01.04.2022
Rapid support for Ukraine
Electricity generators, water tanks, tents, sleeping bags and beds: people in Ukraine receive urgently needed items from a logistics centre on the Polish border. A ‘digital airlift’ also provides help to solve technical problems.
Together with its commissioning parties, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is currently realigning 15 existing projects in Ukraine. Municipalities will receive power generators to operate soup kitchens or hospitals, for example. GIZ is also providing mobile light towers, mini-diggers, chainsaws and cutting machines, which municipalities can use to clear roads and thereby secure the supply of provisions. Ukrainian communities report what they need to provide for the population.
In total, the rapid support provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union amounts to EUR 35.2 million.
GIZ in Ukraine
Logistics centre in Poland for Ukrainian municipalities
GIZ’s network, which it has built up steadily over the years, ensures that the assistance gets to where it is needed. Since 2016, it has been strengthening the self-government of Ukrainian municipalities – and is continuing to support them during the war. People across Ukraine are looking for places where they will be safe. This is a particular challenge for the cities and municipalities that are taking care of residents and internally displaced persons. On behalf of BMZ, the EU and Denmark, GIZ has therefore set up a logistics centre in Poland and plans to supply hundreds of Ukrainian communities from there. For example with power generators, water tanks, tents, sleeping bags and camp beds.
In eastern Ukraine, too, GIZ is making use of structures that it has built up in recent years. In this way, it can also provide psychosocial support in hard-to-reach areas. At hubs such as train stations, community centres or schools, psychologists from partner organisations help displaced people to deal with their traumatic experiences.
In the border regions with Poland and Romania, a particularly large number of people are seeking refuge from the war. Here, GIZ will equip vocational school dormitories with 5,500 additional beds in order to provide emergency accommodation for more people.
Digital knowledge transfer from all over the world
At the same time, GIZ is setting up a digital airlift to promote innovation and share knowledge. Developers and engineers in Ukraine can, for example, send photos of broken components to a virtual network and receive tips on how to repair the items – from supporters worldwide who develop and advise on construction plans. GIZ is also organising minibuses and trucks in Ukraine that will be kitted out with IT equipment, satellite-based internet connections, 3D printers, wood and metal milling machines and photovoltaic systems and can then serve as mobile workshops. In this way, developers and engineers can bridge gaps in the supply chain, for example by producing medical materials or components for use in accommodation or sanitation systems.
GIZ also organised the transport of second-hand donated fire service equipment from Germany to Ukraine. This came, among others, from the member fire services of the German Fire Services Association (DFV), which collected donations in kind such as protective equipment, tools and fire extinguishers. In a further step, GIZ procured additional firefighting equipment and materials such as special foam extinguishing agents in Ukraine.