The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank plans on July 3 to consider a loan of $300 million for Ukraine under the Social Assistance System Modernization Project, reads information on the Web site of the bank.
“This project will help expand the program of state social assistance
payments to needy families and ensure its targeted payments to those
who need it most,” World Bank Country Director for Ukraine, Belarus and
Moldova Qimiao Fan said.
According to him, such assistance is critical, especially given the
launch of reforms in Ukraine, which foresee, inter alia, the reduction
of subsidies for gas and heating.
According to the materials of the project, Ukraine in 2012 spent 3.3 percent
of GDP on social support, which is high, but only 43.2 percent of this aid
reached the poorest people, and only a few of the 16 existing social
programs are aimed at securing the guaranteed minimum income. While in
2005 such guaranteed minimum income programs covered 4 percent of the
population, in 2012 this was only 0.9 percent, while in 2013 their share
increased to 1.3 percent.
