Frontline Communities Association helps resolve business lending and insurance issues – Kim
Vitalii Kim, Head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, said in an interview with Ukrinform.
“Through the joint efforts of the Association’s participants, the critical issue of lending and insuring businesses in frontline territories has been resolved. Previously this existed only on paper, as internal banking directives and risk aversion deprived our enterprises of access to credit. Now loans can be obtained in at least two banks, and interest rates are no different from those in rear communities,” Kim explained.
He noted, however, that this is not enough, since businesses in frontline areas face higher risks and need additional incentives to remain viable.
Joint efforts also secured higher salaries for medical workers.
“For example, the Ochakiv multiprofile hospital, which faces shelling almost daily, received an additional support package from the state, enabling it to motivate staff. The shortage of medical workers is severe: last year Mykolaiv region requested 200 interns, but only six arrived, and just one took advantage of the UAH 200,000 relocation allowance offered to doctors willing to work in rural areas,” Kim emphasized.
He added that communities are also providing housing for specialists. Examples include Bashtanka and Snihurivka communities, where this support helped retain displaced people from Kherson region. In Domanyivka, modular houses funded by international aid were built and allocated to internally displaced persons, including a doctor and a police officer.
As previously reported by Ukrinform, frontline communities require solutions to a range of problems to enable full recovery, including cheaper business loans, wage supplements for social sector workers, and development of technical education.
Photo credit: Mykolaiv RMA press service
