Ukraine prepares to launch eLife program to support displaced persons

A new state program called eLife is being developed in Ukraine, which should be a response to the numerous challenges faced by internally displaced persons (IDPs), as well as promote the reintegration of temporarily occupied territories. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Ryabykin, Ukrinform reports.

The main task of the program will be to provide displaced persons with housing. At the same time, eLife is not limited to housing issues - the document also provides for ensuring access to educational, medical and social services, as well as stimulating entrepreneurial activity of displaced persons in their new place of residence.

According to Oleksiy Ryabikin, the developers of the program specifically focused on the need to preserve the local identity of citizens who were forced to leave temporarily occupied territories. This approach should help displaced persons integrate into new communities, while maintaining their own cultural identity.

The official presentation of the eLife program will take place after it is supported by the President of Ukraine and all stakeholders involved. Officials emphasize that the success of the program will directly depend on the quality of interaction between the authorities and international partners.

Oleksiy Ryabykin also announced statistics: since 2014, about 19% of the territory of Ukraine has remained temporarily occupied, as a result of which more than 2.8 million citizens have been forced to move to government-controlled territories. However, the data on the total number of IDPs differ significantly: according to the Ministry of Social Policy, their number is 4.6 million, while the International Organization for Migration cites the figure of 3.5 million.

Given this discrepancy, the government is paying special attention to updating the registers of displaced persons. According to Ryabikin, the Ministry of Community Development, together with the Ministry of Social Policy and the Ministry of Digital Affairs, is working on updating the data to form an effective state policy to support IDPs based on reliable information.

Recall that in early February, President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the government to create a "people-friendly" program to support displaced persons. Commenting on the initiative of the head of state, the head of the relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Olena Shulyak, emphasized that the situation with access to housing for IDPs can currently be described in one word - "hopelessness", which once again emphasizes the importance and relevance of the launch of the "eLife" program.