Mobile Service Delivery for Conflict-Affected Population in Eastern Ukraine

To help improve local institutions in war-affected areas of Ukraine and ensure preparedness and uninterrupted service delivery during the crisis, UNDP – with generous support from the Government of Canada – launched the “Mobile Service Delivery for Conflict-Affected Population in Eastern Ukraine” project in 2019.

Initially, the Project was designed as part of the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme’s umbrella to alleviate the hardships of conflict- and COVID-affected Ukrainian citizens, mainly women, who had to travel long distances to access and be provided with administrative, legal, psychosocial, home care, medical and information services. The proposed intervention was based on and promoted two service delivery approaches:

  • Mobility of service delivery: The provision of services was designed to reach out to women and men in remote rural areas and near the then ‘contact line;, as well as to citizens from non-government-controlled areas crossing the ‘contact line’ at entry-exit checkpoints to obtain the above-mentioned services in government-controlled areas.
  • Modularity of service delivery: The provision of services was designed to include a wide range of services in one service unit, to help solve, in one location, the multitude of problems faced by women and men directly at entry-exit checkpoints.

As a result of the various needs and effects of the full-scale war in Ukraine, project activities expanded to the entire territory of Ukraine, providing tailored support to the affected populations and host communities. Moreover, new activities have been initiated focusing on the delivery of essential services, such as medical, psychosocial and legal aid, to internally displaced persons and other war-affected populations in the south and east of the country, as well as those in the areas retaken by the Government of Ukraine.

Additionally, the project’s activities were expanded to enhance community-level preparedness and response. This included (1) providing technical assistance to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine for effective civilian evacuations, (2) developing the capacity of civil society to improve legal and mental health services in war-affected communities, and (3) strengthening communication and cooperation between the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and local citizens through community-based preparedness initiatives.

Expected intermediate outcomes:

1) Enhanced equitable delivery of needs-based, gender-responsive services by mobile unit staff and volunteers that meet the needs of conflict-affected people of Donetsk, Luhansk and most affected oblasts across Ukraine, especially women and vulnerable or marginalized groups:

1.1) Enhanced capacity of target local governments to deliver needs-based gender-responsive services to conflict-affected people in Donetsk, Luhansk and most affected oblasts across Ukraine, especially women and vulnerable or marginalized groups.

1.2) Increased knowledge and skills of target local governments to deliver needs-based gender-responsive services to conflict-affected people in Donetsk, Luhansk and most affected oblasts across Ukraine, especially women and vulnerable or marginalized groups, through mobile administrative service centres.

2) Increased equitable usage of administrative and legal services by conflict-affected people of Donetsk, Luhansk and most affected oblasts across Ukraine, especially women and vulnerable or marginalized groups.

2.1) Enhanced access to needs-based gender-responsive services by conflict-affected people in Donetsk, Luhansk and most affected oblasts across Ukraine, especially women and vulnerable or marginalized groups.

2.2) Increased awareness by conflict-affected people in Donetsk, Luhansk and most affected oblasts across Ukraine, especially women and vulnerable or marginalized groups, about the availability of administrative and legal services provided through mobile administrative service centres.

The “Mobile Service Delivery for Conflict-Affected Populations in Eastern Ukraine” project is being implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, with support from the Government of Canada.