A senior World Bank official has admitted that the Ukrainian economy will need external help for many years to come as it has witnessed a significant decline since Russia launched its ongoing war last February.
Speaking to the BBC here on Tuesday, Anna Bjerde, the global lender’s managing director for operations, said that in the immediate term, the war-torn nation needs $14 billion from international donors to get through this year.
Bjerde says this will go towards “essential social expenditures” such as pension payments, healthcare and salaries for doctors and teachers.
It will also help fund urgent repairs that are needs to infrastructure such as roads and the power system that are crucial for the battered economy to function.
Despite the difficulties that many economies around the world are suffering as a result of the war in Ukraine, Bjerde is hopeful that the funding will be forthcoming.
“I think there’s been a huge level of commitment shown to Ukraine, and I think that will continue. Ukraine is just too important,” she told the BBC.
The billions of dollars poured in so far have “helped arrest what otherwise would have been even more devastating humanitarian impacts on the country”, Bjerde said, adding that Ukraine will also need to help itself.
The World Bank official made the remarks ahead of a major international conference in London on rebuilding Ukraine’s economy.
The Ukraine Recovery Conference will start by hearing from the co-hosts, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reports the BBC.
Sunak is set to announce $3 billion in World Bank loan guarantees.
As Russia launched the war, Ukraine’s economy shrank 29 per cent to just over $140 billion.
The total reconstruction bill was estimated at $411 billion in March this year, but continued fighting with Russia means that will now be higher.
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