Supporting fire services and disaster management in Ukraine

Context

Since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, large parts of the infrastructure for disaster management, fire services and rescue services have been destroyed. At the same time, the number of deployments for the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS) has increased significantly.

Municipal emergency management structures are underdeveloped. In addition, many of the municipal structures established as part of decentralisation efforts have come to a standstill since the beginning of the war. There is a lack of coordination between municipal and state actors on communication, roles and mandates.

The proportion of female staff among DSNS emergency responders is low. The working conditions, for example with regard to protective clothing, training courses and sanitary facilities, are not adequately adapted to the needs of women. In future, DSNS will be required to assign more female staff to essential functions, including operational roles.

Overall, national and municipal emergency management institutions in Ukraine are currently not sufficiently able to provide the population with basic civil protection services.

Objective

The institutional and infrastructural conditions required for a functioning national and municipal emergency management system are improved in order to ensure the protection of the Ukrainian population.

Approach

The project supports national and municipal emergency management structures in dealing with disaster risks and rebuilding destroyed basic infrastructure, as well as in increasing operational efficiency and the range of operational scenarios. It strengthens institutional, technical and expert skills, for example in the use of equipment or through technical and procedural advisory services.

The project consistently examines opportunities for approaches that are gender-responsive (to improve working conditions for female staff) and gender-transformative (to promote a greater degree of social acceptance regarding the employment of female emergency responders and existing job profiles in disaster management).

Last update: April 2024