Drinking Water in Ukraine

The leading MAMA-86 campaign "Drinking Water in Ukraine" is widely known both in Ukraine and abroad due to its efficiency at local and national levels. The idea to initiate the project was originated in 1997 during the discussions of urgent health and environmental problems in Ukraine by women-leaders of NGOs. This bottom-up initiative was lunched by four organisations from different Ukrainian cities (Kyiv, Odesa, Artemivsk and Tatarbunary), which decided to joint their efforts for resolving local drinking water problems.

Aim: improving the citizens' access to safe and affordable drinking water in Ukraine.

Objectives:

• raising public awareness on water quality and its influence on health;
• supporting in resolving drinking water problems at the local level; and
• involving public in solving these problems

Short-term goals:

• carrying out monitoring of drinking water quality;
• studying public opinion on water problem in Ukraine;
• raising public awareness on water and health problems, sustainable water management, and environmental rights;
• facilitating inter-sectoral discussions and cooperation among stakeholders;
• exchanging existing good practices of water treatment and water supply;
• holding public hearings on drinking water problems;
• implementing pilot projects to improve citizens' access to safe drinking water;
• using international events for highlighting situation in Ukraine and promoting participation, consultancy and establishment of partnership.

Long-term goals:

• participation in decision-making on drinking water problems at the local, national and international levels;
• establishing working relationship and informational exchange at the local, national and international levels;
• advocating the idea of sustainable water resources management, contributing to development and implementation of sustainable water management models in Ukraine;
• promoting public participation in planning, budgeting, and implementation of actions for ensuring the access to safe and affordable drinking water.

Main elements of the Campaign:

• independent research of drinking water quality;
• public opinion polls;
• informational and awareness raising activity;
• pilot projects implementation;
• public participation in decision-making at local and national levels.

Currently Campaign "Drinking Water in Ukraine" joints 11 regional branches of MAMA-86: Kyiv, Artemivsk, Mariupol, Nizhyn, Odesa, Poltava, Sebastopol, Tatarbunary, Feodosia, Kharkiv, and Yaremche.

Contact information:

Ganna Tsvetkova
Campaign Coordinator
22, Mykhaylivska St., 01001, Kyiv
MAMA-86
Tel.: +380 (44) 278-77-49/278-31-01
Tel/Fax: +380 (44) 279-55-14
e-mail: atsvet@mama-86.org.ua

Natalia Gudkova
Campaign Coordinator Assistant
22, Mykhaylivska St., 01001, Kyiv
MAMA-86
Tel.: +380 (44) 278-77-49/278-31-01
Tel/Fax: +380 (44) 279-55-14
e-mail: info@mama-86.org.ua