The European Union has allocated EUR 5 million for Ukrainian households living in proximity to the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine's Kyiv region.
The funds were spent on medical and laboratory equipment to Ivankiv district hospital, the establishment of an information center, a 7,500-square-meter greenhouse for growing vegetables free from radioactive contamination, and a forest waste incinerator worth EUR 1.25 million, radiological mapping of the area, and regular medical examinations for children in Ivankiv district in Kyiv region, the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine has said.
These projects have been implemented under the EU's "Health and Ecological Programmes around the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone."
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The results of the program were presented by Members of the European Parliament, Michele Rivasi and Julie Ward, in Kyiv on July 10, 2018 with participation of Ukrainian officials, namely Acting Health Minister Ulana Suprun and Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mykola Kuzio.
"I am pleased to support this European programme which is the result of a unique cooperation between the European Parliament and the European Commission. Five million people live in a contaminated area of 150,000 square km. International support should not be restricted to the safety of nuclear reactors, but equally focus on people, their health and their environment," Rivasi said.
The "Health and Ecological Programmes around the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone" was financed through the EU's Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation. It aims to improve the overall quality of life in the areas affected by the Chornobyl accident by reducing the level of radiations that the population is exposed to, and mitigate the effects of such exposure. The project was implemented in partnership with the State Agency of Ukraine for the Exclusion Zone Management and the local authorities of Ivankiv. It lasted from 2013 until 2017.
UNIAN memo. The Chornobyl disaster happened late in April 1986. The Chornobyl Exclusion Zone was initially created as an area of 30 km around the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Its purpose is to restrict access to hazardous areas and reduce the spread of radiological contamination.
