Children's Day - Ukraine and the world stand together: Ministry of Finance informs about support of every child

On November 20, Ukraine celebrates Children's Day together with the rest of the world for the first time — on International Children's Day, when the international community reminds us of the inviolability of every child's rights.

This year, the date is particularly symbolic: by decree of the President of Ukraine, the date of Children's Day has been changed from June 1 to November 20 — the day when the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) were adopted.

This decision is not just about the date in a calendar. It is about a European choice, solidarity, respect for children's rights, and the shared responsibility of adults to provide children with care, safety, and opportunities for development — even in times of war.

The children of Ukraine live in a reality where war takes away their homes, destroys their normal lives, and forces them to grow up faster. But war does not cancel childhood. And the responsibility of the Government is to exert every effort to make children feel that there is a reliable country that protects, supports, treats, educates, and restores their faith in the future.

Supporting Ukrainian children is one of the main priorities, to which considerable attention is paid.

The Ministry of Finance continues to provide the following:

• funding for existing programs and measures to support children and families with children (social payments, assistance, rehabilitation, provision of social services, development of family and family-like forms of upbringing, physical education and sports activities, etc.);
• promote initiatives to increase current allowances (increased allowances for childbirth and childcare, increased financial support for foster parents and caregivers, etc.);
• support the implementation of new programs (in particular, Leave No Child Alone, Schoolchild's Package, Warm Winter, support for children affected by war, and children with disabilities, etc.).

To this end, the draft state budget for 2026 provides for almost UAH 160 billion (+UAH 28.5 billion by 2025).

Significant attention is also paid to the education system, in particular, the expansion of school meal reforms is planned to support children. To ensure free meals in schools, the 2026 state budget draft provides for UAH 14.4 billion. It will be implemented in stages:

• from January 1, 2026, for students in grades 1–4 in all the regions, and grades 5–11 in frontline regions,
• from September 1, 2026, for students in grades 5–11 all across Ukraine.

Within the limits of the state budget, we will continue to work on enhancing programs and measures aimed at the development of every child, because it is children who shape the future of our country.

As a reminder, the draft state budget for 2026 allocates UAH 20.1 billion for science, in particular to support young scientists.