KIEV, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) — Ukraine will get a loan of about 150 million U.S. dollars from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to combat COVID-19, the country’s finance ministry said on Monday.

The funds will partly be used to strengthen the public health system and support the urgent response to the COVID-19 pandemic by purchasing COVID-19 vaccines, the ministry said in a statement.

The money will also be spent on improving the logistics of COVID-19 vaccines, training medical staff and promoting vaccination, among other measures taken to contain the pandemic, according to the statement.

With a population of around 42 million, Ukraine has recorded more than 3.57 million COVID-19 cases and 91,602 deaths during the pandemic.

So far, some 40 percent of Ukrainian adults have been fully vaccinated.

In May, the IBRD allocated 90 million dollars to help Ukraine combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

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