UNECE Executive Secretary in Kyiv at launch of work on Ukraine’s State Housing Policy Strategy and to advance support for green recovery

Faced with acute damage to its ageing housing stock, Ukraine is looking not only to restore what was lost but to rethink and rebuild its housing systems, institutions, and approaches to reflect the needs of a modern, resilient, and inclusive country. 

The housing sector has been among the hardest hit: an estimated 13% of all housing stock in the country has been damaged or destroyed, affecting more than 2.5 million households, according the joint Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA4) commissioned by the Ukrainian Government, the World Bank Group, the European Commission and the UN.  

UNECE is supporting the government to prepare for the recovery of the housing sector through the development of the State Housing Policy Strategy. The Strategy is guided by the draft Law “On the Basic Principles of Housing Policy”, which was prepared with UNECE support through the UN4UkrainianCities initiative. 

This week in Kyiv, UNECE joined the World Bank and other partners  for the launch of the development of the Strategy, which will be a decisive step for the entire housing policy system — from mechanisms for addressing housing needs to the management of housing stock, from support for internally displaced persons to the restoration of damaged housing. Specifically, the Strategy will define directions, mechanisms, key changes, and indicators for monitoring progress, and outline the scope of needs and planned funding sources.  

The aim of the project is to ensure that Ukraine’s State Housing Policy Strategy reflects both domestic needs and international commitments, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UNECE will support the government through recommendations on policy design, housing delivery mechanisms, and institutional reforms that are grounded in international experience. 

In Kyiv, UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean emphasized that “Ukraine’s State Housing Policy Strategy can serve as a foundation for an updated housing policy that goes beyond regulatory changes and establishes a long-term, integrated vision — and, ultimately, contributes to a better quality of life for millions of Ukrainians.” She highlighted UNECE’s longstanding partnership with Ukraine in this area.  

The Strategy will focus on: the international and national context; housing stock (condition), including on the extent of destruction and recovery; exercising the right to housing; financing and construction of new housing; housing stock management; restoration of the housing stock; affordability of housing; transparency of housing policy. 

The UN4UkrainianCities initiative, launched by UNECE and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and supported by GIZ, works in close cooperation with the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine and the cities of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv. It focuses on building back better in Ukraine and the two cities, including by developing a new, modern housing policy that can be effectively implemented at the local level.  

Supporting a green and resilient recovery  

Expressing UNECE’s readiness to continue supporting the green recovery of Ukraine, Ms. Molcean discussed with Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Ms. Svitlana Grynchuk, the country’s strong engagement despite the extreme challenges posed by the war, harnessing in particular UNECE’s Multilateral Environmental Agreements. Since 2022, Ukraine has acceded to the UNECE Industrial Accidents Convention and the GMO amendment under the Aarhus Convention, and signed a bilateral agreement with Romania on the Implementation of the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention). UNECE is also supporting Ukraine’s transition to a climate-resilient and net-zero economy — by integrating green policies, financial mechanisms and stakeholder collaboration — through the Platform for Action on the Green Recovery of Ukraine, established jointly with UNEP and OECD. 

In meetings with Ukrainian high-level officials, the Executive Secretary further reaffirmed commitment to supporting Ukraine to address challenges in housing and other areas of UNECE expertise, in particular in energy and environmental protection. She met with Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories, Ms. Natalia Kozlovska, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Mі. Y. Svyrydenko, and Deputy Chair of Verkhovna Rada, Ms. Olena Kondratyuk, as well as heads of Verkhovna Rada Committees.