(4th meeting) Executive Board of UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS (Second regular session 2025)

Good afternoon and welcome all to the 4th meeting of the 2nd regular session of the Executive Board. This segment is being held in accordance with the rules of procedure of the Executive Board and the approved annual work plan. We will now proceed with agenda item 8. Financial, budgetary, and administrative matters. Focus on the UNFPA Integrated Budget 2026-2029 and the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions on the UNFPA Integrated Budget 2026-2029. I am pleased to welcome to the podium Mr. Andrew—

Excuse me.

Mr. Andrew Saverton, Deputy Executive Director for Management. Then also to my right, Mrs. Eva Gorichnik-Christian, Controller and Director for the Division for Management Services, also at UNFPA, obviously. And then we'll go to my left, Mr. Martin Sajek, Chief Strategic Resource Planning Branch, Division for Management and Services.

Hello.

And last but definitely not least, Mrs. Julia Bunting, Director, Programme Division, also at UNFPA. I would now like to invite Mr. Andrew Saberton, Deputy Executive Director, Management, to deliver his presentation. You have the floor, sir.

Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, distinguished members of the Executive Board, I am pleased to present the UNFPA Integrated Budget for 2026-2029. Fully aligned with the strategic plan for the same period. We have developed this integrated budget in times of unprecedented uncertainty. Following years of sustained growth, when we have constantly exceeded fundraising targets, we are now facing declining projections in both core and non-core funding. This has not come as a surprise. UNFPA has proactively conducted adverse revenue scenario planning to be best prepared. We have taken a very careful look at projections and have continued to adjust income as needed to be prudent. Accordingly, our contribution forecast for 2026 to 2029 is conservative. We project $4.8 billion in gross contributions, with a reduction of just over $800 million— that's 16%— compared with the Midterm Review of the current budget. Regular resources, the foundation of our work, remain under strain. With regular resources at 26% and other resources at 74%, our share falls below the 30% of the UN Funding Compact targets. UNFPA will continue advocating for predictable, flexible core funding. As we designed the integrated budget in support of the Strategic Plan, We are committed to protecting programme funding as much as possible, particularly at the field level where impact is most tangible. While programme spending is projected to decrease in line with overall funding trends, 88.2% of resources will still be directed to the field, a testimony to the fact that UNFPA will continue to be a field-focused organization. We propose dedicating $4.7 billion US dollars, or 90% of total available resources, to development and planning activities, predominantly country programmes. This represents a decrease from the current cycle, but protects programming as much as possible. For the institutional budget, we propose $556.5 million, or 10.6% of total resources— a nominal decrease, but a critical investment in our capacity to deliver. While budgets were reduced for key corporate functions, we did prioritise the robustness of UNFPA's fiduciary and oversight functions and proposed $59.7 million for independent oversight, maintaining the proportional investment from the current cycle. Finally, UNFPA welcomed the report of the Advisory Committee for Administrative and Budgetary Questions. Which among other things highlighted our conservative approach, emphasised the importance of coordination with the Resident Coordinator System, and recommended areas of reporting to the Executive Board. UNFPA is pleased that the majority of this reporting already takes place, and we will continue this practice of transparent Board engagement. Looking ahead, in line with our proactive approach and to be best prepared for the future, we are conducting a business model review to identify savings and efficiencies across all our structures and cost categories. Our integrated budget is adaptive and will allow for the recurrent changes to be incorporated within the proposed budget appropriation. Mr. President, distinguished delegates, we thank the Board for the support and guidance received and for the extensive consultations that have resulted in the UNFPA integrated budget 2026-2029 that is now in front of you. We count on you to approve it so that UNFPA can continue to deliver for women and girls. Given the voluntary nature of our income, nothing in this integrated budget is a given, even once it is approved by you. This is why we need your continued support, especially on ensuring multi-year core funding, the bedrock of UNFPA's work in development and humanitarian settings. And while we have planned the budget on a prudent income basis, the needs and the strategic ambition are much higher. UNFPA will ensure that any funding received above the targets will be used to support country programmes and make a difference where it is most needed.

Thank you.

Thanks a lot, Mr. Saverton, for your presentation. I now open the floor It looks like everything has been crystal clear to everybody in the room, so I would like to thank you for your presentation. This concludes the consideration of agenda item 8, Financial, Budgetary, and Administrative Matters on the UNFPA Integrated 2026-2029 Budget— Integrated Budget 2026-2029. I wish to inform the Board that the draft decision on Agenda Item 8 on the UNFPA Integrated Budget 2026-2029 is under preparation and will be presented for the Board's consideration later this session. Colleagues, we shall now proceed to Agenda Item 9, UNFPA Structured Funding Dialogue, which will include the report of the UNFPA Structured Funding Dialogue 2024. 2025. I'm pleased to welcome to the podium, still next to me, Mr. Andrew Saberton, Deputy Executive Director for Management, and joining us also Mr. Ian McFarlane, the Director for Division of External Relations. Then also to my right, Mrs. Julia Bunting, Director, Program Division, and now switching to my left, welcome to the podium as well, ma'am, Mrs. Shoko Arakaki, Director, Humanitarian Response Division.

Thank you.

And Mrs. Eva Gorischnik-Christian, Controller and Director, Division for Management, who now switched to the other side of the podium. And with that, I will now give the floor to Mr. Andrew Sabaton for his presentation. You have the floor, sir.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. Dear Mr. President, dear members of the Executive Board, welcome to the UNFPA Structured Funding Dialogue 2025. These dialogues are critical for understanding UNFPA's funding dynamics, trends, risks, and opportunities. The world is facing multiple crises, from conflicts and climate change to economic pressures, all of which are putting strains on official development assistance. While UNFPA has shown resilience by doubling our income in the last decade, we have also experienced significant funding cuts from a key donor this year. And we anticipate further decreases in core and non-core funding this year and into the next strategic planning cycle. At the same time, UNFPA is undergoing, with the UN system, major reforms, like the UN80 Initiative and the Humanitarian Reset. UNFPA is also undergoing its own business model review. These reforms can be challenging, but are also a transformative moment for all of us. We welcome the Funding Compact 2.0. We are committed and are doing our part, but we count on Member States' support to ensure the UN has the predictable, flexible and sustainable resources needed to deliver for the most vulnerable. Despite these challenges, UNFPA has made impressive progress towards our 3 transformative results and the Strategic Plan. In the least developed countries, the unmet need for family planning has decreased by approximately 28% since 1994. Global maternal mortality has dropped by about 40% between 2000 and 2023, with no country now classified as having an extremely high maternal mortality ratio. We have seen an accelerated decline in female genital mutilation and child early and forced marriage. Among those under 18, decreasing by 10.5% between 2018 and 2023. Additionally, in line with Institutional Reform and Effectiveness Initiative, UNFPA has been enhancing our enterprise risk management and ERP systems, strengthening our independent oversight bodies, prioritizing protection from sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment, operationalizing headquarters optimization, and receiving positive external assessments such as the recent MOPAN review. This progress would not be possible without the support of all our partners across the public, private, and multilateral sectors. This shared solidarity demonstrates that investing in sexual and reproductive health and rights is a foundational investment in sustainable development. And yet the need for solidarity has never been more urgent. Women and girls, especially in fragile settings, bear the brunt of conflicts, economic challenges, and the politicization of reproductive rights. At the same time, fiscal constraints are placing additional pressure on ODA, threatening to undermine decades of progress. In 2024, UNFPA's total contributions reached close to $1.7 billion, a 90% increase from 2023. And whilst this demonstrates the strong trust our partners place in us, a critical trend has indeed emerged. This increase was driven almost entirely by earmarked non-core funding, which hit a record high of almost $1.3 billion. In contrast, our core funding declined to $700 and— sorry, $379 million, our lowest since 2019. This now means that our core-to-non-core ratio is now at a historic low of 23%, significantly below the 30% funding compact threshold. Increasingly, reliance on highly earmarked project-based funding places risks in our ability to plan effectively, respond nimbly to crisis, and conduct essential normative work. functions. It enables our universal presence, supports long-term normative change, and allows us to respond rapidly to humanitarian emergencies. A reduction in core funding directly impacts our capacity to help governments achieve the 3 transformative results.

Thank you very much, Mr. Sabernan, for your presentation. I will now pass on the floor to Mr. McFarlane for his You have the floor, sir.

Thank you very much indeed, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon, distinguished delegates. I will provide brief further highlights from the Structured Funding Dialogue Report, which includes Annex 1 on the Funding Compact, as well as Annex 2, a harmonized report with UNDP, UNICEF, and UN Women on the Joint Cost Recovery Policy. OECD DAC governments. In 2024, non-core contributions surpassed our Strategic Plan target by 37%, reaching almost $1.3 billion. This was largely driven by a 32% increase in humanitarian funding, which rose to a total of $584 million. A large portion of this humanitarian funding however, was concentrated in 5 major crises, which, while crucial, can leave forgotten crises and inadequate resources for critical services like gender-based violence. Our 2025 humanitarian appeal calls for $1.2 billion, and we are concerned that at this stage we are only 30% funded. When core funding is not possible, we prefer thematic as they offer greater flexibility. Contributions to our 4 thematic funds increased by 23% in 2024, to a total of $241 million. The UNFPA Supplies Partnership reached $180 million, helping provide contraceptives and maternal health medicines to 25 million women and girls. It also encourages domestic investment. Since 2020, we've seen a dramatic increase in government spending on contraceptives across the 54 UNFPA Supplies Partnership countries, and in 2024, $52 million came from that source, and that is the highest amount on record. UNFPA is proud that UN pooled funds remain a significant source of non-core funding to support joint delivery. However, UN interagency transfers declined in 2024 by 18%. UNFPA highly values Programme Country Governments' contributions to their own country programmes, and that figure increased to $72 million in 2024. Building on our financing for ICPD strategy, we enhanced financial and non-financial collaboration with the IFIs. While IFI funding itself declined in 2025, we have a strong pipeline for 2025. UNFPA also mobilized $64 million in non-core contributions from the private sector, more than double the amount compared to 2023, and we continue scaling outreach to foundations, philanthropies and corporations. Our individual giving programme mobilised over $5 million in core and $5 million in non-core funding from a donor base which grew by 60,000 donors to 140,000 people across 190 countries. We continue our shift from funding to financing— our shift from funding to funding and financing. And we are piloting and operationalizing several innovative instruments, such as the Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Development Impact Bond in Kenya, and we are now replicating that in a number of other countries. To conclude, while we are pleased with funding results from 2024, and we are grateful for the continued support of Member States, we do remain concerned about the funding outlook for 2025 and beyond. Thank you very much, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you very much for your presentation. I will now open the floor for questions and comments. There seem to be no questions or comments from the floor. So with that, I would like to thank both of you for your presentations, and this will conclude the consideration of Agenda Item 9, UNFPA Structured Funding Dialogue. This is UN efficiency at work, I would say. And I wish to inform the Board that a draft decision on Agenda Item 9 on the UNFPA Structured Dialogue is under preparation. and will be presented for the Board's consideration later in the session. Tomorrow at 10 AM, we will continue the 2nd regular session with the UNOPS segment, and with this, the meeting is adjourned. Have a great afternoon.