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Home , Lysychansk, Markivka, Milove, Shchastia, Sievierodonetsk

General Coordination Meeting – (Luhanska Oblast) 23 February 2017

Discussion Action Points/Decisions 1. Update on humanitarian situation

Action points from the previous General Coordination Meetings (GCMs): - UNOCHA disseminated among the partners the English version (unofficial translation) of the Cabinet of Ministers of (CMU) Order №8-R on the Action Plan for the implementation of certain principles of the domestic policy regarding certain areas of and Oblasts temporarily outside the control of the . - UNOCHA shared the contact details of the Representatives of Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons (MTOT and IPDs) for Luhanska oblast with the partners. - The issue of GCMs to be held at the raions’ level is still under discussion with Luhanska Oblast Military-Civil Administration (LOMCA).

Head of OCHA Field Offices in , and Sievierodonetsk informed the partners on the recent meeting with LOMCA on the issues of humanitarian situation and coordination of partners’ activities within the oblast. Authorities have renewed all three lines from Heating and Power Plant ensuring electricity supply to the locations in Government-Controlled Areas (GCAs) of the oblast. Previously only one line used to be operational. In addition, LOMCA pays attention of the partners providing winterization support to the settlements facing lack of gas supply.  LOMCA in cooperation with SES will choose the LOMCA considers establishing emergency stocks with construction materials, food, fuel and water at SES locations for emergency stocks at SES units and units within three raions along the “contact line”. The specific locations will be clarified later. In this regard inform partners through OCHA. authorities ask humanitarian organizations to support filling the stock with aforementioned items. The oblast authorities are looking forward to receiving information on the planned and launched projects in the oblast. It is required that partners sign the agreements and memorandums with LOMCA beforehand. It also concerns organizations acting under the Law of Ukraine “On International Technical Support”. Oblast authorities have developed the Activity Matrix and asked OCHA’s support with its finalization. In future LOMCA will share this Matrix with partners asking to fill it in. Also, Oblast authorities intend to request partners for the information of their funding for Luhanska oblast. As humanitarian organizations are transparent in its actions, LOMCA expects no problems on information sharing. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that technical challenges may arise because some projects may cover more than one oblast and it is difficult to get aside the funding presumed for Luhanska oblast or specific raions. Also, LOMCA urges humanitarian partners to share the information on the projects aimed at repair and rehabilitation of social institutions (schools, hospitals, kindergartens, etc.). The main purpose of such an action is to avoid the duplication of funding as the Government also allocates funds for repair of such United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) | Ukraine Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org

Discussion Action Points/Decisions institutions. Deputy Head of State Emergency Service in Luhanska Oblast (SES) informed that Entry-Exit Crossing Point (EECP) remains closed. Thanks to WFP support, in case EECP opens, there will be no need in food for civilians crossing it.

Deputy Head of SES expressed its concern that there is no constant first-aid point at EECP . The ambulance is not present there on a regular basis. In this regard, National Civil-Military Coordination Adviser informed that the International Foundation “International Medical Care” (IMC) Ukraine discusses with the relevant stakeholders the installment of a medical point on the GCA of EECP Stanytsia Luhanska. It is expected that this issue will be solved soon.

SES supports residents of Krymske (Novoaidarskyi raion) with transportation to every Thursday as there is no public transport in the village due to bad road condition.  Partners agreed to compile a list of settlements by UNHCR suggested compiling a list of settlements in the “grey zone” and updating it on a regular basis. common efforts: OCHA will send the list, previously UNHCR carried out a village assessment in GCAs of Luhanska oblast in 2016. The information consists of provided by SES, to all partners. OCHA will provide the number of population, main concerns and contact details. The information can be shared upon the technical support and coordination if needed. request. Partners agreed on the importance of sharing information on the needs and access issues in different locations. Previously SES had provided the list of settlements in GCA of Luhanska oblast with the number of households (HHs) that are in need of fuel. This data could also be used by partners. UNOCHA and Sub-national Shelter/NFI Cluster have this list.  OCHA will refer the need on deep seeking mine According to the Deputy Head of SES, de-mining activities become operational on a wider scale and all detectors to Mine-Action Sub-cluster settlements in Luhanska oblast will be inspected soon. More pyrotechnics have arrived to the area from other oblasts to support de-mining actions. The main issue is the absence of deep seeking mine detectors. He also underlined the necessity of sharing information received from people concerning suspicious objects that could be a mine, UXO etc. SES requested partners identifying such cases to provide SES with this information. In addition, OCHA asked the partners to share information on people being in need of humanitarian assistance regardless of their area of coverage.  SES will make a picture of its tent in Stanytsia Luhanska and share with OCHA for further There was a concern on accommodation available in Stanytsia Luhanska for people who could not cross dissemination among the partners. Partners will the EECP in time. Reportedly, people (the number was not clarified) cannot find an accessible inform the population on the available accommodation accommodation in the settlement in order to spend the night there. The Deputy Head of SES informed in the tent at SES’s Unit in Stanytsia Luhanska. that at Stanychno-Luhanskyi SES Unit there is a tent with folding beds and bed linen in it open 24/7.  SES will provide OCHA with the exact number of the People, who could not cross the EECP and do not have an accommodation, can stay there. containers and the names of the concrete settlements which require these containers. The Deputy Head of SES addressed to the partners the need of a number of settlements in Luhanska  OCHA will address WASH Cluster on the need of oblast (GCA) in ten-liter containers. containers for settlements upon the receipt of the relevant detailed information from SES. The Representatives of the MTOT and IDPs for Luhanska oblast are operating in Lysychansk. However, it

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Discussion Action Points/Decisions is expected that the Office in Sievierodonetsk will be opened soon.

2. Health and Nutrition

Health Cluster Focal Point for Luhanska oblast highlighted that many INGOs operating in the area are facing financial difficulties. This is because they are still waiting for funding. URCS Mobile medical units will renew its operations in the oblast. The Red Cross also considers the possibility of opening three more mobile units. A new Health Cluster Coordinator and National Manager on Humanitarian Programs will start working since the beginning of March 2017. WHO received medical kits including surgical items. These will be distributed to GCA and NGCA equally. The rest of the kits – pediatric and trans visional – are to be delivered later. The Head of URCS Regional Office for Luhanska Oblast reminded that the patronage service had been closed in the oblast. Eight thousand of bedridden people in Luhanska oblast (GCA) are left without support that patronage sisters used to provide before.

3. Protection

UNHCR met with the Head of Oschadbank in Luhanska oblast on IDPs-pensioners’ verification process. Reportedly, pensioners should undertake the verification process in Oshchadbank on a biannual basis if there is a photo in their Pension ID/ Bank card and once in three months if there is no photo. Nevertheless, the mechanism is still unclear. It is worth mentioning that people should pass bank verification only in that raion, where they were registered as IDPs. There is no mechanism of passing the verification process by low mobile or immobile persons. The Bank cannot pass the bank card of a bedridden pensioner to his/ her relatives. The only way-out is to provide the relatives of immobile pensioner with an authorization to withdraw cash by proxy. The overall implication of such verifications will result in the influx of pensioners-IDPs in Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk, Stanytsia Luhanska (Stanychno-Luhanskyi raion), (Milovskyi raion), (Markivskyi raion). Oshchadbank informed UNHCR on the lack of ATMs in the oblast as two hundred ATMs are left in Non- Government Controlled Area (NGCA). They have not been replaced. Moreover, there is a cash withdrawal limit in almost all the ATMs within the oblast. Usually a person can withdraw no more than two-three thousand UAH per day.

Protection Cluster Focal Point informed that the system of preferential queues at EECP Stanytsia Luhanska does not work properly. Per Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) Order №415 vulnerable categories of people such as pregnant women, people over seventy years old, disabled persons in categories I and II, and people with urgent matters (funerals, serious illness) are entitled for preferential crossing of the EECPs. According to UNHCR it is almost impossible to choose among elderlies crossing the EECP the most vulnerable as the most of them are over seventy years old. On behalf of the residents of Krymske (Novoaidarskyi raion) UNHCR addressed on the referral to WASH Cluster partners to consider the possibility of drilling five-six water wells so that people could have proper access to portable

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Discussion Action Points/Decisions water. There is a humanitarian organization that will cover the request.

As the part of the contingency plan, UNHCR intends to provide SES Units in Stanychno-Luhanskyi, Novoaidarskyi and Popasnianskyi raions with emergency tarpaulin. Also, UNHCR has emergency kits consisting of bed linen, kitchen sets, towel, slipping bag. These kits can be provided to people whose houses are seriously affected and they are forced to change the place of residence. UNHCR provides the kits either by themselves or through the local authorities on the prior request.

There is no transportation from Lobacheve (Stanychno-Luhanskyi raion) to other settlements of GCA available. The population of the village is about 195 persons, mostly elderly. They also ask for a dentist’s visits.

The Head of OCHA FO asked partners to share information on people in need of support. She reminded the referrals’ mechanism to partners. It is expected that Clusters and their Focal Points will provide more specific feedback in time. Also, OCHA reminded humanitarian partners providing technical support, i.e. house recovery, provision of medical support, food supplies, on the importance of coordinating with each other.

Contact persons: Ms. Yanna Thay, Head of OCHA FOs in Kramatorsk, Mariupol and Sievierodonetsk, phone +380503182008, e-mail – [email protected] Ms. Tagui Melkumyan, Field Coordination Consultant, UNOCHA Field Office in Sievierodonetsk, phone +380503824540, e-mail – [email protected]

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