Towards an Inclusive Ukrainian Recovery
Why donors should continue to help Ukraine include its most vulnerable populations in its recovery plans
Strong democracies are inclusive democracies. As the international community considers how best to support Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction, we must prioritize an inclusive approach and foster an environment where social cohesion, human security, human rights, and gender equality are at the center.
At USAID we are laser focused on up-scaling initiatives that will ensure inclusive resource allocation and decision-making for Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery.
Next week, on June 11–12, Germany and Ukraine are co-hosting the third annual Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2024). Dozens of heads of state and leaders in business and government from around the globe will be meeting in Berlin to support Ukraine’s recovery and identify key ways to catalyze partnerships, investment, and priorities for this critical undertaking.
USAID is an active participant in this conference and has been since the first URC conference in Lugano, Switzerland in 2022. We believe this will be a pivotal opportunity for donor nations to identify actionable paths forward for the inclusive recovery, reconstruction, reform, and modernization of Ukraine.
According to the United Nations, more than 14 million people in Ukraine — nearly 40% of the entire population — can be considered “vulnerable.”
Those most vulnerable include women, children, seniors, and marginalized groups, such as people living with HIV/AIDS, the Roma, and LGBTQI+ communities. In addition, the UN estimates that Russia’s war has resulted in more than 3.4 million internally displaced people within Ukraine.
With the large-scale mobilization of men into the military, women have stepped up to fill in roles that were not traditionally open to them — taking jobs in factories and mines, opening businesses, and volunteering for the frontlines. Their voice must be included in discussions about the future. USAID continues to be committed to the Women, Peace and Security agenda, which ensures women are involved in decision making — during conflict and during recovery.
With this understanding, USAID has supported women in Ukraine who have provided mental health care to veterans, grown crops to increase grain production, and monitored the quality of natural gas — ensuring the efficiency of its transportation across Ukraine.
Ukraine’s resilience throughout Russia’s war of aggression is ensured by these brave women who continue to do their work despite the risks of constant shelling, unexploded munitions, bombing raids, and the movement of Russia’s military units.
Women will be critical in ensuring the practical solutions to strengthen existing achievements in gender equality, including in politics and decision-making, as well as efficient approaches to ensure the inclusive recovery of Ukraine’s future.
Ukrainian Roma have also significantly contributed to the defense of Ukraine. About a quarter of Ukrainian Roma surveyed by the Roma Foundation for Europe reported that they had family members serving in the military, of which one-third were volunteers. Yet, many Ukrainian Roma lack official citizenship documentation, which presents a barrier to accessing humanitarian assistance and compensation for property damage.
USAID is providing the necessary support to overcome these barriers through the Public Advice Centers supported by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (UHHRU), as well as Community Justice Centers through the Justice for All (J4A) program. Through both of these initiatives citizens are able to access legal advice, including property ownership documentation.
Access to free legal aid and improved access to personal documents for Ukrainian Roma, as well as enhanced participation of the Roma community and Roma civil society organizations in the recovery process, will help support their fundamental rights as members of Ukrainian society.
More than two years of war has forced waves of changes onto the lives of the Ukrainian people. As a result, the number of vulnerable populations — those who have lost their health, their limbs, and the opportunities they had before the full-scale invasion — has sky-rocketed.
With an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers returning from the battlefield with amputations and prosthetic limbs, Ukraine will have to rebuild with accessibility in mind. The Ukrainian government projects that recovery will also need to include mental health and rehabilitation support for the more than 5 million veterans and family members with both visible and invisible scars.
The Government of Ukraine plans to include everyone who stood up to defend the country or suffered from Russia’s aggression in the political and social life after the war.
Recognizing the intersecting needs and vulnerabilities of women veterans, the National Democratic Institute, through USAID’s Responsive and Accountable Politics Program, is supporting the Women Veterans Movement (WVM). This initiative advances their policy advocacy at both the national and local levels, as well as their inclusion into political party platforms.
Ukraine’s many friends, along with a range of international financial institutions, will be involved in shaping Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction. While supporting Ukraine’s own vision for building back better, the global community cannot lose sight of the human face at the center of it all. Reconstruction and recovery must be more than replacing bricks and mortar.
At USAID, we believe this means that Ukraine — along with ourselves and other international partners — must ensure that diverse and underrepresented populations are included from the start and throughout the entire recovery process.
At the Berlin Recovery Conference, USAID will be signing several agreements with Ukraine’s government, the United Nations, and other donors. These agreements will lay the groundwork for Ukraine’s inclusive recovery, provide a focus on small and medium enterprises as a key driver of economic recovery, and prioritize training for Ukrainians to build a prosperous future.
We are also committing to join the Government and civil society of Ukraine in their efforts for a gender-responsive and inclusive recovery to support gender equality and women’s access to rights, representation, and resources when making decisions on how to contribute to Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.
This will place the needs of displaced women, women returnees, disabled women, women veterans, rural women and LGBTIQ+ persons, and women’s participation in decision-making, at the forefront.
These are efforts that USAID and its Ukrainian partners are already investing in. More than 31,000 women, youth, internally displaced persons, and persons with disabilities are among the over 68,000 students and individuals USAID’s workforce development assistance has reached since 2022.
USAID/Ukraine also implements a range of other interventions specifically to address gender disparities which limit the inclusion of women and girls in the recovery process. These include: providing immediate response and judicial support for victims of trafficking and gender-based violence, particularly conflict-related sexual violence; hosting the Ukrainian Women Entrepreneurs Hub, a community of business owners providing online training, coaching, and registration guidance; and supporting Ukrainian unity campaigns which specifically focus on women’s contributions to social resilience.
The inclusion of marginalized groups in recovery planning is essential. As all of Ukraine fights for its future, it is crucial that all of Ukraine has access to the recovery they so bravely fought for.
