UNICEF to finance a water supply project in Kherson Oblast selected in the DREAM ecosystem

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has signed an agreement with the Vysokopillia village community in Kherson Oblast to finance a water supply network repair project. The project was selected through the DREAM ecosystem.

"For the first time, international restoration partners have selected a project for funding directly through the DREAM ecosystem. The selected project is of particular importance, as it will help restore water supply in the affected community and improve the lives of its residents. This is one of the key tasks of the system - to create investment profiles of communities and a single convenient bank of restoration projects to attract funding from various sources," said Oleksandr Kubrakov.

The project, which is in line with the Community Recovery and Development Plan, involves the overhaul of the water supply network in the village of Vysokopillia. Its total budget is UAH 28.4 million. The project will help restore the centralized water supply and provide the community with quality drinking water.

"Supporting affected communities is one of UNICEF's priorities. For us, openness and transparency of projects and the community's willingness to publicly report on their implementation are critically important. That's why we use the DREAM ecosystem to select projects and monitor their implementation," said Nicholas Osbert, Chief of the WASH Section (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine.

UNICEF's agreement with Vysokopillia municipal service contains, among other things, a requirement to submit up-to-date information on the project implementation to the DREAM ecosystem. Project details are available via the link.

"The DREAM system was created to ensure transparency in restoration, which is so important for international partners. We are grateful to UNICEF for their trust and use of the system to select projects. This cooperation should become another example of the successful functioning of DREAM and an impetus for other international partners to take advantage of all the system's capabilities," said Viktor Nestulia, Head of the DREAM Project Office, Open Contracting Partnership.

UNICEF plans to support another similar project in the Kherson region's Vysokopillia community (Arkhangelske village) and the Novovorontsovsk community. Both projects are included in the DREAM ecosystem.

Background
For seven months, the Vysokopillia community has been outside the control of the Government of Ukraine, with active hostilities taking place on its territory. The shelling damaged 1793 private houses out of 4429, all 52 apartment buildings, 13 educational institutions out of 15, and 18 out of 19 healthcare facilities. Due to the undermining of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam, the water level in the village's wells and private wells dropped by 2-2.5 meters. Only 35% of residents are provided with a centralized water supply. 2 communal enterprises are providing centralized water supply and sewerage services in the community - "Vysokopillia" municipal service and "Arkhangelske" municipal service of the Vysokopillia settlement council.