First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska met with the newly appointed Head of the UNICEF Office in Ukraine, Anne-Claire Dufay Demoulin.
The President’s wife thanked the former Head of the Fund’s Office in Ukraine, Munir Mammadzade, and UNICEF for their reliable cooperation. Olena Zelenska expressed hope that this engagement will continue at the same level.
The First Lady noted that Ukraine and UNICEF are implementing many humanitarian initiatives together.
These include, in particular, the School Nutrition Reform. Together with UNICEF, the national reform portal “Znaimo” was created, as well as the online course “Basics of Healthy Eating for Grades 1–4,” and communication campaigns: “What Matters Is Inside” and “Choose True, Not Fake,” along with the interactive project ‘HraImo’.
“We see how public attitudes toward healthy eating are gradually changing – toward more conscious consumption,” Olena Zelenska emphasized.
The All-Ukrainian mental health program “How Are You?” is also being implemented. With UNICEF’s support, communication campaigns have been created, the large-scale research “Mind Frames” has been conducted to better understand the psychological state of Ukrainians, the national standard for the social service “Resilience” has been developed, and the mhGAP program for family doctors has been scaled up.
Cooperation is also underway within the framework of the National Strategy for Creating a Barrier-Free Environment, in particular through support for national communication campaigns on social change and the creation of a network of barrier-free ambassadors in various regions of Ukraine.
UNICEF also provides expert support to the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen and cooperates with the Olena Zelenska Foundation. Thanks to this partnership, large foster families receive support through the “From House to Home” project.
“We are grateful to UNICEF for continuing our cooperation in creating a better present and a safe future for Ukrainian children,” Olena Zelenska concluded.