MONITORING OF THE LIVING CONDITIONS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN UKRAINE UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC (on the example of Evangelical Christian Baptists)

The article finds that the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly affected social relations and exacerbated the already vulnerable situation of people with disabilities. Everything that was hidden or veiled in relation to people with disabilities by society has fully manifested. In these conditions it is necessary to monitor the living conditions of people with disabilities as the most vulnerable category of the population, which are currently ignored because healthy people suffer and are usually put first. The social and medical spheres proved to be the most unstable in the conditions of the pandemic in terms of assistance to vulnerable groups of the population. Official statements and postulates have not been fully implemented, they do not answer all questions, and they do not always coincide with reality. Responses to Covid-19 have impaired access to services for people with disabilities. It turned out that the religious sphere was the most stable, which we understood when we studied the activities of the evangelical Baptist community. They were characterized by consolidated assistance to socially vulnerable believers and people with disabilities, which manifested themselves in the social, medical, and religious spheres. Interviews and questionnaires revealed that it was only through the organized work of the faithful that timely assistance to people with disabilities was provided. In addition, it was found that the Ukrainian media has a lot of statistical information about Covid-19. However, in fact, there are no reports on the state of infectious diseases departments, the necessary equipment, and no coverage of patients with disabilities since journalists do not actually communicate with doctors about this situation. There are no analytical materials that would explore the situation and guide in the choice of adequate solutions.