Direct Budget Support: USAID Ensured That the Government of Ukraine Adhered to Required Controls, but Did Not Verify the Accuracy of Salary Expenditures

Why We Did This Evaluation 

• The United States, through USAID, has directed $22.9 billion in direct budget support to the Government of Ukraine to fund emergency services for internally displaced people and pay public employees delivering critical services.
• Of the DBS, $1.7 billion was channeled through the World Bank’s Single Donor Trust Fund (SDTF) to reimburse the Ukraine government for the salaries of healthcare workers employed from January 1, 2022, to July 31, 2022. 
• USAID’s contribution to the SDTF was limited to funding verifiable salary expenditures for these healthcare workers. 

What We Found 

• USAID verified that the Government of Ukraine met reporting requirements and contracted for monitoring activities of the SDTF.
• USAID did not verify the accuracy of healthcare worker salary expenditure reports.

Why It Matters

• Without accurate data and verified expenditures for healthcare worker salaries, USAID cannot fully implement the safeguards designed to ensure the integrity of direct budget support funding to support Ukraine’s healthcare services during the war.