The German federal government is allocating 5 million euros to support a project to repair war-damaged schools in Ukraine, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine reports.
“The UNDP-coordinated project will promote sustainability and green recovery through the repair and modernization of damaged educational institutions in war-affected territories as part of the UNDP Resilience and Recovery Programme. The first sites where repairs will be funded were selected from a list of 74 schools located in 12 cities that are in urgent need of repair work. The list was compiled by the Ministry of Education of Ukraine”, – stated in the message.
The financial contribution of the German government will be distributed among 12 schools in five regions – Zaporizhzhia, Mykolayiv, Rivne, Sumy and Chernihiv. Thus, more than 3 thousand students will be able to resume their education.
In the course of repair work, the Eurocode 8 standard, which applies to the design and construction of structures and other construction work in seismic areas, will be applied. There will also be a unified approach to the repair and modernization of existing buildings. The use of hazardous building materials (e.g., asbestos, sealants containing persistent organic pollutants) will be prohibited, the use of environmentally friendly furniture and equipment will be encouraged (e.g., LED lights instead of fluorescent lamps containing mercury). In addition, a key part of the initial design task and part of the requirements for the selection of the design team and developers will be the criteria of architectural accessibility.
“The UNDP team has already begun inspecting each building and assessing specific rehabilitation needs. The accelerated procurement procedure will allow identifying a group of companies to carry out repairs that will be carried out in full compliance with national legislation and Eurocode 8 standards, while respecting Build Back Better principles,” said UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine Jaco Silje, noting that institutions that have suffered minor or partial damage will be repaired and modernized.
German Ambassador to Ukraine Anka Feldhusen said it is important to invest in Ukraine’s future and in the sustainability of its children and teachers.
“Eventually these children will live in this great country and rebuild it for the better. But they need schools to teach them and teachers to show them the way. We also need to make sure that school buildings are safe places to learn in terms of environmental standards,” she stressed.
