War in Ukraine: the World Bank grants an additional $1.49 billion in aid
Eva Deschamps / June 8, 2022
The World Bank's Board of Directors on Tuesday approved an additional $1.49 billion in financing for Ukraine to help the government pay the salaries of civil servants and social workers.
This new funding brings World Bank financing to over $4 billion.
On March 8, the institution approved $3 billion in aid with an immediate disbursement of $489 million.
Nearly $2 billion has now been disbursed, the World Bank said in a statement.
It states that the new project has received funding guarantees from the UK, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Latvia.
The World Bank's project portfolio in Ukraine supports the improvement of public services that directly benefit ordinary citizens, in areas such as water supply, sanitation, heating, electricity, energy efficiency, roads, social protection, education and health care, the institution said in a statement.
Maintaining these basic services and the government's ability to provide them is essential to prevent further deterioration of living conditions and poverty in Ukraine beyond the suffering inflicted on the population as a result of the war, said World Bank Director for Eastern Europe, Arup Banerji.
He also notes that maintaining the government's ability to function will be the foundation of any recovery and reconstruction.