UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine Neal Walker and International Project Manager of the joint EU/UNDP Project “Community Based Approach to Local Development” (CBA) Hendrik van Zyl visited communities of Lvivska and Ivano-Frankivska oblast and met with Lviv oblast authorities.  

Among the participants of the official meeting were the Head of Lviv oblast council Petro Kolodiy, Deputy Head of oblast council Valeriy Piatak, head of commission in budget issues, social economic development and communal property Yaroslav Kachmaryk, head of department of common property, Mykola Bandry, head of the economic policy department Sergiy Kit, first deputy head of Lviv oblast state administration Rostyslav Zamlynky and the head of the department of trade economic development and manufacturing industry of Lviv oblast state administration Vasyl Lozynsky. The CBA Project was also represented by the Community Development Specialist Olena Ruditch and Community Development Officers in Lviv oblast Ihor Nazar and Iryna Halayko.

During the meeting UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine Neal Walker stressed that the experience of cooperation between CBA Project and Lvivska oblast is highly important and the best practices of this cooperation are being disseminated among other regions of Ukraine. “Other funds use our cooperation as a platform for cooperation with other oblasts of Ukraine and implement their projects contributing to the community development”, stressed Neal Walker. 

From his side the Head of Lviv oblast council Petro Kolodiy underlined “Lviv oblast council defined community development support as one of the priority tasks. We are convinced that a strong community is one of the foundation of strong nation. We are glad that the UNDP and the Project “Community Based Approach to Local Development” is being working for eight years in Lvivska oblast.”

International Project Manager of CBA Project Hendrik van Zyl highly appreciated cooperation with Lviv oblast. He confirmed that Lviv oblast was one of the 12 oblasts selected for implementation of urban development component. “Our cooperation with the oblast has a strong potential to become a pattern of project implementation for other oblasts”, summed up Hendrik van Zyl.

Implementation of the first phase of CBA Project commenced in Lviv region during March 2008. First phase was succeeded by a second phase in July 2011. Over these two phases, about 94000 men, women and children of the region have benefitted from improvement in 83 schools/kindergartens, 17 healthposts, 5 water supply, 2 environment, 11 street-lightning and so on. This happened through joint effort of the citizens, oblast/rayon/local level governments, CBA Project and the private sponsors.