Corinne Fleischer: Vinnytsia Is the First City to Work Out the Mechanism of Payments Under the UN Food Program So Quickly

For five days now, Vinnytsia has been applying for financial aid provided by the UN World Food Program in Ukraine. During this time, seven thousand migrants received funds. On April 7, Mayor Serhii Morhunov together with UN representatives visited the Transparent Office, where this assistance is being processed. Corinne Fleischer, UNDP Emergency Coordinator for Ukraine and neighboring countries, said Vinnytsia was the first city to work out the mechanism so quickly. And the head of the UN World Food Program Office in Vinnytsia Pedro Matos said that he was impressed by the effective work of the team.

The food program of the UN mission in Ukraine started operating in Vinnytsia in early April. Citizens who are registered as internally displaced persons (IDPs) with the social security authorities and have received the appropriate qr code can receive benefits, as well as those who apply for IDP registration. The amount of assistance is UAH 2,220 per month per person. https://cutt.ly/IFi4Rb3

Mayor Serhii Morhunov said that in Vinnytsia, during the five days of the UN mission's food program, almost 7,000 people who had moved to Vinnytsia from combat zones had received assistance. "Thanks to the effectively established system of providing administrative and social services in Vinnytsia, we were able to help so many people as quickly as possible in such a short period of time," says Serhii Morhunov. "Thank you to the UN for the opportunity. It is important to work out such an algorithm of interaction in all territorial communities of Vinnytsia region. It is also extremely important that we agree to expand our cooperation. The World Food Program is ready to provide financial support to other low-income groups in need. As for the food supply of our hospitals, this UN organization can provide appropriate nutrition assistance to patients."

The Mayor also spoke about the importance of cooperation with international organizations in the field of humanitarian aid: "We are very serious about any cooperation with international organizations. After all, if there is such an opportunity, help should be attracted, not only for internally displaced persons, but also for all Vinnytsia residents who need it. We are waiting for food assistance from the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We work with the UNICEF International Organization to support large families. In the future, we will expand opportunities for humanitarian cooperation with various organizations."

Corinne Fleischer, UN Resident Coordinator for Ukraine and neighboring countries, visited the Transparent Assistance Office: “Vinnytsia is the first city to work out the payment mechanism so quickly and efficiently and the first city in Ukraine to has already received qr codes and distributed them among migrants. I am sincerely grateful that we found a common algorithm for cooperation and worked out the system."

Pedro Matos, Head of the UN World Food Program Office in Vinnytsia, also noted the effective work: "Thank you for the work of your entire team. You are the first city to start working on the program so quickly, it's impressive. You took on a very important task and did everything very quickly. When I saw the workers, I immediately believed that they would succeed."

Samir Vanmali, Head of the United Nations World Food Program Office in Ukraine, also mentioned new areas of possible cooperation. "We are very glad that we found a common language together and built an algorithm for cooperation. We are ready to cooperate on any programs to support Ukrainians."