The Government has developed an Action Plan for 2023-2024 to implement the National Strategy for Creating a Barrier-Free Environment in Ukraine. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during a meeting of the Barrier-Free Environment Council with the participation of First Lady Olena Zelenska.
The participants analyzed information on the implementation of the Strategy in previous years, as well as flagship projects of the ministries and approved the Plan for the next two years.
"The full-scale war has become a challenge for us in a number of areas. This includes building a barrier-free environment. But despite the war, we continue to implement the National Strategy for Creating a Barrier-Free Environment in Ukraine initiated by Olena Zelenska. We have to synchronize the strategy with the current realities," the Head of Government noted.
The Prime Minister emphasized that accessibility had become a cross-cutting principle of the Government and each minister. According to Denys Shmyhal, the improved monitoring system will ensure timely information on the progress of the Strategy implementation and the ability to respond promptly to changes.
First Lady Olena Zelenska noted that barrier-free environment was a matter of survival and of the quality of life simultaneously.
"This year, we have all felt the physical barriers of war. Almost everyone has personally faced evacuation, all the challenges of train stations, transportation, high floors. And we all feel the many invisible barriers of war. It can be a lack of information, inability to work or study, economic uncertainty," Olena Zelenska said.
The Prime Minister thanked the representatives of civil society, the expert community and business associations who actively joined the discussion and provided their proposals. Denys Shmyhal expressed confidence that the Strategy and Action Plan would ensure a decisive move towards creating a barrier-free environment in Ukraine.
