The Ministry for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine (MinRegion) announced plans to deepen cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to provide housing for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and to support communities during one of its first meetings with an international partner.
Scaling housing solutions and affordable rent
MinRegion and the IOM will explore the possibility of scaling housing solutions that the organisation has already trialled in nine pilot communities. This includes renovating ageing housing stock and installing modular housing, as well as mechanisms for affordable rental within a new social housing system.
The IOM confirmed its readiness to provide the ministry with technical support to implement these solutions. “Housing for displaced people is one of the most complex issues. We want to address it through a range of support mechanisms, including a new social housing system that will provide affordable rent for IDPs. At the same time, integration happens at the community level, so we see cooperation with the IOM as a way to give communities ready-made solutions for building housing and data that will help them understand how many people they will host and what those people need,” emphasised the Minister for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine, Vitaliy Bezgin.
Assessing community needs and preparing for winter
The parties agreed to carry out assessments of the needs of communities hosting internally displaced persons so that priorities for additional support can be determined based on data. Such assessments should help clarify the volume of resources required and the priority areas for assistance.
The statement also mentioned preparations for potential consequences of further attacks on the energy system and MinRegion’s requests to equip transit centres and temporary accommodation for those evacuated from frontline areas. The parties will seek support for the “The State Is Near” programmes.
Developing a regional development geographic information system
The ministry and the IOM plan to develop a regional development geographic information system to integrate data, analytics and digital tools for a more accurate understanding of community problems and more effective resource allocation. The statement named several components that should be part of the digital ecosystem.
The list of mentioned components includes:
- a regional development geographic information system,
- the DREAM system,
- the urban planning cadastre.
The ministry’s statement did not specify concrete implementation timelines, the amount of funding, the procedure for obtaining services or whether documents can be submitted online.
