Ukraine and the World Bank have agreed on the priority areas for reforming the country’s social sector. This was the outcome of a meeting between Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity Denys Ulyutin and Michal Rutkowski, the World Bank’s Regional Director for Human Development in Europe and Central Asia.
Ulyutin stressed that Ukraine and the Bank share the same approach: financial aid to vulnerable people has to go together with actual social services — rehabilitation, care, employment support — otherwise people affected by the war remain dependent and excluded.
What reforms are in focus
The World Bank is helping Ukraine under the SPIRIT program (Social Protection for Inclusion, Resilience, Innovation and Transformation). Within this framework, several big reform blocks are being prepared:
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Pension reform – to make the system more sustainable and fair in wartime conditions.
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Modern disability support system – moving away from the old “group of disability” model to one based on functional needs.
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Development of social services – so that people don’t just get money, but can receive care, support, rehabilitation, daycare, or family services locally.
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Introduction of basic social assistance – a clearer, unified system of minimum support for those who lost income because of the war.
Disability support will change first
Rutkowski highlighted the part of SPIRIT that concerns people with disabilities. Ukraine plans to rebuild this system based on the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) — this is how the EU and WHO approach disability.
That means:
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assessment not only of the diagnosis, but of how a person actually functions;
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linking three spheres in one model: health care → social protection → employment;
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building data and IT systems so that services are assigned faster and more accurately.
The World Bank confirmed it is ready to help Ukraine with:
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designing the institutional architecture,
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staff training,
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building a data collection and monitoring system.
Why this matters now
The war has sharply increased the number of people who need long-term support — military and civilian amputees, people with PTSD, displaced families, single older people. Ukraine can’t cover this only with cash payments, so the reform logic is: first identify the need, then give a service, and only then supplement it with money.
What’s next
The Ministry of Social Policy and the World Bank agreed to tighten coordination and clearly define where the Bank will focus further assistance — primarily disability reform, social services and targeting. The ministry also recalled that Ukraine recently received $177 million under the SURGE and THRIVE projects — these are broader World Bank programs that help with public finance and health system transformation, and the money went to the state budget to keep services running.
So, this is not just another memorandum — it’s a gradual shift of the Ukrainian social system toward EU standards: fewer fragmented benefits, more unified rules, more services, and better data.
