Adapting the Diia service to the new reality and the needs of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the middle of a war was a considerable challenge, made possible because of the Ukraine government’s longstanding commitment to digitize its public services. The range of e-services available has continued to scale up during the war. UNDP’s in-country team relied on its development investment to simultaneously work as part of the UN family, helping to meet the immediate humanitarian needs on the ground. 

Next digital steps

The digital service to aid IDPs exemplifies UNDP’s decades long commitment to Ukraine, our comprehensive efforts to strengthen the government’s ability to deliver services to the most vulnerable, and to effectively respond to a crisis in real time. We have also supported the technical development of a new platform which collects requests from Ukrainians and matches these with organizations who can help. After two months of its launch online, more than 200,000 people had visited the site and benefitted from its services. Other projects already developed include a new information system to collect information from humanitarian aid centres across the country to help central and local governments distribute aid, exactly where and when it is needed.

Reaching all Ukrainians is a top priority for the Government of Ukraine, which continues to function at all levels. Aside from caring for the needs of its citizens, the Government is the main driving force for the recovery and development planning of the country, even in the midst of the war. In recent meetings between UNDP teams and the Minister of Social Policy Maryna Lazebna and Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Valeria Ionan, we discussed the emerging needs and how digital services could be expanded even further. For instance, aside from tracking and caring for the IDPs, the Government is urgently exploring ways to also reach and support those who have stayed in their homes in war-affected areas and are still operating their businesses. This initiative is part of a widespread effort to best serve small and medium size enterprises and keep the economy running. SMEs in Ukraine were a dominant social and economic power before the war, providing jobs to the vast majority of employees and account for more than half of country’s production output (according to the OECD, they accounted for nearly 81 percent of the labour force and generated 65 percent of total sales in 2020).

We know that digital solutions have a critical role to play in development. All across the world, UNDP is supporting governments and communities to develop and use digital technology to create a wide range of much-needed development solutions. In the space of just one year, UNDP assisted 82 countries to adopt over 580 digital solutions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will bring this collective experience to bear to support the best possible outcome for the people and Government of Ukraine. But first, peace needs to prevail so the country begins the process of full-fledged recovery and reconstruction.

The Government’s capacity to respond to Ukrainian needs during war is a stark reminder that investing in development, reform and public administration is critical parameter of crisis governance.  Because having the systems in place, the technical know-how in state departments, and the ability to scale up quickly; is how we can ensure people get the right help, in the right place, at the right time.

The millions of people currently on the move in and out of Ukraine and in war zones across the world, for whom the unimaginable has become reality, deserve nothing less. And Ukraine’s Diia’s experience can now be shared with the rest of the world for learning and replication.