According to the State Statistics Service and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, as of the beginning of 2023, 2.7 million civilians and almost 500,000 combatants have disabilities in Ukraine.  

In 2022, a full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine began. The exact number of wounded, especially the types of injuries, is currently unknown. However, it is already obvious that from the total number of servicemen of the Defense Forces (about 1 million people) and wounded civilians: this number has increased by several hundred thousand. And this figure, unfortunately, will grow. We are talking about damage or loss of limbs, damage to organs of vision, hearing and other types of injuries.  

All the above-mentioned disabled persons join the total number of low-mobility population groups. Currently, the infrastructure of the city is mostly not adapted for their comfortable movement. Therefore, it limits their free access to various institutions and public spaces. Some pedestrian crossings in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk, which have non-standard lowering of the curb stone, (Franka Street, Ivano-Frankivsk) Therefore, within the framework of the NGO "Vision Zero", its members created their own public initiative "Accessible Frankivsk" . Cover of the official Facebook group and initiative page. The goal of the initiative is to draw the attention of local self-government bodies to the problem of inclusivity, to influence the fact that new sidewalk repairs meet the current norms and standards in terms of accessibility, and older facilities begin to comply with these requirements. Equality. Accessibility. Inclusivity. Barrier-freeness — according to the initiative, this is what every head of a specialized department, manager of a utility company, and even the mayor should think about and take care of in the first place, when it comes to the repair or new construction of public spaces. The city must be friendly to all groups with reduced mobility, without exception. Every person has limited mobility for some period of time in his life. It is not only people with disabilities, it is people with musculoskeletal disorders, vision and hearing impairments, parents with baby carriages, elderly people, people with luggage. Those who have permanent or temporary mobility difficulties. Now, a full-scale invasion has made adjustments to these statistics. Therefore, our task is to promote and create conditions for a fulfilling life. Despite the fact that the regulatory framework of Ukraine since 2006 provides for the presence of lowering curbs, in many cities this is neglected. According to representatives of the public initiative, this is unacceptable. "If the city is already spending money on repairing streets and sidewalks, why not do everything right at once, in compliance with norms and standards? In addition to new construction, our focus is also on older facilities, where in recent years it would be possible to lower curbs and make transitions accessible. The representatives of our public initiative have already submitted a number of official appeals to local self-government bodies. There, the problems with accessibility on some streets are professionally described. Their content and individual answers will be published soon." initiatives, Kateryna Lozovenko Join our Facebook group and page. There we report in more detail about current activities and other things related to inclusion.