More than 10 weeks of war have led to a tremendous casualties and loss of life, massive devastation in urban centres, and the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure. According to the Kyiv School of Economics, as of early May, more than 1,483 education facilities and kindergartens, 231 medical institutions, 195 factories and enterprises, 82 administrative buildings, and 144 cultural buildings have been damaged or destroyed. More than 12 million Ukrainians have been displaced, fleeing violence, and seeking peace – 5.7 million have crossed into other countries and over 7 million are internally displaced. 

In parallel with a strong focus on humanitarian support, UNDP is working closely with Government of Ukraine to plan for early recovery and reconstruction.  UNDP and its partners are developing ambitious strategies to rebuild this great nation for when peace finally returns. As of 31 April 2022, these activities include:

Supporting government functions: crisis coordination and recovery response planning 

·      UNDP expanded and consolidated its knowledge management capacity in areas of assessments, damage and losses estimations, analysis, resource mobilization, and dissemination with the specific objectives of: 

§  Providing knowledge management support, including the consolidation, updating and storage of evidence and indicators, to inform UNDP’s planning, implementation, and advocacy efforts;  

§  Strengthening the capacity of government counterparts in areas of damage assessment methodologies, including but not limited to the use of satellite imagery and remote sensing; and

§  Establishing an information repository/portal to collate and archive relevant baseline and assessments to be used, with partners, to identify and address information gaps in preparation for post-conflict needs assessments.  

Sustaining public services 

·      UNDP designed and launched, in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Ministry of Social Policy, a mobile application to facilitate the online registration of IDPs. The innovation, supported by the Government of Sweden, also allows IDPs to apply for government support and assistance. More than 270,000 Ukrainians registered as IDPs on the platform within the first week of its launch.

·      To meet the urgent needs of the health sector, the UNDP procured and delivered (i) US$4.8 million worth of medical equipment for HIV diagnostics, medicines for adult and child juvenile arthritis, medicine for children haemophilia, and medicine for transplantology; (ii) first-aid kits and generators to police units in hard-to-reach areas of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia; and (iii) 1,723 tonnes of food supplies for the State Emergency Services unit in Donetsk.

Mine action and managing debris  

·      On 6 April, the Government of Japan announced a US$4.5 million contribution to UNDP to help ensure safe human mobility and access to essential goods and services. Specific activities within this initiative will start immediately in Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel, and will include:

§  Identifying critical delivery routes in close coordination with local authorities to facilitate the delivery of goods and to provide access for humanitarian actors;

§  Surveying and clearing identified routes of explosive ordnances in coordination with the National Mine Action Authority; and

§  Ensuring safe passage along the identified routes by removing unstable structures and debris.

Recovering economy and saving livelihoods 

·      A socio-economic baseline analysis was finalized for Lviv Oblast. The predictive analysis is based on the Social Cohesion and Reconciliation (SCORE) Index – an evidence-based analytical instrument designed to measure the various components of social cohesion, as well as resilience capacities and vulnerability factors, so as to inform peacebuilding and development efforts. The findings present the (pre-war) baseline data on the main economic, social and inter-group factors that can affect both the immediate response and planning activities of the Government of Ukraine in their reconstruction efforts. 

·      Within the national Anti-crisis platform, UNDP partnered with the Zaporizhzhya Chamber of Commerce and Industry to conduct two interactive events, at which over 137 representatives (55 percent women) from various MSMEs learned about how military actions are changing global and Ukrainian value chains, and how businesses should adapt to the new business environment.

Rehabilitating infrastructure  

·      Relatedly, through a multi-sectoral framework loan of EUR 200 million funded by the EIB and supported by UNDP to assist local authorities rehabilitate critical municipal infrastructure and improve living conditions for IDPs and their host communities, UNDP assessed the damage inflicted by the war to the project sites in nine government-controlled oblasts. 

·      In April, construction work commenced in five locations in Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts: (i) the reconstruction of a cultural education centre and of an arts school in Myrhorod, Poltava Oblast; (ii) the reconstruction of two schools in Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast; (iii) major repairs to a school in Andriivka village, Poltava Oblast.

Promoting human rights and the rule of law 

·      UNDP conducted an e-learning course for staff at the headquarters and regional network of the Ombudsperson Office on the implementation of international humanitarian and criminal law during war.  The purpose of the training was to enhance the institution’s capacity to monitor human rights developments during the ongoing conflict. Participants learned the basics of international humanitarian and criminal law, including (i) the legal mechanisms to protect human rights during war settings; (ii) war crimes and crimes against humanity; (iii) the difference between information and evidence; and (iv) how to document war crimes.

·      In April, UNDP Ukraine, with the support of Japan, launched a new initiative operationalizing the national component of a global programme that promotes responsible business by strengthening human rights standards, particularly in context of the ongoing war and post-conflict restoration. The project will serve two main purposes. First, it will guide companies in carrying out Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) to assess, prevent and mitigate adverse impacts. The second objective of the project is to support the development of policies to tackle business-related human rights abuses.

·      Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about access to information during the war, the right to information, the online publication of official data, access and other issues were answered and published on the Ombudsperson website. 

·      Supported by the UNDP and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision produced a series of informational publications on legal aid during the war. These printed materials aim to help people to better understand legislative changes and resolve their legal issues during the war. From advice on accessing compensation to understanding ones’ rights, the series of booklets and leaflets provide millions of Ukrainians with vital up-to-the-minute legal information, both in print and digitally, and also provide connections for people in need of access to free legal aid.