The World Bank Will Provide $1.2 Billion For Social Payments in Ukraine

Arup Banerji, World Bank Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe and the Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, Oksana Zholnovych, have signed a joint agreement to allocate an additional $1.2 billion for financing social payments in Ukraine.

This information was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Social Policy.

According to the announcement, the agreement is part of the recently initiated project "Investing in Social Protection for Inclusion, Resilience, and Efficiency" (INSPIRE). It will focus on funding 29 types of social payments for the most vulnerable segments of the population and will support reforms in the field of social protection in Ukraine.

It is noted that the INSPIRE initiative is funded through a $1.2 billion loan from the World Bank from the Targeted Fund for providing necessary credit support to Ukraine, supported by Japan.

"It is expected that this project will reach almost 10 million Ukrainians during their most critical needs. It will strengthen the Ukrainian government's ability to provide social support to the poor and vulnerable populations in a critical time, as winter approaches, and millions of Ukrainians need additional assistance to pay bills and heat their homes," said Arup Banerji.

It is worth mentioning that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the World Bank has been able to mobilize funds that could cover expenditures for basic public services for over 15 million Ukrainians.

In total, including the recently initiated INSPIRE project, the World Bank has managed to attract $38 billion in emergency funding to support Ukraine. This includes commitments and guarantees from donor countries such as the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Indonesia, Lithuania, Latvia, Belgium, and South Korea.

Recall that last month it became known that Ukraine and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) signed grant and credit agreements aimed at restoring agriculture in Ukraine.

The funds raised will significantly reduce the borrowing of Ukrainian farmers and support their ability to continue their activities. In addition, agricultural producers have the opportunity to attract grants, amounting to about $50 million.