The Pact for the Future embodies a new spirit of global inclusivity, with leaders uniting to steer the world towards a more sustainable path. Central to this vision is a renewed international financial architecture that can amplify resources for key areas of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including poverty eradication, climate action, and the just energy transition. Many developing countries are struggling with crippling debt burdens and high borrowing costs, making it difficult to effectively respond to the myriad crises they face. The annual financing gap for the SDGs is estimated at $4 trillion, with over half ($2.2 trillion) earmarked for critical energy transformations.
Since 2010, UNDP has helped governments and IFIs deliver projects with a total value of nearly $3.4 billion in IFI financing. Today, UNDP works with more than 20 of the world’s largest IFIs in over 75 countries and territories across five regions. Each year, over two-thirds of IFI financing channeled through UNDP is implemented in fragile and crisis-affected contexts, such as Yemen, where UNDP and the World Bank have helped 10 million people access essential services, including healthcare and renewable energy.
UNDP collaborates with IFIs to unlock vital climate finance through innovative financing instruments such as green bonds, Green Sukuk, climate budget tagging, impact measurement and management, and risk insurance. UNDP also advances 'de-risking' approaches, such as the Africa Minigrids Program, which aims to connect 33 million people to clean, affordable electricity across 21 countries in Africa.
From 2018 to 2023, UNDP received a total of $1.95 billion in financing flows, broken down by region:
Top partners include KFW, the European Investment Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Top recipients include Yemen, Lebanon, and Cameroon. Funding was directed primarily to fragile and crisis-affected contexts, totaling $1.49 billion.
When IFIs, governments, and UNDP work together, everyone wins. Better projects, safer investments, stronger government capacity, and a global finance structure better aligned with sustainable development are all achievable outcomes. UNDP seeks to deepen its collaboration with IFIs, leveraging new partnerships and pulling the levers of funding, financing mechanisms, capacity-building, and technical assistance to ensure lasting change and opportunities for future generations.