Finland to allocate EUR 20M for Ukraine's education sector reform

Finland's Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio pledged that Finland would support education sector reform in Ukraine by UAH 20 million and the country's school meals program by EUR 500,000.

He stated this at the European Regional School Meals Summit in Kyiv on November 12, Ukrinform reports, citing the Finnish Foreign Ministry.

At the forum, Finland announced that it would support the World Food Program's school meals program in Ukraine by EUR 500,000 in 2024.

Tavio also said that Finland would support Ukraine's education sector by EUR 20 million in 2025–2028. The bilateral project between Finland and Ukraine will focus on implementing the general upper secondary education reform. The project has been prepared in cooperation with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science, the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish National Agency for Education.

The general upper secondary education reform will also involve developing the student welfare system and responding to pupils' psychosocial support needs caused by the war. The project will take account of gender equality, the rights of persons with disabilities and access to general upper secondary education for vulnerable groups.

In Kyiv, Minister Tavio signed a framework agreement on a mixed credit instrument, Finland–Ukraine Investment Facility (FUIF), between Finland and Ukraine. The new mixed credit instrument can generate investments worth EUR 50 million in 2025–2026 for supporting investment projects that Ukraine considers important.

The instrument is part of Finland's national reconstruction plan for Ukraine. The aim is to support Ukraine's public sector investments that are in line with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and that make use of Finnish products, services, expertise and technology.

Additionally, Finland supports humanitarian work by allocating EUR 8 million in funding for the Ukraine operations of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Currently, nearly 15 million people in Ukraine need constant humanitarian assistance. Due to damages to the energy infrastructure, Ukrainians are expected to face the hardest winter yet since the war started. Humanitarian needs are growing especially on the frontline.