Ukraine has no choice but to build one of the most effective veteran policies in the world on its own
Kyiv • UNN
The conference participants discussed the US experience and the problems of veterans in Ukraine. Experts emphasized the need to develop Ukraine's own effective veterans' policy, taking into account the country's unique challenges.
This conclusion was reached by the participants of the conference “Changes after the war or Victory through changes?”, which discussed the experience of veteran policy in the United States and the problems of veterans in Ukraine.
According to the conference organizer, Vitaliy Gersak, leader of the Free and Faithful NGO, the American model of veteran policy has several fundamental advantages. It effectively performs a motivational function for the military. It has a positive effect on the economy, the labor market, entrepreneurship, families, and communities. It is an example of how respect for citizenship and the country is built through the treatment of veterans.
However, it cannot be simply taken and borrowed for use. Our capabilities are too incomparable. We can only try to learn something from this experience, especially in the areas of legislative support, building organizational capacities, stimulating veteran businesses and caring for women veterans. Of course, this is if there is a desire to learn and benefit from the wisdom of others,” emphasizes V. Gersak.
According to the report “American Experience of Veterans' Policy for Ukraine,” in the United States, the Ministry of Veterans is allocated about $16,000 per veteran annually, while in Ukraine, starting next year, a little more than $1,000 is allocated. The total budget of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is over $300 billion, while in Ukraine it is only UAH 4 billion. The central office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs employs more than 7,000 people, while in Ukraine there are only 200.
At the same time, veterans in the United States make up about 5-6% of the population, and we will have as many as 15-20% after the war, which, according to the conference participants, will be an unprecedented challenge for the entire existing system of social guarantees, medical care, labor market, public safety, etc. This will be a problem that neither the United States nor any other country in the world has.
According to the participants of the meeting, the development of a state veterans' policy in Ukraine is not an issue that can be postponed, solved in hindsight, considered after the Victory, or when more favorable conditions arise. “We need to build one of the most mass-oriented, complex, intelligent and fair veteran policies in the world right now, on our own and in our own national interests!” - said the participants of the event.
The Report is available at link.
