"Pushing the Boundaries": UN Deputy Chief Calls for Deeper Partnerships to Fund Global Goals
Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the side event, “Catalysing Change: Unlocking Impactful Financing at Scale through the UN Joint SDG Fund”, during the Financing for Development Conference in Sevilla, Spain:
I am delighted to join you today to showcase how the UN Joint SDG Fund is turning the Financing for Development 4 vision into a reality on the ground. Ten years into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda [for Sustainable Development], we face a stark reality: while progress on the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] has delivered for millions, it has not kept pace with the scale of global challenges. The financing gap for the SDGs now exceeds $4 trillion annually, while multiple crises and shifting priorities threaten our collective ambition.
Delivering on the vision of the 2030 Agenda requires finding and scaling-up innovative solutions. This is the purpose of the Joint SDG Fund. The Fund is an innovative and powerful instrument to drive change, break siloed approaches, and unlock financing at scale.
Since its inception, the Fund has committed over $380 million, enabling a whole-of-UN-system response to pressing challenges. This commitment has leveraged a further $6.6 billion in contributions from the wider ecosystem of development partners at country level.
This is a clear demonstration of how finite resources, applied strategically, can crowd-in far greater volumes of capital, and result in far greater impact for the SDGs.
The secret to the Fund’s success is its innovative approach to financing. Through blended and innovative finance mechanisms — from SDG bonds to energy financing facilities to credit enhancement guarantees — the Fund demonstrates how strategic risk-sharing can attract private capital for sustainable development, while bringing partners together to deliver solutions.
Consider the following five examples:
In Indonesia, the Joint SDG Fund supported green and social investments, mobilizing $4.6 billion through specialized bonds that benefited over 7.5 million students and restored 50,000 hectares of mangrove forests.
In Uruguay, the Renewable Energy Innovation Fund achieved a 1:6 leverage ratio by partnering with seven banks that together account for 80 per cent of the country's financial sector.
Kenya's innovative health financing reached over 1.5 million young people through results-based payment mechanisms working with impact investors.
North Macedonia’s Green Finance Facility channels resources through six local banks, directing $46.5 million toward environmental projects while supporting women-headed households, Roma communities, and persons with disabilities. This was achieved in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and others.
And Zimbabwe's Renewable Energy Fund showcases how partnerships with private equity funds, such as Old Mutual, can mobilize capital for women and youth-led enterprises in challenging markets.
These are just a few powerful examples.
The Fund’s success also stems from its unique positioning within the UN development system, leveraging UN resident coordinators’ convening role and UN country teams’ technical expertise.
Fundamentally, the Fund represents multilateralism at its most effective — creating a collaborative platform extending beyond the UN system to enable and grow partnerships across the development and finance community.
But delivering on the Fund’s full potential requires expanded partnership. I call on all Member States, development finance institutions, and private sector partners to deepen engagement with the Fund — not only through financial commitments but through strategic partnerships to keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
Today, we will hear about success stories from Zimbabwe to North Macedonia, from Cabo Verde to Suriname. These prove that, with the right instruments and partnerships, we can turn global commitments into tangible local transformation.
The Financing for Development 4 outcome document, the “Sevilla Commitment,” calls for a global SDG investment push. This is possible by elevating the role of governments in guiding strategic investments; by all development partners, including development banks, working as a system; by removing barriers to private capital; and by ensuring that investments from all partners are designed to deliver the greatest possible impact.
The Fund stands ready to support and enable this important vision. With innovation, partnerships, and the catalytic financing that the Joint SDG Fund provides, sustainable development for all remains within our reach. Let’s get there together.
To read more about the Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, click here.
