Thirty three years after deadly Chernobyl nuclear incident, affected areas spring to life: UN

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 27 (APP):A ceremony marking the 33rd anniversary of the catastrophic Chernobyl nuclear accident in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, was held at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday.
On April 26, 1986, a sudden surge of power during a reactor systems test destroyed unit 4 of the nuclear power station at Chernobyl, some 110 kilometers (68.3 miles) from Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, killing 31 people in the immediate aftermath of the accident, while affecting millions more.
According to the official numbers, roughly 8.4 million people in the former Soviet territories of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine got the largest exposure to radiation in
the form of a cloud.
In a press release, the UN said after more than three decades after the nuclear disaster, parts of Belarus’ adjoining regions have sprung back to life and the biggest of them, Homiel, has become a leading destination for domestic and international investors.
Sixty per cent of Homiel’s produce – comprising meat, dairy products and handicraft – are exported to neighboring regions and countries while the region attracted
US $ 17.7 billion worth of domestic and foreign Investment between 2011 and 2017, representing just over 15 percent of the country’s total direct investment during that period.
Following the incident, while the Soviet Government only acknowledged the need for international help to mitigate the disaster in 1990, that same year the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for more international cooperation.
“In the 33 years since that tragic night, there’s been a re-thinking of the way local populations in southeastern Belarus have handled themselves”, Zachary Taylor, UNDP’s Deputy Resident Representative in Belarus, said.
“Stigma is still pervasive, but the economic revival is visible. This is a fertile and productive region and its people are open, resilient and resourceful.”
A Chernobyl Trust Fund, managed now by the humanitarian affairs coordination office, OCHA, was created by the UN in 1991, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) became involved in 2002, when the Organization announced a new focus on long term development.
The agency and its offices in the three countries affected, have taken the lead in that area, ever since.
More than 37,000 small- and medium-sized businesses now operate in the areas directly affected by the disaster, up from only 2,375 in 2002, the UN said.
“But let’s not rest on our laurels. There’s much more that needs to be done to bring the area back to its full potential. We need to keep investing in training, safety,
long-term development planning, new technologies, including tourism and organic farming. This is an area that’s been left behind for too long. Let’s double our efforts to make sure it catches up,” Taylor said.
Around 470 small towns and villages have been destroyed in Belarus alone, with 138,000 people un-rooted from their homes, the press release said.
The disaster still represents a huge financial burden, it said. In Ukraine last year, 5 to 7 percent of the national budget was still dedicated to Chernobyl-related recovery activities. In Belarus, the overall economic loss is estimated at US $ 235 billion. Missed profits and investment opportunities alone are estimated at US $13.7 billion.
United Nations Development Program said it has been working with the rest of the UN system and international partners to help Chernobyl-affected areas in Belarus and Ukraine move from recovery and humanitarian support, to creating new jobs, strengthening social services, improving infrastructure, business and increasing investment opportunities.