Yesterday at 19:50
The World Bank will grant Ukraine a loan of $1.2 billion to facilitate social payments within the framework of the new INSPIRE program. The allocated funds will be sourced from the dedicated ADVANCE Ukraine fund, supported and guaranteed by the government of Japan, as stated in an official announcement on the World Bank’s website.
The INSPIRE project aims to secure funding for 29 types of social payments targeting the most vulnerable segments of Ukraine’s population. These include social scholarships, assistance to persons with disabilities, support for orphaned and parentless children, as well as compensations related to the Chernobyl disaster.
“It is expected that this project will reach nearly 10 million Ukrainians during their most critical needs. It will enhance the Ukrainian government’s ability to provide social support to the poor and vulnerable populations during a crucial time, as winter approaches and millions of Ukrainians require additional assistance to cover bills and heat their homes,” said Arup Banerji, Regional Director for Eastern Europe at the World Bank.
The World Bank also notes that the INSPIRE project is an integral part of international support for Ukraine. Other existing projects already cover areas such as healthcare, transportation, energy, housing recovery, and agriculture through emergency funding. The mobilized aid package from partners has a flexible mechanism for rapid fund distribution that can be scaled according to needs when additional funding becomes available.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the assistance provided by the World Bank allowed the Ukrainian government to provide essential public services to over 15 million Ukrainians. Alongside the INSPIRE project, the total amount of emergency funding from the World Bank to support Ukraine has exceeded $38 billion.
The Gaze also reported that Germany will allocate an additional €11.5 million to the Ukraine-NATO Trust Fund. According to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, the Ukraine-NATO Council will play a pivotal role in bringing Ukraine closer to NATO. Alliance standards, force and resource planning, as well as military reform, are central to this process.
