More and more people are using electronic services. Documents on the phone: electronic ID cards for veterans appeared in Ukraine Economic development
A new electronic document – a veteran’s certificate – has appeared on the popular Ukrainian public services portal “Diya”. The digital ID will be available to veterans, people disabled as a result of war, and family members of fallen military personnel. They will be able to add the document in the Diya app on their mobile phones. Thus, they will no longer need to carry a paper ID with them.
The “electronic veteran’s ID” service was created by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine together with the Ministry of Veterans Affairs with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine.
“This document allows a person to receive benefits, such as transport benefits, free rides on public transport, some benefits when purchasing medical goods and medicines and so on, as well as some other benefits at the local level that are also available to these people,” Vladimir Brusilovsky, UNDP project manager in Ukraine, told UN News Service.
“This means that you essentially don’t need to carry around documents that regularly prove your veteran’s identity. You can use it digitally,” he explained.
The digitalization of public services is designed to simplify bureaucratic procedures in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and make the interaction between the military and the state as simple, fast and comfortable as possible. The electronic ID will expand veterans’ opportunities to receive support remotely.
“In Ukraine, veterans already have the opportunity to remotely access services. For example, in 2022, UNDP supported the government to develop, in collaboration with the Red Cross, services for 25,000 veterans with disabilities to receive cash benefits. Thus, they could receive services completely remotely, online. A similar idea is behind housing benefits, where veterans could pay less money for electricity and so on,” Brusilovsky said.
“Introducing a digital ID in the future will allow the creation of similar new services where you can apply for certain benefits or government services using this ID,” he added.
Previously, UNDP in Ukraine, with financial support from Sweden, has already contributed to the development of several electronic services for veterans. As the organization notes, the level of digital literacy is growing in Ukraine and more and more citizens of the country are using electronic services.
“Diya portal and Diya application,” which is the most popular way to receive digital or any government services available in Ukraine, has about 21 million active users who log in at least once a month, which is the majority of the population. Up to 150 services are officially available. But I would say that the number is much higher because some services are available, for example, through the pension fund portal or through other web or mobile applications. If we talk specifically about the services that only veterans can receive, then there are about 12 of them, and most of them are supported by UNDP,” said Vladimir Brusilovsky.
Read also: