Hennadii Zubko: New state construction regulations are aimed to return lost opportunities to people with disabilities
The Nationwide meeting on the establishment of an unhindered environment for people with disabilities under the chairmanship of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko was held at the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine. President Petro Poroshenko emphasized in his speech that an important factor of accessibility is a universal design or reasonable fitting of an object or service.
The President stressed that at present, the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine is a leader in the issues of ensuring barrier-free and accessible environment. Thus, the Ministry has developed new state building codes" Inclusion of buildings and structures" which will become a practical tool for implementing state policy in the architectural and construction sector.
"Today in Ukraine there are more than 2.6 million people with disabilities, of which 80% are active indifferent and intelligent people. They also were engaged in the development of new state building regulations. And if you compare 2006, when the first state construction regulations on creation of a comfortable environment for people with disabilities were written on 7 pages, with 2018 - the result is enormous! More than 88 pages of a solid document with a detailed road map. And it became possible, primarily, due to the political will of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko," Vice Prime Minister/Minister of Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine Hennadii Zubko stressed.
"If the state construction regulations on creation of a comfortable environment for people with disabilities, developed in 2006, were of a recommendatory nature, then new regulations will become mandatory. The second important thing is that new state building codes cover virtually all categories of persons with disabilities: people with limited mobility and people with visual, hearing, nervous system impairments. And each step and change being occurred is aimed to achieve the one target: to return the lost opportunity ", the Vice Prime Minister claimed.
Hennadii Zubko stressed that all state building regulations being adopted today as to streets and roads, educational establishments, and city planning regulations, take into account the accessibility and barrier-free access needed by persons with disabilities. "Thanks to the work of Petro Poroshenko Foundation and the First Lady of Ukraine Maryna Poroshenko, today media centers, resource rooms, inclusive-resource centers in Ukraine are already established, and these changes took place almost in a year. A large government team and the public are involved in the development and implementation of new state construction regulations. But for us, amendments to the legislation regarding adequate funding of barrier-free projects are also important. So I count on quick adoption of qualitative legislative and legal norms for people with disabilities by the Parliament," he underscored.