The World Bank will provide Ukraine with $70 million in grant funding to support the stability of the national energy system, according to a statement posted on Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal’s Telegram channel on Friday.
“The agreement was signed on Thursday in Washington with World Bank Managing Director Anna Bjerde,” the statement said.
The funds will be used to purchase energy storage systems for the company Ukrhydroenergo. This will allow the creation of electricity reserves and strengthen the country’s energy security.
“We thank the World Bank and all partners for their support to Ukraine’s energy sector, which has suffered significant damage as a result of Russian attacks,” Shmyhal wrote.
Ukraine has received $50m from the World Bank under the health care project “Transforming Health Care through Reform and Investing in Efficiency” (THRIVE), the Finance Ministry has said. It noted that the condition for receiving these funds was to raise the level of the capital rate of primary health care (payment for care of one patient who filed a declaration on the choice of a doctor who provides primary health care) to a minimum of 825 UAH, and according to the government decision of December 2024, such rate for 2025 is 844.4 UAH instead of 786.65 UAH in 2024.
THRIVE is one of the projects implemented using the financial instrument “Program for Results” (PforR), which provides for the achievement of indicators, upon verification of which Ukraine will attract funds determined by the relevant agreements, said the Ministry of Finance.
The purpose of the project is to assist the government in improving the Medical Guarantee Program (MGP) to create a reliable health care system. The Loan Agreement and Financing Agreement totaling $449 million were signed on December 10, 2024, of which $249 million was provided by Japan. Last year, Ukraine has already received $220 million, which is stipulated in the Loan Agreement (100% of the disbursed funds).
The World Bank’s Board of Directors on Saturday night in Kiev approved a new $432 million support package “Building Resilient Infrastructure in a Vulnerable Environment in Ukraine (DRIVE)” aimed at helping the government improve the resilience of the national road network and operational efficiency in the transport sector.
The Bank told Interfax-Ukraine that DRIVE complements the existing project “Rehabilitation of Essential Logistics Infrastructure and Network Connectivity (RELINC)”, under which modular road bridges were delivered and 200 flatcars were manufactured to increase Ukrzaliznytsia’s freight capacity and export capability.
The World Bank noted that Ukraine’s transportation infrastructure has suffered significant damage since the war began in February 2022, disrupting key import and export routes. According to the recently published Rapid Damage and Recovery Needs Assessment (RDNA4), road infrastructure in the transport sector has suffered the most damage: 58% of the transport sector; 30% of state roads and bridges, 11% of local roads and bridges, and 17% of municipal roads suffered significant damage.
DRIVE financing includes a $212 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) under the ADVANCE Ukraine (ADVANCE Ukraine) Trust Fund, which was supported by the Government of Japan. The financing also includes a $210 million loan from the Special Program for the Recovery of Ukraine and Moldova (SPUR) and a $10 million grant from the Ukraine Support, Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reform Trust Fund (URTF).
The project will be implemented by the State Agency for Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Development of Ukraine.
The project page on the Bank’s website notes that it has three components, the first of which is the preservation of the national road network. This component includes two components. The first, a $270.48 million investment for national roads, finances the design, execution, and supervision of construction works aimed at maintaining certain sections of national roads in proper operational condition, including through operational maintenance, major road repairs, and major bridge repairs.
The second component, National Roads and Road Transport Reform, allocates $90 million for transportation sector performance with a results-based approach.
The second component for $39 million is periodic maintenance of the national road network, it also has two components: installation of emergency modular road bridges and climate-smart preservation of key links in the road network.
The third component is technical assistance and project management, which also has two components: technical assistance and project development ($9 million URTF grant), which complements the investment-oriented components, and project management ($1 million URTF grant), which finances eligible costs for implementation and project management support, training, and knowledge sharing.
Ukraine’s state budget has received $235 million in concessional financing from the Government of Japan under the World Bank’s new systemic projects, the Resilient, Inclusive and Environmentally Balanced Enterprise (RISE) and the Increasing Access to and Resilience of Education in Crisis-affected Ukraine (LEARN).
As the Ministry of Finance reported in a press release on Wednesday, the RISE program received a $130 million loan that will be used to address critical issues that hinder the growth and sustainable development of the private sector.
The Ministry clarified that the $105 million in Japanese funds received under the LEARN project is the result of the Ukrainian government’s implementation of measures to ensure safe face-to-face learning in schools by providing subventions for shelters and school buses in 2024.
The projects are implemented using the Program-for-results (PforR) financial instrument, when funds are allocated after Ukraine has achieved some of the results.
The Ministry of Finance noted that by the end of 2024, Ukraine expects to raise another $120 million and $95 million under RISE and LEARN, respectively.
The World Bank’s Board of Directors has approved a new $415 million systemic project in Ukraine, “Making Education Accessible and Resilient in the Face of Crisis in Ukraine” (LEARN), aimed at improving primary and secondary education in Ukraine, which will reach one million students, teachers, and school staff.
“It is crucial to mitigate the impact of war on children, especially those from the most vulnerable families, by minimizing disruptions to the learning process,” Bob Sohm, World Bank Regional Director for Eastern Europe, said in a release on Saturday night.
It is specified that the LEARN program provides for measures aimed at improving general security conditions in schools, providing free transportation for vulnerable students, teacher training, textbook procurement, and improving governance in the education sector. The project also aims to help implement a comprehensive education reform in grades 1-12 known as the New Ukrainian School (NUS), which meets EU standards, the WB said.
“The LEARN project will help thousands of Ukrainian students return to protected learning environments,” Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said in the release.
It is specified that the project is being implemented using the financial instrument “Program-for-results” (PforR).
The Ministry of Finance notes that LEARN is aimed at improving the conditions for teaching and learning, which are implemented through subventions from the state budget to local budgets.
The WB notes that the initial funding for the LEARN program includes $235 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (IBRD) Assistance for Ukraine’s Necessary Credit Support (ADVANCE Ukraine) Trust Fund, $150 million from the International Development Association’s (IDA) Special Program for the Recovery of Ukraine and Moldova, and $30 million from the Ukraine Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Transformation Trust Fund (URTF). The program provides for results-based financing that can be scaled up as additional funds become available.
According to the release of the Ministry of Finance, the project agreement is expected to be signed in September 2024, and by the end of 2024, based on the achievement of pre-defined indicators, Ukraine will be able to receive $200 million to the general fund of the state budget.
The responsible executor of the PforR LEARN project in terms of supervision and coordination is the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. At the same time, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has been designated as the lead implementing agency, which will be responsible for the implementation of the LEARN project, its monitoring and evaluation.
The World Bank Board of Directors has approved a new $415 million systemic project in Ukraine, “Making Education Accessible and Resilient in Ukraine’s Crisis (LEARN),” aimed at improving primary and secondary education in Ukraine, reaching one million students, teachers, and school staff.
“It is critical to mitigate the impact of war on children, especially those from the most vulnerable families, by minimizing disruption to the learning process,” World Bank Regional Director for Eastern Europe Bob Soma was quoted as saying in a World Bank release on Saturday night.
It is specified that the LEARN programs include measures aimed at improving overall school safety conditions, providing free transportation for vulnerable students, conducting teacher training, purchasing textbooks and improving governance in the education sector. The project also aims to help implement a comprehensive education reform in grades 1-12, known as the New Ukrainian School (NUS), which is aligned with EU standards, the WB pointed out.
“The LEARN project will help thousands of Ukrainian students return to a protected learning environment,” Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko was quoted as saying in the release.
It is specified that the project is implemented using the financial instrument “Program-for-results, Program-for-results” (PforR).
The Ministry of Finance notes that LEARN is aimed at improving conditions for teaching and learning, implemented at the expense of subventions from the state budget to local budgets.
The WB notes that initial funding for the LEARN program includes $235 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (IBRD) ADVANCE Ukraine Trust Fund, $150 million from the International Development Association’s (IDA) Special Program for the Reconstruction of Ukraine and Moldova, and $30 million from the Ukraine Support, Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reform Trust Fund (URTF). The program provides results-based financing that can be scaled up if additional funds are available.
