Improving emergency management in the Donetsk region (completed)

Project description

Title: Strengthening state and municipal emergency management in eastern Ukraine
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Ukraine
Partner: Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK)
Lead executing agency: State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS)
Overall term: 2020 to 2022

Context

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS) is responsible for protecting and providing emergency services to Ukraine’s 42 million citizens. With a mere 40,000 rescue workers, however, the centrally organised service is overstretched. This has often meant that the local units were unable to react quickly enough to situations such as fires or traffic accidents, thus resulting in large numbers of casualties. In addition, the rescue workers themselves were at risk due to a lack of adequate protective equipment.

The training content of municipal and state emergency service personnel was not coordinated. As part of its decentralisation reform, the Ukrainian Government has therefore called on the municipalities to set up new structures for emergency management, including local and volunteer fire departments as well as security centres. These innovations are particularly relevant in eastern Ukraine, where the situation is especially problematic due to the ongoing hostilities.

Objective

The capabilities of the state and municipal emergency management structures are strengthened. The emergency service personnel in the government-controlled part of the Donetsk region are able to perform rescue work more effectively in the case of emergencies such as fires or traffic accidents.

Approach

The project is helping to design an efficient training system for firefighters, which benefits both the emergency service personnel and the population. The training of municipal and state personnel is standardised. This not only guarantees clear rules, but also helps to improve the coordination of responsibilities and collaboration between DSNS units and municipal services. This leads to greater efficiency in joint rescue operations.

In addition, the project is conducting information campaigns to attract new staff to units in the municipalities and raise public awareness of the risks of household accidents and fires.

Last updated: August 2021