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Since the start of the pandemic, more than 80% of households have lost income and in more than 40% of families, at least one family member has lost his job.
United Nations
PAccording to UN forecasts, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ukraine may face the worst recession in a decade, as a result of which more than 9 million people will find themselves on the brink of poverty. This is indicated in an overview of the humanitarian situation in Ukraine presented by the UN.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 80% of households have lost income and in more than 40% of families, at least one family member has lost a job. Although there is still no separate data for eastern Ukraine, the socio-economic impact of this recession on the conflict-affected region is likely to be devastating. “, – says the message.
The proportion of households with debt is also increasing: 15% in September against 11% at the beginning of the pandemic.
The situation in the Lugansk region, in the controlled and non-government controlled territories, is of particular concern. In this region, 58% of families so far have reported using negative coping mechanisms to meet their basic needs, compared to 49% in early 2020.
In October, in controlled territories, the workload of beds for COVID-19 patients in pivotal hospitals exceeded 70%. Given the acceleration of the pandemic in the region, the government halted the work of the single checkpoint in the Lugansk region, “Stanitsa Luhanska”, from October 15 to November 15.
In the occupied part of Lugansk province, both urban and rural areas reported shortages of essential drugs, particularly antibiotics and antivirals. The government agency that administers social benefits, Oschadbank, has extended expired bank cards of internally displaced persons (IDP) until January 1, 2021. Due to access restrictions, retirees from uncontrolled Donbass territories cannot reach controlled territory to receive reissued bank cards. The bank reportedly reissued at least 200,000 bank cards that have yet to be received by their holders, likely due to the quarantine of movement across the “demarcation line.” At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, ORDLO retirees, who were required to register as temporarily displaced persons to receive a pension, must travel to government-controlled territory every 60 days to undergo verification. This requirement was temporarily suspended during the adaptive quarantine period in Ukraine and one month after its termination.
In general, the UN observes the deterioration of the epidemiological situation in Ukraine. The number of cases of coronavirus disease is doubling every five weeks in the country as a whole and every three weeks in eastern Ukraine (from 4,600 cases at the end of September to more than 14,000 at the end of October).
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