Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Sweden and Switzerland
In 2024, a woman-led cooperative in Malawi used energy-efficient baking technology to increase bread production by 400 percent. What began as a community-driven initiative—supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Funding Windows — the cooperative has now evolved into a mentorship network, empowering women to launch their own businesses and challenge traditional gender roles. This is just one of many stories that show how Funding Windows go beyond meeting immediate needs, planting the seeds for lasting change, inspiring innovation, and creating ripple effects that transform communities.
As the world grapples with a convergence of crises—from geopolitical tensions to climate shocks to deepening inequality— US$142 million was delivered through the Funding Windows, enabling UNDP to respond swiftly and strategically to today’s most pressing challenges. This 2024 Funding Windows Annual Report showcases impactful results achieved through flexible resources, including enabling over 280,000 people to gain improved access to essential services, strengthening the livelihoods of more than 190,000 people—most of them women—in 20 countries, and providing over 340,000 people in 11 countries with enhanced access to justice and legal services.
None of this would have been possible without the collective efforts of our partners. Together with 20 United Nations organizations, national governments, civil society, the private sector, academia, and international financial institutions, we have demonstrated the power of collaboration in tackling global challenges. At the heart of these achievements lies the steadfast support of our partners. Their contributions, unwavering engagement, and strong advocacy for the strategic value of the Funding Windows made these results possible. We thank the following partners for their investments in 2024: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Sweden, and Switzerland.
As we look ahead, flexible financing will remain a vital force driving the ability of UNDP to deliver results in an uncertain world. With diminishing development resources, Funding Windows are much more than a funding mechanism. Indeed, they are a spark to turn challenges into opportunities and bold ideas into tangible results. Based on lessons learned from Funding Windows over the years, a greater focus will be placed on supporting integrated approaches, programmatic coherence, and portfolios that address the systems underlying complex development challenges. Together with our partners, UNDP is not simply responding to crises; we are working hand-in-hand with communities to co-create a new vision for global development—one that shapes a future of opportunity and resilience for everyone, everywhere.
Denmark provides more than 30 million USD annually to UNDP’s Funding Windows for democratic governance and climate. We are proud to have contributed to concrete results that make a real difference, including access to clean energy in Afghanistan, access to water for more than 140,000 in Niger and access to legal aid for more than 100,000 in Myanmar. Our partnership with UNDP is evidence of our support for multilateral cooperation and for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals where the needs are greatest.
Luxembourg's contributions to the Funding Windows reflect a deep confidence in the UNDP's ability to deliver impactful results in some of the world's most vulnerable regions. These pooled resources facilitate catalytic investments to address emerging and complex challenges and drive integrated action across the United Nations system. I want to emphasize that Luxembourg has demonstrated that effective international cooperation does not depend on the size of the country, but rather on the commitment to policy coherence and the will to generate transformative impact. To maximize its contribution in Latin America and the Caribbean, Luxembourg seeks to deepen the approach to community resilience, foster social and technological innovation, and consolidate partnerships with local actors.
and 6 regional centres utilizing FW resources
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