World Bank to give Ukraine $150 million for Covid-19 vaccination drive

The World Bank announced on Dec. 10 that it will give Ukraine $150 million to help "prevent, detect and respond to the threats posed by Covid-19 and strengthen Ukraine's national health system."

Around $120 million will go towards helping Ukraine buy 16.5 million vaccine doses, enough to fully innoculate around 20% of the population.

The remaining $30 million will help the Ukrainian vaccination effort by developing IT systems, communication, public outreach and logistical networks.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the World Bank has supplied Ukraine with $1.8 billion in financial support and investment in medical infrastructure.

Ukraine is the third-least vaccinated country in Europe, according to the statistics website Our World in Data.

According to the health ministry, only 32.6% of Ukrainians were fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as of Dec. 12. The ministry calculates the vaccination rates using the overall population of 38 million, excluding Russian-occupied Crimea and parts of the Donbas.

The low rates stem in part from the high levels of vaccine skepticism in the country. According to a UNICEF study published on Nov. 5, around 54.6% of unvaccinated Ukrainians said they would refuse the jab.