By investing in children’s safety Belgium invests in Ukraine’s future - Foreign Minister

This was stated by Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot, who on April 8 visited the town of Baryshivka, Boryspil district, where construction of a shelter is underway at the local lyceum with funds from the Belgian development agency Enabel, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“As foreign minister I would like to underline humanitarian aid we provide to the people, to your communities. It's not only a question of a weapons, it's also a question of safety, certainly, for the children and the future. It's why the development cooperation agency of Belgium is financing with EUR 150 million a different program related to education and healthcare, and children’s protection. And also, we are building now the seventh bomb shelter and we will be able to provide safety to more than 3,000 students and educational staff,” the minister said, speaking to journalists at the construction site of the shelter in the lyceum of the city of Baryshivka, Boryspil district, Kyiv region, which is financed by the state development agency Enabel.

Talking to the lyceum students, Prévot emphasized that they “are already part of Europe, and in the future also part of the European Union.”

The Belgian government is concerned about the challenges faced by Ukrainian families affected by Russian aggression, the minister noted.

"And it's why, beside the investment we made for the bomb shelters for students and school staff, we also invest money for health, and certainly for mental health. It's one of the priorities of Ukraine’s First Lady. We will identify, when I’m back in Brussels, how to reinforce the commitments Belgium has aligned to with the priorities set by the First Lady," the head of the Belgian foreign ministry added.

Prévot recalled that Belgium already finances programs to help Ukrainian children: "I will now visit an association, called PANDA, which supports children victims of sexual abuse or exploitation. We will announce that we will give to the association EUR 250,000 additionally in order to be sure that every child can receive the needed support when they face violence, certainly including sexual violence."

As reported, Belgium is among the top twenty donor countries per capita. Since the large-scale Russian invasion, our country has provided more than 2.2 billion euros in aid to Ukraine. Of this amount, 150 million euros has been specifically allocated to reconstruction as part of the BE-Relieve programme, managed by Enabel. The focus is on three strategic areas: sustainable energy and circular construction, health and social protection, and education, skills, and employment.

Through Enabel programmes, Belgium is helping, in close cooperation with the Ukrainian government, to provide vocational training and job placement, in particular for young people and former military.