Ukrainian government may have made its most popular move in a while with the introduction of baby boxes, now to be given to every new mother in Ukraine.
Starting from Sept. 1, every family with a newborn gets not only the one-time Hr 41,280 aid, but also a free package that includes clothes, bedding, diapers, towels, blankets and other goods. For Katerina Bruniuk from Zaporizhzhia, a city some 550 kilometers southeast of Kyiv, the quality of the baby box’s contents was a surprise.
Bruniuk, who gave birth to her son Nikita on Sept. 6, is one of 411 new mothers who have already received baby boxes. “The clothes were of good quality, not the cheapest ones, all the 25 items on the list were present, including German-made diapers and good childcare products. Moreover, it was all packed so nicely,” says Bruniuk, 20.
“We were waiting for the baby box for nearly two weeks, and were really pleased with it.” The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted the regulation on providing free baby boxes on June 20. According to the official website of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, as of Sept. 17 a total of 2,494 baby boxes had been sent to seven oblasts — Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi and Cherkasy.
Baby Box Ukraine
The baby boxes like those now provided by the Ukrainian government for free have already been on sale in the country for several years, given mainly as presents. The Kyiv-based company Baby Box Ukraine has been selling boxes for newborns since 2015.
Olena Matsokha, 28, a co-founder of the company, welcomed the government’s initiative to provide similar boxes for free.
“The main idea we want to convey is conscientious maternity and conscientious consumption of goods. One of the features of baby boxes is that the box itself can be used as a bed,” said Matsokha.
“The contents of the box are meant to be used from the first days of the baby’s life, and it even applies to the box as well.”
The boxes supplied by the state can be used as cribs. A mattress is included Since Jan. 1, Ukrainians will get a monthly Hr 1,500 compensation from the state to cover the cost of a babysitter for children under three years old.
According to the Cabinet of Ministers regulation on baby boxes, the cost of the baby box provided by the government should be no more than Hr 5,000, and it should include 25 items. Taking the average prices of goods for newborn babies on the market, the cost of the contents of the baby boxes distributed now is less — around Hr 3,100.
The prices for the baby boxes produced by private company Baby Box Ukraine vary from Hr 1,500 to Hr 5,500, and the contents range from 13 to 25 items. “The baby box from the government is not bad at all,” says Matsokha.
“I saw that it includes scissors (for kids) and even a nasal aspirator.” The Kyiv Post hasn’t got the response from the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine about the companies that produce baby boxes delivered by the government.
The baby boxes supplied by the state contain 25 items, including diapers, clothes, childcare cosmetics, napkins and other goods. The picture was taken in Zaporizhzhia on Sept. 18. (UNIAN)
How it works
In order to receive a baby box, a family has to fill out a form upon leaving the hospital after birth.
If a hospital doesn’t have any baby boxes at the time, a family can pick one up within the next 30 days at their local social services office.
“This is an excellent initiative. When we just created the company, we could only dream that the government would provide such help. It’s really great that the state’s assistance isn’t just money, but also these kinds of goods,” says Matsokha.
The idea of providing baby boxes to all families with newborn babies originated in Finland, and similar schemes now operate in several European countries, as well as in India and Canada.
However, there are still issues that have to be addressed, Matsokha says.
Although Baby Box Ukraine recently stopped selling its boxes, as Matsokha was herself on maternity leave, and for other reasons, the company plans to expand its activities and launch an educational project for parents.
“We wanted to somehow restart this project, and run it in a different format, dedicated mainly to education. Despite the fact that we live in the 21st century and everyone has an Internet connection, there is still the problem that people know very little about children’s health and about pregnancy,” says Matsokha.
Matsokha also got a baby box, but not from the government, as she gave birth to her child on Aug. 27, four days before the project started.
“To be honest, I really wanted to get a baby box from the government, but my daughter decided to meet her parents earlier,” Matsokha laughed.
“Anyway, I have my own, and I know that it’s very useful — and now I’m really glad that every new family in Ukraine can have one too.”
