Publication date: 05.06.2024
Social benefits for internally displaced persons: provision of minimum living standards and impact on population incomes
Introduction
The armed conflict in the east of Ukraine caused a massive internal outflow of the population. Tens of thousands of people were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in other regions of the country. The state faced the task of adequate social protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and provision of their minimum life needs. In this article, we will consider the existing system of social benefits for IDPs, identify its key problems and outline ways of improvement in order to improve the well-being of this vulnerable population category.
The current state of the system of social benefits for IDPs
After the start of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, the government introduced a number of social benefits for internally displaced persons. The main types of payments include:
-One-time cash assistance upon registration - UAH 480 per person.
-Monthly targeted assistance to cover living expenses - UAH 2,400 per family.
-Allowance for children of IDPs - UAH 1,000 per child.
-Payments to immigrants who do not receive pensions or scholarships - UAH 2,400.
In general, these social benefits are aimed at ensuring the minimum living standards of IDPs and compensation for their lost income and property.
Problems in the system of social benefits for IDPs
Despite the importance of these social assistance programs, they have a number of shortcomings that reduce the effectiveness and targeting of support:
- The low amount of some payments, which does not meet the actual needs of IDPs.- Complicated and bureaucratized procedure for registration of aid, which complicates access to it.
-Problems with verifying the status of IDPs and checking their real incomes.
- Inconsistency of the amount of payments with the actual cost of living in different regions.
-Insufficient level of funding of social support programs for IDPs from the state budget.
Ways to improve the system of social benefits for IDPs
To improve the effectiveness and targeting of social assistance for internally displaced persons, the following measures are proposed:
-Increasing the size of key social benefits (living allowance, child support) to a level sufficient to ensure minimum living standards.
- Simplification of the procedure for registration of social assistance, in particular, reduction of the list of necessary documents and introduction of electronic document flow.
- Introduction of mechanisms for the automatic extension of social benefits, provided the status of the IDP remains unchanged.
-Differentiation of aid amounts depending on the region of residence, taking into account local prices.
-Increase in budget funding of social support programs for IDPs.
The impact of improving the system of social benefits on the incomes of IDPs
The implementation of the proposed changes will significantly improve the material condition of internally displaced persons and bring their incomes closer to minimum living standards:
-Increasing the size of key social benefits will increase the level of provision of the basic needs of IDPs.
-Simplification of the aid registration procedure will reduce the financial and time costs of migrants.
-Differentiation of payments by region will compensate for differences in the cost of living.- Expanding the coverage of social support and increasing its size will reduce the share of IDPs whose incomes are below the poverty line.
Taken together, these measures will contribute to a significant increase in the incomes of internally displaced persons and bringing them closer to the level of minimum living standards.
Conclusion
The system of social benefits for internally displaced persons in Ukraine needs improvement to ensure a decent standard of living for this vulnerable population category. Increasing the amount of assistance, simplifying the procedure for its registration, differentiating payments by region and expanding the coverage of social support will bring the income of IDPs closer to minimum living standards and significantly improve their material well-being. Such steps are necessary to compensate for the losses suffered by displaced persons as a result of the armed conflict and to create conditions for their successful integration in the host communities.
You may be interested in articles on the topic: assignment of a subsidy, how to apply for a subsidy, payment upon the birth of a third child, subsidy assignment
