Investing in Social Protection for Inclusion, Resilience, and Efficiency (INSPIRE) Project

The objective of the Investing in Social Protection for Inclusion, Resilience, and Efficiency (INSPIRE) Project is to: (i) contribute to the sustainable provision of social assistance to vulnerable groups, and (ii) improve the coverage and efficiency of selected social safety net programs. There is one component to the project, the first component being provision of social assistance to vulnerable groups. This component will finance the selected 29 types of social benefits envisaged by five state budget programs from January 2023 to June 2024. These benefits provide support to around 2.4 million beneficiaries (individuals), including vulnerable families and children, adults and children with disabilities and caregivers, social pensioners, socially vulnerable students, and victims of human trafficking and the Chornobyl nuclear disaster. Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the GoU made notable progress in strengthening the targeting of these programs and introduced means testing as an eligibility rule for several of them. The ongoing war in Ukraine exacerbates vulnerabilities and heightened economic, social, and health risks for the beneficiaries of these programs, and most of them rely on monthly social payments as their only income source to cover basic needs. Hence, sustaining the GoU’s capacity to provide social assistance under selected programs during the war is critical, particularly given these groups’ growing vulnerability to ensure their food security and safety. The estimated budget allocated by the GoU for these types of benefits for 2023 is US1 billion dollars equivalent. The project will finance expenditures on 29 selected social benefits paid through the MoSP and PFU to eligible beneficiaries (households or individuals) in compliance with the program rules and procedures outlined in the applicable laws and regulations during the 2023 calendar year and in January to June 2024. The GoU undertakes that no project proceeds or resources may be used for...