By UN Development Programme

The UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Funding Windows are the primary thematic funding vehicle that provides catalytic funds in a range of development contexts, including those affected by complex and compounding crises. In support of the SDGs, UNDP’s Funding Windows allow the institution to target critical country- and regional-level needs as they emerge, and to support ongoing integrated development solutions around the globe.

Aligned with UNDP’s Strategic Plan, the Funding Windows are structured as four thematic windows: Governance, Peacebuilding, Crisis, and Resilience; Poverty and Inequality; Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment; and Nature, Climate, and Energy.

The Funding Windows are a key financing vehicle for UNDP’s efforts to reach the furthest behind first, including women, youth, people affected by crisis, people with disabilities, and minorities. A total of 117 countries received support, utilizing USD 119 million. Of these, 40 were among the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and 52 were crisis-affected and fragile.

The 2022 annual report features stories of impact, demonstrating tangible results in improving people’s lives. For example, 940 solar solutions were developed in seven crisis and fragile settings, 61,000 people, over half of which were women, strengthened livelihoods in 21 countries, 8,400 short-term jobs were created in seven countries in crisis or post-crisis settings, and 18 countries supported durable solutions to internally displaced persons, migrants, and host communities.

In 2022, the Funding Windows supported youth to build social cohesion and peace in Djibouti and Trinidad and Tobago, access work opportunities in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania, develop their skills and knowledge in Ethiopia and Morocco, fight gender-based violence in Chad and Colombia, and rehabilitate farmlands in Syria, among others. The Funding Windows are improving health in Somalia’s at-risk communities through innovation, supporting constitutional reform processes in Chile, and creating urban resilience after COVID-19 in Myanmar.

Additional results achieved through the Funding Windows in 2022 include:

• 27 countries advanced digital solutions;
• 32 countries received support for more responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision making;
• 14 countries received assistance to improve access to justice; and
• 20 countries were assisted to work across the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus.

Several global flagship projects receive funds through the Funding Windows, including: UNDP’s Climate Promise, the world’s largest offer of support to countries on national climate pledges under the Paris Agreement on climate change; the Global Programme for Strengthening the Rule of Law, Human Rights, Justice and Security for Sustainable Peace and Development, which serves as the cornerstone of UNDP’s efforts to make the rule of law and respect for human rights a global reference point and enabler for achieving the SDGs; and the Global Observatory of Gender-Responsive Public Policies, supporting national governments to develop gender-responsive measures to achieve gender equality.

Through the Funding Windows, UNDP collaborates with UN agencies, funds, and programmes, multiplying impact through coordinated interventions. They are also a ‘one-stop shop’ for partners seeking to fund development solutions that complement UNDP’s regular resources. Tapping into UNDP’s full network of expertise, knowledge, and programmatic capacities can deliver results in a transparent and accountable manner, enabling innovation, efficiency, and coherence. In 2022, every dollar pooled through the Funding Windows in investment yielded an additional USD 4.87 mobilized for ensuring that no one is left behind.

We thank our partners, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK for their engagement and generous support.

The full results from 2022 can be found in the UNDP Funding Windows Annual Report for 2022. More information is available on the UNDP website, Funding Windows portal, or by contacting us at fundingwindows@undp.org.