Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center together with the United Nations and the Red Cross developed a program to coordinate the contact line crossing for humanitarian goods

Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center together with international humanitarian organizations developed a schedule and a special operational program to regulate the time of the contact line crossing and secure prompt delivery of humanitarian aid to Donbas. During the briefing in “Ukrainski Novyny” information agency, Rimma Fil, the Coordinator of the Center, shared the information on how the system works, and what amount of aid the Humanitarian Center is planning to deliver to Donbas in July.

“We have said it many times and continue repeating that only system and state approach to the problem of humanitarian aid delivery is the one possible mechanism.  And while our state was developing a strategy and telling what shall be done on a global scale, we were holding operational meetings together with the major international missions - the United Nations and the Red Cross, and developed the most convenient working model for cooperation, to provide the maximum assistance to civilians in non-government-controlled areas” – Rimma Fil said.

The result of the meetings and consultations with the United Nations and the Red Cross representatives is the unified operational program, regulating the time of humanitarian convoys arrival to non-government-controlled areas of Donbas.

“The importance of the program is that it is available for those international missions who work across the contact line. It shows the schedule of humanitarian convoy arrivals, for them to avoid the creation of unnecessary queues and coordinate their actions. And we know what day the Red Cross, Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center or the UN is delivering their humanitarian aid. We passed this program to the Fiscal service for convenience in operation. And we hope that the state will join and work on this issue. We hope that what we are doing at the operational level, using our experience and willingness to help, will be legally recognized at the state level” – Rimma Fil said.  

The Humanitarian Center also continues to focus on the measures that will improve the situation with humanitarian aid delivery across the contact line:

1. Creation of customs terminal in Mariupol on the basis of customs warehouses, located near Azovsky market. In this case, the loads will be inspected, the trucks will be sealed and the corresponding supporting documents will be received on the territory of the terminal in Mariupol. Then, the formed convoys (accompanied by traffic police cars) will orderly leave for the customs point, the function of which will be to test the safety of the seals and the documents executed at the terminal.
2. Introduction of a Coordinator from the Humanitarian sector to the ATO Staff, reporting to the Security Service of Ukraine (the coordinator may be the UN representative).
3. Adoption of the Law on “Providing of humanitarian assistance in crisis situations” and regulations that won’t be a barrage and have a stimulating nature.

Despite the continuing difficulties with the contact line crossing, Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Center increased the intensity of food supplies to Donbas since the beginning of July. Thanks to this fact we managed to resume the operation of 4 issuing points in Makiivka on the 7^th of July. During the first day they issued over 4,000 food packages for adults and children. The fifth issuing point will be opened on Friday in Chervonohvardiysky district of Makiivka.

This week, from the 6^th till the 11^th of July, 2015, the Humanitarian Center is planning to send 1,300 tons of food products to form 90,000 survival kits for adults and 28,400 packages for children, all aimed for Donbas civilians on both sides of the contact line. Two convoys have already arrived in Mariupol and Donetsk. Two more convoys are planned to be sent by the end of the week.

All together in July it is planned to send 450,000 survival kits for adults and 39,000 packages for children, aimed for IDPs and Donbas civilians on both sides of the contact line. The mobile groups, issuing humanitarian aid in remote villages of Donetsk region, will resume their work, and planning to deliver 8,340 survival kits there.

15 issuing points in ATO area are ready to resume their operation, as soon as sufficient amount of products is delivered to Donetsk warehouse and makes it possible to form enough food packages. 34 more issuing points are operating in government-controlled area of Donbas and issuing humanitarian aid to IDPs and people, living on the contact line.