LVIV, 21 December 2022 — With the beginning of the full-scale war, many Ukrainians fled the war zones for safer refuge in small communities in the west of Ukraine. People who have moved to the west of the country, in addition to humanitarian needs, often require psychological help and support. However, due to the distance from the big cities and regional centres, these communities often lack professionals who could provide primary psychological assistance.

Therefore, to address this issue, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine launched a pilot project to train school psychologists in communities in Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia oblasts to create a sustainable network of psychological support for displaced persons, families of veterans and other vulnerable people living in these communities. With funds provided by the Government of Canada, UNDP purchased and transferred 58 up-to-date tablets for school psychologists in these areas.

The application “Psychologist's Package,” developed by UNDP with financial support from the Government of the Netherlands in 2021, is designed to provide access to advanced methodical materials on psychosomatic techniques all within the one gadget and has already been installed on tablets. This application enables professionals to quickly identifythe most common problems such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder — and plan steps for initial therapy.  “Development Foundation” NGO, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, the Wesleyan University (USA), “Community Self-Help” NGO and Indeema Software Incorporated also helped to develop the application.

Jaco Cilliers, the interim UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine, noted the zeal of school psychologists from communities in western Ukraine to learn and help those in need. “We at UNDP will do all we can to make professional assistance more accessible to all Ukrainians, no matter where they are – whether in big cities or small villages,” Cilliers said.

Work with school psychologists continues under the leadership of UNDP within the framework of the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme.

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). Eleven 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, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.

Media enquiries: Yuliia Samus, UNDP Ukraine Head of Communications; e-mail: yuliia.samus@undp.org