities received new rehabilitation and medical equipment. Guided by “Rebuild Better” and “Universal Design” principles, UNDP made sure that construction companies made buildings accessible and barrier-free.
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Boosting Local Economic Recovery
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business incubators, local economic development agencies, and co-working centers supported
Armed conflict has severely undermined the economic activity of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, uprooting business routines and trade, and damaging housing, communications, and transportation infrastructure. As a result, unemployment rates have soared and millions have been left with limited income generation opportunities. In partnership with international donors and Ukrainian partners, UNDP identified and restored 12 facilities that are key to reviving the local economy, including bridges, water pumping stations and pipelines, filtration stations, and post offices. The majority of the engineering and renovation works have been conducted by local companies, creating jobs for local people.
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A normal life: Looking ahead in Eastern Ukraine The Naydenov family didn’t want to move from Luhansk. Anatoliy had a well-paying job as a manager at a local mining company and the family enjoyed their spacious three-bedroom apartment, which they had just renovated. But they remember all too clearly when they knew they had to go.
It was an unusually hot July evening in 2014 and it was just getting dark when their six-yearold son, Andriy, went to the balcony, attracted by the whizzing sound and bright lights coming from outside. In just a few seconds, the boy heard a roar and his uncle’s house, just across the street, went ablaze and turned into rubble in front of his eyes. Andriy, who was always full of life and incessant questions about everything went silent for weeks. It took his family, supported by volunteer psychologists, over a year to help him cope with the shock. In September 2015, he was able to join an excited crowd of neatly dressed seven-year-olds, flocking to the schoolyard for the first time. Andriy’s dad Anatoliy is anxious these days too. He is waiting to learn whether the business plan he submitted last week for a grant for a small bakery will get approved.
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“We always had money,” explains Maryna. “Now my husband is ashamed and depressed because he can’t afford a backpack for his two sons. There are no jobs here. He was glad to get a job as a driver, for which he receives a meagre salary, just enough for us to get by.”
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BUILDING A NEW UKRAINE TOGETHER 2015 Achievements Report
One hears thousands of stories just like these travelling across eastern Ukraine. With over two million displaced, many have no homes, jobs, or much hope left for the future. UNDP used some of its long-standing projects like the EUfunded Community Based Approach to Local Development project and has partnered with the Government of Japan to develop a comprehensive programme that helps families like the Naydenovs to get on their feet and start a new life. The joint programme employs a holistic approach to the range of different issues faced by the people caught in the conflict in the former industrial hub of Donbas. This includes renovation of both facilities like schools, hospitals, kindergartens, care centres, and homes for the elderly, as well as water-pumping stations, roads, bridges, and post offices. All of this work is being done by local construction companies, generating jobs and spurring the stagnating local economy in the meantime. The programme also works with local companies, NGOs, and authorities and has already helped to create more than 2,000 new jobs. They range from low-skilled positions in construction and industry to highly professional ones, including doctors, university professors, and engineers. In addition to generating new jobs, re-qualification and entrepreneurship training, seed grants and business consulting are provided to emerging entrepreneurs such as Anatoliy.
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"I am pleased to note that since my last visit in November, the focus of international assistance has shifted from pure humanitarian aid towards restoration, aimed at mid- and long-term development of the region,� said HE Japan’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Shigeki Sumi, in a recent visit to Donbas.
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MAKING UKRAINE GREEN AND CLEAN Making Ukraine green and clean
Low-carbon
strategy developed
12 legal acts
on biomass developed
i
20 million Ukrainians
informed about energyefficient lighting
11% market growth
for energy-efficient lighting products
Ukraine remains one of the least energy-efficient countries in the world, with one of the highest greenhouse gas emission intensities amongst CIS countries, and ranking 24th amongst the world’s greenhouse emitters. UNDP is helping Ukraine to become a “green and clean” and energy-efficient country, moving forward on its sustainable development path and successfully addressing climate change mitigation on the policy level through advocacy and policy advice, and through practical initiatives. We support local energy-efficiency initiatives and community organizations protecting the environment.
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Energy-efficienCY CHALLENGES A comparison of Ukraine’s energy intensity with other countries suggests that energy intensity in Ukraine can be decreased by at least 55%.
6th
Ukraine is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gasses with per capita emissions of CO2 around 4.75 tons of carbon per year.
In the Ukrainian heating sector
25-40%
The energy intensity of the Ukrainian economy is 3.8 times higher than in the EU-27 countries.
buildings in Ukraine is on average 4 times lower than in Western Europe.
losses in transmission and distribution are common.
The greatest losses occur in municipal heating 22% during production
25% during transmission
30% is lost by the end users
21% through
7% through
windows
the roof
30% through
42% of heat is lost through walls
ventilation
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47.3%
in total domestic electricity production is of nuclear energy share.
Ukraine is the world’s 8th largest producer of nuclear energy with 14 GW of total installed capacity.
Around 10 million
70%
of people (34 million people) live in apartment buildings the Municipal Sector consumes 44% of the country's energy (40% of heat and 25% of electricity).
tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) was generated in 2012, i.e. approximately 200-230 kg per capita per year.
By 2025 Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generation in Ukraine will reach 450 kilograms per capita per year, or more than 17 million metric tons of MSW annually.
93-95%
Ukraine is likely to need to double its capacity to accommodate growing volumes of waste.
of all MSW is sent to disposal sites. 20% of disposal facilities are reported as not meeting current sanitary standards.
The size of an average landďŹ ll exceeds hectares.
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Just replacing old-style light bulbs with energy-efficient ones can save an average Ukrainian school up to two thousand kWh of electricity annually or 100,000 UAH in monetary terms.
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Change the Light bulb – Save the Planet
The Ukrainian energy sector generates over 62% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions (257.2 million tons) with the electricity production sector among the top polluters, emitting around 86.8 million tons of CO2 equivalent annually. This makes energy-efficiency measures a key component of bringing down Ukraine’s CO2 output. Just replacing old-style light bulbs with energy-efficient ones can save an average Ukrainian school up to two thousand kWh of electricity annually or 100,000 UAH in monetary terms. This has multiple advantages including saving precious resources of the schools’ budgets.
62%
257.2 million tons
The Ukrainian energy sector generates over 62% of its total greenhouse gas emissions
Working closely with the Ministry of Environment, UNDP is helping Ukraine to leave behind the inefficient, energy-gobbling technologies of the past and to make a quantum leap forward towards energy-efficient lighting. The programme aims to help Ukraine to shift policy, develop national lighting standards, and increase demand for highquality, energy-efficient products. Through piloting energy-efficient lighting in 18 schools and public buildings, the project has demonstrated to Ukrainian communities and the public that using new technologies can help them save on energy bills. UNDP has also helped Ukraine in making sure that the shift is sustainable and supported by legislation, in particular through developing new bills amending the laws on the promotion of energy-efficient lighting, a draft law on the disposal of mercury-containing bulbs, and the State Construction Code.
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In order to protect the emerging national market and make sure that the lighting products sold in Ukraine are of high-quality, UNDP has conducted three technical assessments of the energyefficiency lightbulbs used in homes, offices, and for street lighting. The findings convincingly demonstrated that 35% of lighting products on the market are of poor-quality. This contributed to stricter customs policies and imports procedures, discouraging the use of sub-standard products. Realizing the gaps in public awareness, UNDP conducted education and awareness-raising campaigns on energy-efficiency, targeting youth in particular. The campaign has reached an estimated number of 20 million of Ukrainians who were informed about the advantages of energyefficient lighting for both the planet and the family budget. Thousands of schoolchildren attended classes to learn how a simple action like changing a light bulb can contribute to a “greener and cleaner” Ukraine. As a result of the change of attitudes and consumer choices, the market for energy-efficient lighting products grew by 11% and people’s trust for energy-efficiency products increased by 8%.
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20 million ukrainians
were informed about the advantages of energyefficient lighting
8%
increase in people’s trust in energy-efficiency products
In 2015, the UNDP Ukraine pilot initiative has successfully transformed into a commitment to environmentally conscious disposal of mercurycontaining CFL bulbs by several nationwide large retail chains (including EpiСentre, Leroy Merlin, Auchan).
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Implementing the Rio Conventions
UNDP supports Ukraine in fulfilling its international obligations under the three Rio Conventions – the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought, and the Framework Convention on Climate Change - and in addressing the global environmental issues that impact the country’s social and economic wellbeing. Since 2014 UNDP has been focusing on helping Ukraine to integrate the Rio Conventions’ principles and obligations into the national policy framework. To this end, UNDP engaged 80 leading Ukrainian experts to conduct comprehensive analyses of legislation in eight sectors (Agriculture Policy, Energy, Transport and Infrastructure, Economic Development and Trade, Ecology and Natural Resources, Urban Development, Social Welfare, Education) to identify existing gaps in meeting the provisions of the Conventions.
To help Ukraine bring its current policies in line with the concept of sustainable development, UNDP has convened a series of public platforms and provided expert support to the Government of Ukraine in developing action plans for reforming the regulatory framework for key sectors, namely transport and infrastructure, environmental management, and energy. Currently, UNDP is working closely with experts representing the Ukrainian government, academia, civil society, and the private sector in developing a “Sustainable Development Strategy” that will help Ukraine make policies that take into account economic and social growth needs without compromising the environment. To make sure Ukraine’s current and future leaders are attuned to the principles of sustainable development, UNDP has developed a course for civil servants that is currently being taught at the National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine.
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LoW carbon development for Ukraine
In 1992 more than 150 countries signed the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), agreeing to keep the concentration of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere at a level that will not cause adverse anthropogenic effects on the climate system of our planet. To meet this target many countries approved their climate change policies and identified national actions.
However, over the past 20 years Ukraine had not adopted any policy documents on climate change, except ratifying the UNFCCC and the Kyoto protocol to it. Emissions have decreased automatically as a result of the economic stagnation and demographic decline of the country over the past two decades.
With the help of UNDP Ukraine several legislative and policy documents have been developed, with the Concept for a Low Carbon Development Strategy of Ukraine being the most important one. Its adoption and implementation will promote investment and economic modernization, increasing prosperity for people, and the ability for industry to be competitive. In addition, the Government of Ukraine requested UNDP’s support in preparation for a new Global Climate Agreement, concluded in Paris in December 2015. Together with other international partners, UNDP assisted government experts in developing the Intended Nationally-Determined Contribution that set the target on greenhouse gases emissions until 2030 and is an important tool in the global efforts to combat climate change. The document has been approved by the Government of Ukraine and will help Ukraine to balance economic development needs and its progress on the path towards a low-carbon, climate-resilient future.
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Clean bioenergy for Ukrainian schools and kindergartens “Can you really study when the classroom is so freezing cold? I don’t think so! We used to put plastic film over the windows in October and remove it in April to gain a couple of degrees of warmth,” exclaimed Iryna Samoilova, not trying to conceal her emotions.
3
straw-fired biomass boilers
have been installed in the local kindergarten allowing schools to save over 700,000 UAH (roughly 30,000 USD) on heating bills annually.
She has good reason not to; the times when she had to teach a class full of children tucked cozily in their winter jackets are not too far away. But thanks to the biomass straw power those gloomy days are gone for good. Over one thousand children from the small town of Uman in the Cherkassy region of Ukraine will stay warm this fall and winter thanks to bioenergy. Three straw-fired biomass boilers have been installed in the local kindergarten and schools saving over 700,000 UAH (roughly 30,000 USD) on heating bills annually. The boilers are a vivid example of a sustainable development triple-win for the community and the planet. They run on eco-friendly fuel, releasing no CO2 emissions into the atmosphere and decreasing greenhouse gases, save money, and use locallygrown biomass from waste wheat straw pressed into pellets. The money saved this year will be used for installing energy-efficient windows in the
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“This year our school saved 250,000 UAH on utility bills. This will allow us to buy better teaching tools and better food for our children, all thanks to the straw that we used to burn on our fields,” says Iryna, with a big smile on her face.
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kindergarten. The town officials are very enthusiastic and plan to allocate future year savings for further energy-efficient initiatives, engaging more schools and kindergartens in the eco-virtuous circle. Both the straw pellets and boilers are produced by an Uman-based company, assisting the struggling local economy and creating badly needed jobs for the town. The company management as well as government officials hope that the ecotrend will gain traction in other cities and towns of Ukraine, one of the least energyefficient countries in the world. However, currently the agricultural biomass share is only 0.5% of the country energy’s supply. UNDP works to assist the Government in removing legislative, administrative, and institutional barriers to biomass use to reach the target at least 7% of the country’s energy supply by 2030. UNDP, with financial support from the Global Environment Facility, plans to install eight more boilers in Ukrainian universities, schools and kindergartens. In parallel to these pilots, UNDP is providing technical assistance to the drafting of new laws and regulations that will ensure that Ukraine can fully benefit from biomass energy. It will also help Ukraine to cut its dependency on imported natural gas and become more energy-efficient.
0.5%
the agricultural biomass Share of the country energy’s supply.
UNDP works to assist the Government in removing legislative, administrative, and institutional barriers to biomass use to reach at least 7% of the country’s energy supply target by 2030.
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Sustainable future for the people of Nizhyn Chernihivska oblast
Chernihiv KAKSHYN NIZHYN
Smoke… thick heavy air that leaves a bitter nasty, taste in your mouth - the people of Kukshyn have experienced this for decades. Respiratory diseases were rampant and often kept thousands of children from school and adults on sick leave. The main culprit was well-known but the scale of the problem was way beyond the level of what the local authorities thought they could ever tackle.
There was a time when the Smolianka wetlands flourished with wildlife. But beginning in the 1950s, draining canals began slashing through once pristine marshes. For Ukraine, peat (turf) was a relatively cheap and readily available source of fuel and energy. Large-scale drainage projects facilitated peat extraction and transformed the swamp into land suitable for agriculture or forestry. Little attention was paid to a more environmentally sound alternative – re-wetting and restoring the marshlands after peat extraction. By the mid-1970s, Ukraine was extracting nearly extracting nearly 7 million tons and overall more than one million hectares were drained. Biodiversity suffered – many plants and animals, for example bears and eagles started to disappear. Instead of absorbing and storing carbon dioxide, the mires began emitting it as fires raged over driedup land. Toxic gases spewed into the air through smoke, making people from local communities sick, and the government was forced to spend millions combating fires. Local economies were hurt as hunting and fishing dwindled, and communities could no longer rely on mires as a source of berries to sell for extra income.
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UNDP Ukraine analyzed global best practices in tackling similar issues and offered Ukraine a simple but powerful solution – to “re-naturalize” the peatlands by re-wetting them and restoring the underground water levels. Together with local communities and the private sector, UNDP engineers cleaned 12 km of the magisterial channel, repairing 4 sluices and 12 tube crossings. As a result, devastating fires stopped and plants and animals started to re-establish themselves. It is expected that over a 20-year period 230,000 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions will be prevented from releasing into the atmosphere. But the positive outcome was felt not only by the nature; local communities started to feel the difference. The air became cleaner and reclaimed pastures started providing enough hay for local residents to keep cows, providing livelihoods for local communities, and helping to improve diets, in particular children’s, with healthy dairy products. This spurred business activity and local residents, with UNDP support, started to create farming cooperatives to save on equipment and processing. Overall, more than 4,500 people are estimated to benefit from this initiative. To make the shift sustainable and to ensure the protection of over 40 endangered species, 6,000 hectares of the Smolianka mires have been registered as a regional landscape park.
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12 km
of the magistral channel cleaned
repaired
4 sluces & 12 tube crossings
6,000 hectares
of the Smolianka mires have been registered as a regional landscape park
“Now I understand what a sustainable solution truly means. This is a win-win for nature, the people, and the economy,” says Oleksandr Pyvovar, Head of Kukshyn village council.
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Better Lives through Democratic Governance and ReforMS Better Lives through Democratic Governance and Reforms National Anticorruption Action Plan adopted
13 Ombudsperson’s Regional Coordinators
14 cities opened their budgets
National Human Rights Strategy approved
Poor governance was one of the key factors leading to instability in Ukraine, which culminated in the late 2013 - early 2014 mass protests. Ukraine’s newly elected government has since embarked on an ambitious programme of governance reform, aimed at creating a more transparent, effective and responsive government.
UNDP Ukraine, in turn, has responded by intensifying and diversifying its support for democratic governance. In 2015, the organization designated anti-corruption, civil society and human rights as key priorities and began providing targeted assistance to these reforms.
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UNDP assists Ukraine’s anticorruption and transparency agenda through initiatives aimed mostly at prevention with the idea that, by changing attitudes and behaviors, reform can be sustainable. Similarly, UNDP is committed to promoting public administration reform, international standards of public service and effective delivery of administrative services, as well as facilitating open budgets and implementing ‘open data’ in Ukraine. With transparency comes the need for a well-informed, capable and empowered civil society that can hold the government accountable, and that can assist the wider public in interpreting and understanding the risks of government
decisions. Therefore, UNDP has also prioritized providing support to Ukraine’s civil society. In addition, UNDP has been supporting the process of judiciary reform to help Ukraine create an independent and transparent justice system. Reform of the prosecution, courts, police and other judiciary bodies is a central tenet of Ukraine’s anti-corruption and democratic governance strategy. Concurrently, UNDP is assisting with efforts to enshrine human rights more firmly in the legal and policy framework, in particular through the elaboration of a new Human Rights Strategy and a related Action Plan.
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Transparency and Integrity: improving governance in Ukraine 2015 opened important windows of opportunity for moving Ukraine forward on the path towards transparency and genuine openness of the State towards its citizens.
With the objective of promoting practical action aimed at reducing levels of corruption across all sectors of government, UNDP supported the development of a three-year National Anti-Corruption Plan. The Plan went through several stages of public consultations to ensure buy-in from both the Ministry of Justice and anti-corruption civil society organizations (CSOs). It is based on indicators following SMART principles and a strategic planning process, which were applied to the anti-corruption policy for the first time. 2015 was also the year for the birth and growth of new anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine. UNDP has been closely following the process of establishing the National Agency for Prevention of Corruption (NAPC), designing a roadmap for the NAPC launch, and summarizing regional international experience on effective structures of preventive commissions. To make the NAPC launch a transparent, inclusive, and therefore legitimate process, UNDP used its convening power to bring civil society into the process of nominating the NAPC leadership. Preventive functions of the newly-established Agency will include, amongst others, managing the new electronic asset declarations system of all (approximately one million) civil servants in the country.
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In partnership with the Ministry of Justice and the World Bank UNDP shaped the vision for the required IT system and supervised open bidding procedures to guarantee transparent and competitive bidding. As the system is built and tested during early 2016, a new round of assets declarations will be submitted in a one-stop-shop portal, ensuring citizens’ access to information and effective oversight by state anticorruption institutions. The open data legislation adopted in April 2015 with UNDP expert and advocacy support has already stimulated the opening of 331 government databases. These databanks vary greatly and range from dedicated police databases (registry of individuals on wanted lists, stolen vehicles, registered traffic violations, etc.) and the unified registry of private enterprises, to data on the radiological situation and water and air pollution; as well as on public revenues and expenditures and public procurement. The data will enable government institutions, programming specialists, and CSO activists to build useful digital services for computer and smartphone users or simply to increase the level of citizen awareness on important issues that impact their daily lives, such as the issue of public sector budgeting. The latter – transparency of public sector budgeting – was advanced by UNDP through the development of the open budget visualiser, a tool that allows municipalities to present their budgets to citizens in a user-friendly and digital way. Citizens, in their turn, will be able to track budget revenues and expenditures and see how these are balanced.
775,6
million
Non-tax income
Official transferts
1.3
Operations income
bln in total
460,5
million
Tax income
Lviv – a major city in Western Ukraine – has been one of the first to join the Open Budget1 Initiative. Now everyone can see the 3.8 billion UAH budget neatly grouped into categories that enable the municipality to detail each expense in order to, for example, indicate the name of a street where renovations were made. Since May 2015, the instrument has been successfully replicated in 13 more municipalities with over 30 more linking to the initiative in early 2016. The Open Budget Initiative is a global research and advocacy program to promote public access to budget information and the adoption of accountable budget systems. http://internationalbudget.org/opening-budgets/open-budget-initiative/
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Budget visualizations of Ukrainian cities Lebedyn KYIV LVIV Ternopil
Cherkasy
Okhtyrka
Romny
Vinnytsya
Dolyna
Ivano-frankivsk
Khmilnyk
ARTEMIVSK
Chernivtsi
Kherson
Open Budget-based visualization SAP-based visualization Visualization based on the system of the CSP “European Partnership“ Open Spending-based visualization
Berdyansk
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Building the capacity of civil society Throughout 2015 UNDP has continued its work with and for the civil society in Ukraine by supporting CSO initiatives to stimulate implementing reforms, and by providing institutional support to selected regional civil society organizations.
UNDP continued to prioritize the anti-corruption work of the civic sector in regions across Ukraine. In early 2015 the first UNDP Anti-Corruption School kicked off, offering exposure to the best practitioners in the national transparency and integrity arena for young, ambitious CSOs and newly-formed initiative groups. UNDP subsequently selected the top 22 ideas for achieving more transparency and integrity at the regional and local levels, and mentored the organizations in achieving the set goals. In less than half a year and with modest seed resources, local CSOs were able to produce significant results. Working on scrutinizing data about public procurement, one of the local partners managed to achieve the cancellation of 30 million UAH worth of dubious public procurement contracts, bringing about 5 criminal cases. With UNDP support another partner was able to get hold of 35 asset declarations of oblast council members, after numerous appeals.
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It then was able to not only present the data that should by law be public, but also uncover some violations of claims made on official records. A third partner was able to crowdsource claims from local citizens regarding allegedly illegal construction, with analysis on some citizens’ whistleblower reports currently being verified. Advocating for more transparency, integrity, and democratic governance in the public and business realms, the ‘third sector’ rarely looks at its own workings. While over 80% of Ukrainian CSOs are deeply in favor of openness and transparency in government, less than half of them have ever reported to the community about their own activities or even shown their expenditures. For the most part, even the most skilled of the civil society actors continue to have flaws in their management structure, remain strongly donor-dependent, and have weak ties with their constituencies.
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Throughout 2015, all eight organizations have re-launched their oversight boards, developed internal rules, procedures, guidelines, and oversight mechanisms, and launched a practice for openly reporting to the public through detailed annual reporting – all in order to better align with standards on internal governance. With all organizations having diversified their funding sources, seven of them have also increased their overall operational budgets by 65% on average. The CSO hub in Kherson oblast more than doubled its annual budget through a strategic and wellconducted re-launch of its supervisory board and a proactive fundraising strategy. Beyond assisting the eight regional CSO hubs as the core group of chosen organizations, UNDP aims to have a wider impact on the institutional development of the civic sector. In 2015, for the third year in a row, it took part in organizing the annual Civil Society Capacity Development Forum, gathering over 800 participants from the ‘third sector’. The Forum invites civil society organizations to look inside their organizational structures, policies, and procedures, review their value sets, and become more aligned with models of transparency and accountability. It has served as a source of good practice in making the organizations stronger and more credible advocates for socioeconomic reform in their constituencies.
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In 2015 UNDP continued to tackle this challenge by working in partnership with civil society on issues of organizational development. This year marked the formal completion of a 2-year programme to nurture eight regional-level CSO leaders (known as regional hubs) from various parts of the country, on the path to more financial sustainability, better internal governance, and transparent internal procedures.
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Building stronger capacities to promote and protect human rights in Ukraine UNDP advanced its cooperation with the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights (also known as, the Office of the Ombudsperson) assisting its expansion on the regional level and strengthening its capacities. The newly-established regional coordinator network helps to monitor human rights on a local level and alert the Ombudsperson about violations.
In 2015 the regional coordinators provided legal and other consultations to more than 800 people, monitored 218 court hearings, examined 411 citizens’ written appeals and organised 69 human rights workshops. The coordinators also became essential focal points for the National Preventive Mechanism, the nation-based component that complements the system established by the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture, which obliges States to prevent torture and other forms of illtreatment. In 2015, the coordinators conducted 95 visits to the institutions of deprivation of liberty to identify and address human rights violations that result in criminal prosecution of the accused. UNDP also assisted the Ombudsperson’s office in monitoring transparency and accountability of the law enforcement system. As a result, 43 police units in Ukraine received 99 requests for public
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information to determine the departments’ level of responsiveness. In addition, all official websites of oblast police departments were requested to become more transparent and disclose key information, including contact details and budget funds allocation. With UNDP support the Office of the Ombudsperson conducted the first comprehensive monitoring of the new Criminal Procedure Code implementation. Adopted in 2012, the new code became one of the most important milestones for improving Ukraine’s criminal justice system. As a result of the monitoring of 11 district courts the Office of the Ombudsperson put forward 75 recommendations for the judiciary, prosecution and other parties in the criminal process to ensure open and public court hearings, tighten regulations for courthouse access and prevent delays. The report was also presented in the Ukrainian parliament to ensure policy change. In 2015 the Office of the Ombudsperson also became the platform for international-level consultations on the role of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in conflict and post-conflict situations. In October 2015 over 100 representatives from 20 NHRIs, human rights experts and activists gathered in Kyiv to adopt a declaration calling for a stronger role for NHRIs in conflict and post-conflict settings. Titled The Kyiv Declaration, the product of the conference deliberations has already been signed by 19 NHRIs and will be advocated for wider adoption, including through a standing working group comprising the Office of the Ombudsperson in Ukraine, UNDP, ICC and OHCHR.
During the presentation of the courtroom monitoring report, one of the participating judges remarked,
“The shortage of staff and the lack of funding are no excuse. Judges need accountability, and they need to work with integrity. We need to follow the rules ourselves. We need to earn our respect from the citizens.”
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Stronger communities better lives! The current economic and social crisis in Ukraine is very much visible in the rural areas and small cities. Here the slow pace of recovery is not a figure on a balance sheet but rather the difference between a sustainable way of life or struggling to maintain a subsistence lifestyle. Some of the challenges faced by rural and small city communities in Ukraine are lack of information, finance, and workable models to participate in local governance processes.
LIVING CONDITIONS OF MORE THAN
600,000
people were improved through 500 micro-projects
In partnership with the European Union and the Government of Ukraine, UNDP has been working to empower rural communities through the Community Based Approach to Local Development initiative since 2008. The approach has created an environment for joint decision-making, initiated bottom-up planning processes, cemented local development partnerships, and has led to real improvements in people’s lives. Over the years, more than 2,600 micro-projects have been implemented benefiting some 2.5 million people. In 2015 alone, the living conditions of more than 600,000 people were improved through 500 micro-projects, ranging from installing water pipelines, energy-efficient street lighting, and energyefficient windows, to the renovation and re-equipping of a local kindergarten or rural health clinic.
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As a result of CBA-supported initiatives, this winter children in 322 village schools and kindergartens are studying and playing in warm and wellheated classrooms and schools. The inhabitants of 61 villages are enjoying better healthcare. In 24 villages, people now have improved access to clean drinking water. The communities of 61 villages have improved street lighting. Residents of 89 communities are enjoying the benefits of innovative energy-efficient technologies such as solar powered street lighting or energy-efficient heating systems in community centres and public buildings. The local economies of 46 rural communities employing 1,300 people in 12 regions of Ukraine have started to rebound thanks to agricultural cooperatives, offering better and cheaper dairy products and more efficient land cultivation and gardening processes. Since 2014, when CBA entered its third phase, the project has expanded to urban areas of Ukraine and supported 139 initiatives in 19 small cities across Ukraine. The result is that more than 30,000 people are living in apartment buildings with repaired roofs, warm walls, energy-efficient windows, and improved heating systems. To ensure that the shift is sustainable and maintained, 17 regional universities have included local development courses in their curriculums and now more than 560 students have become advocates of the community based approach to local development.
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MORE THAN
30,000 PEOPLE are living in apartment buildings with repaired roofs, warm walls, energy-efficient windows, and improved heating systems.
To share the knowledge and the best practices about this approach, UNDP joined forces with the Ukrainian Association of District and Regional Councils and created a Knowledge Management Hub platform that will be instrumental in developing policy recommendations and advocating for a decentralization reform agenda.
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Taking matters in our own hands The old school in Veselivka village of the Kirovograd region was built in the 1960’s and hadn’t had much renovation since then. It was not a nice place to be during the winter; Gaps around the windows and doors let in lots of fresh air regardless of the season and 96 windows out of the 117 did not open at all. But then something changed: the villagers of Veselivka realized that waiting for the government to fix it like in the old Soviet times was not an option anymore.
They got together, discussed the problem, and developed a community plan. They mobilized 10,600 UAH in community funds to replace the old windows with energy-efficient ones and decided to save money by doing some of the cleaning and finishing works themselves. Upon hearing about the initiative, the village and rayon councils showed their support by contributing another 90,000 UAH. The works took three months to complete but made studying for 700 children much more comfortable and enjoyable.
“Taking matters in our own hands was the best decision we ever made. I don’t know why it took us so long to realize that!” says Anatoliy, a Veselivka village resident and the father of two
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Supporting decentralization and local governance reforms One of the major ongoing reforms in Ukraine is decentralization and local government reform. It involves a redesigned state structure and re-allocation of powers and responsibilities, as well as administrative-territorial reform. Carrying out decentralization reform in a sensitive political, security, and economic context is fraught with challenges, and therefore support from UNDP and other partners is seen as an important factor contributing to success.
UNDP supported the decentralization and local governance reform process in various ways in 2015, both at the local level through its long-standing work on community-based local development and public participation, and at the central policy level through close collaboration with local government associations and the Ministry of Regional Development, as well as with a specific focus on restoring governance functions in conflict-affected areas of eastern Ukraine. UNDP has also supported exchanges of experiences and reviews of lessons learned and challenges in achieving development targets through governance reforms at the sub-national and local level. On 2-3 December, UNDP and the Government of Ukraine co-hosted the regional conference “Making Decentralization Reform Work: Opportunities and Innovations for Local Governance and Service Delivery�. The conference was designed as a platform for experts and practitioners of decentralization and local governance reforms to share relevant experiences and lessons learnt, and to exchange ideas about innovations and opportunities for future reforms in the region.
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Reforming the procurement system for medicines Millions of Ukrainian men, women, and children are not able to obtain essential medicines procured through the public health care system and patients with rare diseases are often unable access the drugs they need due to their high costs. In particular, people suffering from tuberculosis and viral hepatitis, as well as children suffering from hemophilia, are often in desperate need of the medications that can sustain their lives.
To tackle this growing health emergency Ukraine has requested UNDP, UNICEF and WHO’s support for the procurement and distribution of a specific range of medicines and related medical products, on the basis of special legislation. In October 2015, UNDP and the Ministry of Health signed an agreement for the procurement of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment through UNDP in line with the highest international standards. The agreement is the result of joint efforts by UN agencies and civil society aimed at boosting transparency, accountability, and efficiency in public procurement and supporting Ukraine’s capacity to provide everyone with access to the medicines they need.
In recent years, Ukraine has experienced shortages of many life-sustaining medicines resulting in deaths and worsening health conditions for many. This is largely due to inefficient public procurement procedures and endemic corruption in the public health system and the pharmaceutical industry, as has been amply documented by civil society groups and investigative journalists.
In line with this agreement, UNDP has already procured pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, HIV, hemophilia, viral hepatitis and rare diseases. The total sum of the procurement contracts will amount to US $27 million and the first round of tenders has already brought savings of up to 40 percent from the original estimated budget. In addition to addressing the country’s immediate needs in medicines, UNDP will support the Ministry in its long-term efforts to reform the public procurement system to bring it in line with the highest international standards.
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Supporting Social Sector Governance Reforms Ukraine’s social sector has been particularly affected by the long-term economic crisis and demographic factors such as an aging society. Systems were further strained by the additional demands emanating from the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine as well as the ongoing decentralization process. In 2015 UNDP Ukraine continued supporting social sector reform aimed at improving social services and the pension system, as well as employment and poverty reduction policies. UNDP provided expert support through developing and amending 26 legislative documents, 12 of which have been adopted by the Government. In addition, more than 1,500 policymakers and experts were trained on how to improve planning and establish needs-based social services at the community level, diversification of service providers and development of the social services market, introduction of quality standards, and monitoring and assessment procedures.
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UNDP also supported improving access of people with disabilities to social services through developing the ‘National Standards of Day Care Services’. Based on this document, the Ministry of Social Policy developed and adopted the relevant legal provisions, ensuring that social service agencies follow these standards. These measures allowed relevant agencies to provide higher quality social services. As a result, 1,300 children with disabilities can now study and rehabilitate at 65 newly-created day care departments that serve as an alternative to the traditional boarding schools (the so called ‘internats’), an outdated concept that is known for often inadequate services to children with disabilities. In late 2015 day care service departments were also opened for adults with disabilities and senior citizens. Skyrocketing utilities prices forced many Ukrainians to seek social services in the form of subsidies. However, people representing vulnerable groups often were not aware of the eligibility criteria and application process. In order to bridge this information gap, UNDP provided policy recommendations and helped the government to simplify application procedures and develop a comprehensive public awareness campaign targeting the most vulnerable. As a result the number of subsidies recipients increased five-fold. In addition, UNDP provided advisory support to the government in developing a Poverty Reduction Strategy as a part of the Action Plan for the implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union.
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2015 was a special year for Ukraine as the target date for the achievement of the first generation of global goals, known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs established measurable, universallyagreed objectives for eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, preventing deadly but treatable disease, and expanding educational opportunities to all children, among other development imperatives. Over the years, UNDP has been providing technical support, advocacy and advice to the Government of Ukraine in adjusting its planning and monitoring tools to the requirements under the MDGs and has helped popularize and localize the MDG agenda.
In 2015, UNDP Ukraine supported the development of the National Report “Millennium Development Goals. Ukraine: 2000-2015�, which takes stock of the achievements Ukraine made, as well as the challenges that remain. The MDG monitoring process is the most outstanding example in Ukraine’s history of an inclusive, transparent and systematic review of governmental commitments on key development issues, with a long-term outlook. For the first time ever in Ukraine, 33 key national development indicators have been regularly monitored over a period of 15 years. The MDGs influenced the shaping of state goals, strategic documents, programmes and legislation. MDG monitoring also played an important role in building the capacity of civil servants, civil society and academia who were actively engaged in this process. The MDGs Report will serve as an important tool for strategic planning based on the in-depth analysis of problems and policy recommendations. It provides a basis for further strategic planning and monitoring, in particular with regard to the roll-out of the 17 new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The findings and recommendations presented in the MDGs 2015 Report are used by the Ministry of Economic Development as the state authority responsible for strategic planning and forecasting, as well as other relevant government entities and civil society.
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International partners
United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine 1, Klovsky Uzviz Str., Kyiv, 01021, Ukraine Tel: +380 44 253 93 63 (General Enquiries) Fax: +380 44 253 26 07
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