Coordination Meeting of Representatives of the Kyiv Regional State Administration and UN Agencies

On 17 August, a general coordination meeting was held between representatives of the Kyiv Regional State Administration and UN agencies and other international organisations providing assistance to Ukraine.

During the event, participants presented reports on the activities of their agencies and organisations, discussed pressing challenges that have arisen in the humanitarian sphere, briefed clusters on current issues, and were able to create a shared vision of needs in Kyiv Oblast.

Kyiv Oblast was represented at the event by Lesia Karnaukh, Deputy Head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, representatives of the International Cooperation Department, the departments of healthcare, education, civil protection and social protection of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, as well as the Regional Development Agency.

On the other hand, the meeting was joined by representatives of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs / OCHA Ukraine, UN Population Fund in Ukraine – UNFPA Ukraine, the International Organization for Migration in Ukraine IOM Ukraine, NGO “Northern Hub”, NGO “Association of Sappers of Ukraine”, International Public Organisation “Istok”, Polska Misja Medyczna / Polish Medical Mission and other organisations.

During the meeting, the current status of a number of humanitarian areas was announced, and the parties also discussed the following issues:

🔺 further support for socially vulnerable categories of the population, including internally displaced persons (IDPs);

🔺 the need for constant coordination of actions between the oblast and local authorities of Kyiv Oblast and development organisations to maximise coverage of regional recovery priorities;

🔺 the need to demine more than 10,000 hectares of agricultural land within Kyiv Oblast;

🔺 increasing the number of warning systems and shelters to protect the civilian population in emergency situations;

🔺 creating more hospital beds for the rehabilitation of the population.

📢 “Meetings like this are extremely necessary for overcoming the consequences of the war in the region. As of August 2023, Kyiv Oblast has received enormous assistance from cooperation with the UN and related international organisations, but this is still an area with considerable room for growth. According to information provided by international partners to date, with the involvement of these structures, the needs of about 60,000 people have been covered. That is almost 2.7% of the estimated population of Kyiv Oblast, including IDPs. And I am confident that this figure will keep growing,” said Lesia Karnaukh, Deputy Head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration.

Oleksandr Vakhovskyi, Director of the Kyiv Regional Development Agency, was also present at the event. He spoke about the creation and functioning of the Kyiv Oblast Regional Office for International Cooperation as a key tool for coordinating the actions of regional and local authorities.

📢 “We have positive statistics on meeting the needs of Kyiv Oblast. But often both international partners and aid recipients lack coordination and consistency, both in systematising initial information and in receiving reports on projects already implemented. The Regional Office for International Cooperation is, in perspective, precisely the kind of tool through which the efforts of both communities and the oblast authorities will complement one another. That is why we are directing our efforts towards establishing and coordinating all those efforts that will make Kyiv Oblast safer, more comfortable and more developed, that is, to fulfil all the tasks and priorities defined as key and top priority,” said Oleksandr Vakhovskyi.

We hope there will be many more such meetings. After all, only through joint efforts can we meet the needs of the population of Kyiv Oblast!