Specialized equipment will be used to disinfect public places and transportation to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the region

Mariupol / Sievierodonetsk / Zaporizhzhia 17 December 2020 – The European Union together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine have donated specialized disinfectant equipment for the rescue units of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) in Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Thanks to the equipment donations, carried out under the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme with the financial support of the European Union, rescuers received thermal fog generators, high-pressure washers, pumps and other equipment. The equipment will be used for the comprehensive disinfection of public places and transport to prevent the rapid spread of COVID-19 in communities in eastern Ukraine.

Martin Schroeder, head of Local and Human Development section at the EU Delegation to Ukraine, emphasised the importance of EU-UNDP cooperation with the State Emergency Service in the east of Ukraine.

“Strengthening technical capacities of the State Emergency Service is a key element of the community security activities the European Union supports in eastern Ukraine and the broader Sea of Azov region,” Schroeder said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has put tremendous pressure on the rescuers in conflict-affected eastern Ukraine, multiplying risks and challenges they face. The disinfection equipment which we are handing over to the three regions will help make the work of the rescue units more effective.”

In addition, rescuers will be able to use disinfection equipment, the total value of which is U.S. $66,326 (UAH 1,890,284), to rapidly respond to and eliminate biological and chemical disasters.

UNDP Resident Representative Dafina Gercheva stressed that the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic had severely undermined the security of communities in eastern Ukraine, which had also continued to suffer from the effects of the armed conflict for many years.

“The success of any community begins with its safety, and we are immensely grateful to the rescuers for their critical work and the titanic efforts they make to maintain that safety,” Gercheva said. “Together with our European partners, we continue to help build the technical capacity of the SES and purchase specialized equipment needed to overcome the challenges of the armed and protracted conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic in communities in eastern Ukraine.”

Oleksiy Migrin, head of the Main Department of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Donetsk Oblast, said that during the pandemic, helping local authorities in disinfecting places with a large number of people was a priority for the oblast's rescuers.

“On behalf of all rescuers in Donetsk Oblast, I express my sincere gratitude to UNDP in Ukraine for the help we received,” Migrin said. “Thanks to the new equipment, rescuers will continue to be able to effectively combat the spread of coronavirus infection in accordance with international standards.”

Rescuers in eastern Ukraine receive support from the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme on a regular basis: last week rescue units in Donetsk Oblast received motorboats, and in early November – a large batch of technical equipment.

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).

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, UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, maksym.kytsiuk@undp.org, +380 63 576 1839