Ukraine will receive an additional $150 million from the World Bank, in particular, $50 million to support vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 epidemic and $100 million to improve an overall social protection system. Representatives of the Government and the World Bank agreed to this at a meeting in Kyiv.

Already in May this year, Ukraine will receive funding worth $50 million to strengthen social support for the population during the measures aimed at curbing the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds will be transferred to pay to pensioners and recipients of social assistance in connection with disability. Moreover, these funds will be used to increase the amount of the subsidy during quarantine and to remove restrictions on the provision of this type of support to those who have lost their jobs due to quarantine.

The money is provided as additional funding for the project "Social Assistance System Modernization" in Ukraine, which has been implemented by the Ministry of Social Policy with the support of the World Bank since 2014. The funds will be transferred to the State Budget of Ukraine, provided that the Government improves the efficiency and targeting of state support for vulnerable groups of the population, the introduction of additional social services and activation services for the recipients of social assistance aimed to overcome poverty.

It envisages expanding the program of assistance to low-income families in order to promote comprehensive and fair coverage of vulnerable sections of the population, take measures to reduce the dependency of the recipients on social benefits, increase the targeting of the housing subsidy program by strengthening control over the relevance of their provision and other measures designed to ensure social support and improving the quality of life of the population.