Mykolayivka, Donetsk Oblast, 21 September 2018 – Over 17,000 residents of the Mykolayivska amalgamated hromada in the Donetsk Oblast will have access to some 170 administrative and social services due to the rehabilitated Administrative and Social Service Centre in Mykolayivka city, Donetsk Oblast.

The Mykolayivka Administrative and Social Service Centre (ASC) has been overhauled under the joint UNDP-UN Women “Restoration of Governance  in Crisis-Affected Communities of Ukraine” project, funded by the European Union as part of the Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme. 

“UNDP and its partners have supported 13 Administrative Service Centres so far in eastern Ukraine. In total, since 2017, these Centres have already served some 60,000 people in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts,” said Janthomas Hiemstra, UNDP Ukraine Country Director.

With EU grant support, the centre was overhauled and provided with furniture and equipment, and 37 new jobs were created. The reception, visitors’ waiting zone, children’s area, data server room and staff toilets were equipped. The Centre has also been equipped for persons with disabilities, with a ramp at the main entrance and a lift inside the building. The total project cost was around USD 489,000.

“This Centre in Mykolayivka will bring quality European standard services closer to community residents, right into their neighbourhood. We hope that this will take the work of the authorities to a new level, increasing their proximity and openness to, and their convenience for, the citizens they serve,” Hiemstra added.

The Centre will provide 95 administrative and 73 social services to over 17,000 community residents. Mykolayivska hromada was formed from Mykolayivka town and 10 villages in 2016. Previously, in summer 2014 the town and its residents suffered artillery shelling that damaged residential, social and economic infrastructure. However, the area is now recovering strongly. 

“Support for decentralization has been a top priority for the European Union in Ukraine, including in the conflict-affected Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts,” stated Frederik Coene, Head of Operation Section for Local governance, social services and agriculture, at the EU Delegation to Ukraine.

“I'm pleased to see that Mykolayivska hromada is recovering and developing despite the fact that it suffered in 2014 in the armed conflict. This Centre is now one of the symbols of success of the decentralisation process in the Donetsk Oblast,” he added.

The EU and UNDP held a series of training and study visits within and outside Ukraine for the Centre’s staff members to help improve their working skills and the quality of services they provide.