Member States announced commitments to deliver on the Doha Programme of Action to put the world’s 46 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) back on track to achieving the SDGs. Commitments ranging from improving biodiversity and tackling malnutrition to resilience building aim to drive transformational change for the 1.2 billion people living in the world’s poorest countries.

The Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) was held in two parts. Originally scheduled to take place in Qatar in 2021 but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first part of LDC5 convened in New York, US, on 17 March 2022. Its second part convened in Doha, Qatar, from 5-9 March 2023, under the theme, ‘From Potential to Prosperity.’

During the first part of the LDC5 Conference, countries adopted the Doha Programme of Action for the LDCs, which was endorsed by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 1 April 2022. The Doha Programme of Action outlines a ten-year plan to tap into the potential of the LDCs by implementing renewed and strengthened commitments between the LDCs and their development partners, including the private sector, civil society, and governments at all levels. Measures outlined in the Programme of Action include: the development of a food stockholding mechanism for the LDCs; an online university focusing on STEM education, especially for women and girls; an international investment support center; a sustainable graduation support facility; and comprehensive multi-hazard crisis mitigation and resilience-building measures.

A year later, during the second part of LDC5, countries recognized that despite some positive results, progress fell short of the goals and targets of the Istanbul Programme of Action for the LDCs for the Decade 2011-2020 and the LDCs continue to suffer from extreme poverty, inequality, and structural weaknesses. The LDCs “are being stranded amidst a rising tide of crisis, uncertainty, climate chaos and deep global injustice,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, addressing the plenary. He called for:

  • Support to achieve the SDGs, including at least USD 500 billion a year to developing countries, as well as 0.15-0.2% of gross national income (GNI) for official development assistance (ODA) from developed countries;
  • A “new Bretton Woods moment,” including “expanding contingency financing and integrating disaster and pandemic clauses into debt instruments”; and
  • A “revolution” in climate support.

Participants acknowledged the need to bridge the digital divide in light of a recent report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which finds that two-thirds of the population of the LDCs is still offline. The need to invest in young people, including youth’s digital skills and digital literacy of girls, also emerged as a prominent message.

At the conclusion of the second part of LDC5, governments reinforced their commitment to the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action throughout the coming decade by adopting the Doha Political Declaration. In an effort to translate the vision of the Doha Programme of Action into tangible results, countries and stakeholders also announced “a host of commitments,” to help the LDCs address the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, return to a pathway to achieve the SDGs, address climate change, and make progress towards “sustainable and irreversible” graduation.

Commitments include:

  • A financial package of USD 60 million – USD 10 million to support the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action and USD 50 million to help build resilience in the LDCs, by Qatar;  
  • A pledge of EUR 200 million in 2023 for financing for the LDCs, by Germany; 
  • CAD 59 million from Canada, to deliver vitamin supplements in 15 LDCs and ecosystem conservation in Burkina Faso;   
  • Cooperation agreements totaling more than EUR 130 million in sustainable investments in Africa, announced by the European Commission;
  • Finland’s announcement of the UN LDC Future Forum in Helsinki – an annual event convened with the Office of the UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (OHRLLS), to ensure the latest thinking and research are leveraged to enable progress in the most vulnerable states; 
  • A new project by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to give USD 80 million in equity to offer green guarantees to business in LDCs and bring down the cost of capital;
  • A new EUR 10 million Tourism for Development Fund for LDCs, announced by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and supported by TUI Care Foundation. The Fund will invest by 2030 to support sustainable tourism in LDCs as a key driver of development;
  • Kazakhstan’s pledge of USD 50,000 to continue supporting the most vulnerable countries; and
  • Saudi Arabia’s announcement of a USD 800 million loan package for the LDCs.

In closing, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said the Doha Programme of Action represents “a clear blueprint for recovery, renewal and resilience in the world’s most vulnerable countries.” But “[t]he commitments and responsibilities do not stop and start with the signing of the documents or attending Conferences,” she warned. “They must be integral to our efforts towards 2030 and extend for the full decade.”

The LDCs are: Afghanistan; Angola; Bangladesh; Benin; Bhutan; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cambodia; the Central African Republic (CAR); Chad; Comoros; the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; the Gambia; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Haiti; Kiribati; the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR); Lesotho; Liberia; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mozambique; Myanmar; Nepal; Niger; Rwanda; São Tomé and Príncipe; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Solomon Islands; Somalia; South Sudan; the Sudan; Timor-Leste; Togo; Tuvalu; Uganda; Tanzania; Yemen; and Zambia.

The latest country to graduate from the LDC category in late 2020 was Vanuatu. Bhutan is expected to graduate next, in late 2023. [LDC5 Press Release] [UN Meeting Coverage] [UN News Story]