The national flag of Ukraine flies over the city of Kramatorsk, Ukraine on November 25, 2021. Photo taken with a drone on November 25, 2021. REUTERS / Valentyn Ogirenko

KYIV, Dec.11 (Reuters) – The World Bank has approved an additional loan of $ 150 million to help Ukraine speed up COVID-19 vaccinations, the Ukrainian office of the international lender said on Saturday.

The Ukrainian government will spend $ 120 million on 16.5 million doses of the vaccine and the rest will be used for IT, communications and public awareness, capacity building, cold chain and management equipment waste, the World Bank said.

“This new additional funding will help Ukraine continue to strengthen its COVID-19 response and immunization activities,” Arup Banerji, World Bank regional director for Eastern Europe, said in a statement.

The new funds are in addition to $ 155 million provided this year for two projects to support Ukrainian healthcare during the pandemic.

“Ukraine still has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe and as such is paying a high economic and human price, especially with the emergence of new viral variants,” Banerji said.

According to data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, 12.4 million people received two injections of COVID-19 vaccines out of a population of 41 million, while 3.6 million cases of infection and around 91,000 deaths were recorded.

Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Editing by Edmund Blair

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