Through the Millennium Development Goals, the world Is addressing the many dimensions of human development, including the halving by 2015 of the proportion of people living in extreme poverty. Developing countries are working to create their own national poverty eradication strategies based on local needs and priorities. UNDP advocates for these nationally-owned solutions and helps ensure their effectiveness. We sponsor innovative pilot projects; connect countries to global best practices and resources; promote the role of women in development; and bring governments, civil society and outside funders together to coordinate their efforts.

What is the situation in Ukraine?

In Ukraine, as a country in transition, the everyday lives of many ordinary people have been suddenly disrupted by a near complete overhaul of society and economy in the past decade. This disruption is particularly felt in those who, only a dozen years earlier, had felt complete social and financial security only to have these suddenly disappear at independence in 1991. Additionally, where people had once been taken care of by the state, they are now left to care for themselves in a suddenly volatile and unstable environment, with the additional burden of lack of reliable access to the resources and finances needed to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

Current estimations show that 26.7% of the Ukrainian population can be categorized as poor, and 14.7% as extremely poor. Additionally, according to a recent survey conducted by the International Labour Organization in cooperation with UNDP, 46.8% of the population felt that they were poor, and an additional 36.9% identified themselves as “not well off.” Hence, the Government of Ukraine has identified the alleviation of poverty as a key issue in its development plans.

What are the focal areas of UNDP Ukraine in poverty?

As the main player on an international platform for poverty alleviation, UNDP has been working on the different dimensions of poverty. In Ukraine, UNDP is supporting the Government’s decision to place poverty alleviation at the top of its reform agenda. During the next five years, UNDP will emphasize a strategic approach that promotes human development through sustainable and equitable growth, and maintains human security in areas where advances in human development are being threatened.

As poverty alleviation is a multilateral challenge that requires a multilateral response, UNDP has three major areas of focus. First, UNDP is focusing on the creation and development of pro-poor national and sectorial policies to include human development within the decision-making structure. Second, revitalization and revival of rural and small town areas that have suffered greatly as a result of the transitional period is an essential part of poverty reduction. Finally, employment generation is an essential ingredient of the effort to reduce poverty, through various interventions such as supporting the development of training programs and labour mobility, the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and the development of microfinance institutions and credit unions to assist in the creation of such SMEs.

What is the future outlook for Ukraine?

One of the Millennium Summit Goals outlined in 1999 is to halve the proportion of people in extreme poverty by 2015, and poverty alleviation is a complex and multilateral challenge that remains the primary focus of UNDP in Ukraine. The year 2000 finally brought growth of about 3.5% in the economy, and higher in 2001, and there are clear signs of growing wealth in Kyiv, however, the huge gap between the wealthy and the poor is continuing to expand. The challenge now for policy makers is to sustain this remarkable economic growth while giving the poor access to the opportunities of the booming market economy.