The UK launches flagship SPIRIT programme to drive social recovery in Ukraine
Source: gov.uk (2025-02-07)

In collaboration with Government of Ukraine, UNICEF and the World Bank, £25m of UK funding will support an inclusive and sustainable social recovery in Ukraine.

- The SPIRIT programme (Social Protection for Inclusion, Resilience, Innovation and Transformation) will support Ukraine to strengthen more inclusive and efficient social protection systems and revitalise community and family-based services.
- SPIRIT will support the Foreign Secretary’s priority to ensure a safe and loving family for every child, improving social care services for 10,000 families across 10 regions
- The programme will help Ukraine lay foundations for a recovery that meets the needs of citizens in all their diversity including people with disabilities, veterans and other war-impacted groups.
The UK will invest £25 million to strengthen Ukraine’s social protection system and services to support an inclusive and barrier-free recovery. The funding announced during the visit of the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy to Kyiv (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-uk-support-for-ukraine-drives-forward-100-year-partnership) will catalyse Ukraine’s ambition for reform of the social sphere. This support will help Ukraine to meet the varied needs of the population and accelerate Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic pathway. The UK will partner with UNICEF Ukraine and the World Bank to deliver SPIRIT, working closely with the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, the European Union and key partners in the social sector.

The SPIRIT programme recognises that investing in people - and the support and services they need - will be critical for Ukraine’s long-term recovery and socio-economic future.

Russia’s full-scale invasion has had an immense and devastating human impact in Ukraine. This has been disproportionately felt by the most vulnerable and war-impacted groups, including women, children and families, people with disabilities, older people, veterans, and those in frontline areas.

The programme will support Government of Ukraine in their social reform agenda, bringing together Ministries and local government, international financial organisations, donors, civil society, academia, and private sector.

Following the signing of the ‘Social Recovery and Inclusion Partnership for Ukraine’ by the UK, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, the European Union, UNICEF and the World Bank at the Berlin Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024, SPIRIT demonstrates commitment of the UK government and partners to support Ukraine’s socio-economic future and further our collaboration.

The SPIRIT programme has three main priorities:

Improving access to high-quality community and family-based social services for at least 10,000 families with children across 10 regions. In cooperation with the Ministry of Social Policy, we will deliver small grants and capacity-building to 100 civil society and local community actors to enable them to provide social services, while building a local marketplace of accessible service providers and empowering local actors to meet the growing demand for social protection support.

Establishing a Social Recovery Office with the Ministry of Social Policy to drive reforms, improve coordination in the sector, and enhance collaboration with international financial institutions and development partners. The Social Recovery Office will help Ukraine respond to pressing demographic challenges, meet the needs of the most vulnerable, and support development of a more robust and inclusive social protection framework.

Launching a range of cross-sectoral initiatives that support social recovery and inclusion priorities in Ukraine. Projects will work across health, economic and social sectors, piloting new models of support and services to cater for the most vulnerable and war-impacted groups. This includes women, families with children, people with disabilities, older people, and veterans. These initiatives will foster human capital, enable inclusive reforms and build the institutional capacity needed for Ukraine to address the demographic, economic, and societal changes driven by the war.

The SPIRIT programme will support the Foreign Secretary’s campaign to realize family-based care for every child. Ukraine is a key partner in the Foreign Secretary’s new global alliance to progress sustainable, lasting reform of children’s social care around the world (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/childrens-care-reform-an-international-priority-on-foreign-secretary-and-barry-keoghan-visit-to-bulgaria). Working with the Government of Ukraine and UNICEF, SPIRIT includes a specific focus on accelerating ‘Better Care Reform’ to strengthen families, prevent separation, and ensure a safe and loving family environment for all Ukrainian children.

The British Ambassador to Ukraine, Martin Harris said:

I am proud that the UK is announcing critical funding for Ukraine’s social recovery. The £25m contribution will strengthen Ukraine’s social systems and services that are under overwhelming pressure from Russia’s brutal invasion. Investing in Ukraine’s social systems is an investment in Ukraine’s people - and we know that Ukraine’s people are its greatest resource.

SPIRIT is a testament to 100 Year Partnership and shared values between our two countries, including our commitment to meet the needs of women, children, people with disabilities, older people, veterans, and marginalised groups.

In the very worst of circumstances, Ukraine is pursuing an ambitious reform agenda to build a brighter, fairer and ‘barrier-free’ society. In partnership with the Government of Ukraine, UNICEF and the World Bank, the SPIRIT programme will drive forward this vision and lay the foundations for a future where the well-being, dignity and potential of every Ukrainian is ensured.

Oksana Zholnovych, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine outlined:

Human capital development is at the centre of Ukraine’s recovery. The SPIRIT programme represents a crucial step in building institutional capacity, strengthening the social protection system and supporting critical reforms to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and inclusion. We are grateful to our partners, the FCDO, World Bank, and UNICEF, for their support and shared commitment to fostering social cohesion, leaving no one behind.

Munir Mammadzade, UNICEF Representative to Ukraine indicates:

The SPIRIT programme is a critical investment in protecting and improving the lives of the most vulnerable, especially children and families in need across Ukraine. This initiative will further strengthen national systems and community-based services to nurture and maximize the country’s most important resource, its human capital, to drive inclusive and prosperous growth.

Bob Saum, World Bank Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe added:

Addressing social cohesion and inclusion, including meeting the needs of vulnerable populations will contribute to maximizing benefits of Ukraine’s post-war recovery economic growth. The SPIRIT program will help build institutional capacity to support veterans, people with disabilities, and other at-risk groups while advancing Ukraine’s EU integration goals.