March 28, 2023 – Today, the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR and the Ternopil State Regional Administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which defines joint areas of cooperation aimed at supporting internally displaced people in the region.
Since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the region has hosted a large number of internally displaced people (IDPs) who were forced to flee their homes due to the war. Ternopil Oblast currently hosts around 80,000 IDPs, though it has hosted some 156,000 at the peak of displacement. The Oblast Administration is committed to inclusion and prioritises the integration of the IDPs, and their access to the job market, local schools and affordable housing in the region.
In support of this vision, UNHCR and its local NGO partners working in the region provide IDPs with psychosocial support and legal assistance to recover and renew documents that prove one’s identity and right to access services and the labour market, and support with accommodation and non-food items. In addition, social protection centres receive assistance to build their capacity to be able to register IDPs. This assistance includes training, the creation of new jobs and professional re-training. UNHCR provided Ternopil region with two powerful (200/250KVA) generators to meet the needs of the population during the cold winter period and during black outs.
In 2023, UNHCR will prioritise solutions-oriented programming, including livelihoods pilot and IDP integration support. The agency will continue to carry out collective centres’ refurbishment, as well as to provide support to creating child-safe spaces in collective centres. Further support to Departments of Social Protection will remain an important part of the work. UNHCR also plans to launch a program that will provide cash for rent to vulnerable IDPs seeking private rental accommodation.
UNHCR Representative in Ukraine, Karolina Lindholm Billing, praised the cooperation with the Ternopil State Regional Administration during the signing ceremony, said: “I am very grateful for the effective and efficient cooperation with the Ternopil State Regional Administration, which enables UNHCR to support IDPs in need who live in the oblast. UNHCR shares the Administration’s vision of inclusion and integration, and of welcoming the IDPs as full-fledged members of the community. Our programs this year will also focus more on assistance and services that support longer-term protection and durable solutions needs of IDPs and other war-affected persons, to enable their physical and psychological recovery from this devastating war.”
Volodymyr Trush noted that the signing of the memorandum is another step towards strengthening the sustainable partnership. “We have same goal: to provide help in adaptation and integration of internally displaced persons into Ternopil community. There are concretely defined goals and the experience of already implemented projects. We feel confident in our abilities together with such a strong partner as UNHCR. And we are moving towards it”.
Since March 2022, UNHCR together with its local NGO partners (Rokada, Right to Protection, Crimea SOS and SSS) have assisted some 90,000 IDPs in Ternopil oblast. This includes 27,577 non-food items, like mattresses, blankets, bed linen, pillows, towels, bedlinen sets, as well as household appliances like vacuum cleaners, fridges, dishwashing machines, microwaves, and heating appliances. Also, 21,760 IDPs living in the oblast have received multi-purpose cash assistance, and two large-capacity generators (200 KVA+) have been provided to support the running of critical civilian facilities. Across Ukraine in 2022, UNHCR provided humanitarian assistance and services to more than 4.32 million people impacted by the war. In the first two months in 2023, UNHCR has so far assisted nearly 600,000, bringing the total number of people reached through UNHCR’s programmes to 4.9 million.
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