The World Bank’s board on Tuesday approved $1.49 billion in additional funding for Ukraine to help pay government and social workers, bringing the bank’s pledged total support to more than 4 billion.
The latest funding is backed by secured funding from the UK, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Latvia, the World Bank said in a statement. The project also benefited from a parallel fund from Italy and contributions from a new multi-donor trust fund.
Ukraine says it needs at least $5 billion a month to keep its government afloat in the face of Russian aggression in February and a war that has crippled much of its economy. Financial leaders from the Group of Seven industrial democracies pledged $9.5 billion in new funding last month, bringing their non-military support to around $20 billion.
The World Bank works with donor countries to use various funding programs for health care, education, social services, water and electricity supply, and roadside assistance.
Arup Banerjee, World Bank Director for Eastern Europe, said in a statement: “essential to preventing further deterioration in living conditions and poverty in Ukraine beyond the suffering inflicted because of the war”.