Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa water, Sanitation Mar- Apr 2015 Vol.10 No.2 | Page 14

Opinion

Bridging the Gap – How the SDG Fund is Paving the Way for a
Post-2015 Agenda
By Paloma Duran Edited by Kitty Stapp

T

he countdown has begun to September’s Summit on the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with world
leaders discussing the 17 goals and 169 targets proposed by
the United Nations Open Working Group.
The post-2015 development agenda will focus primarily
on strengthening opportunities to reduce poverty and
marginalisation in ways that are sustainable from an
economic, social and environmental standpoint.
How shall the world set the
measure for all subsequent work?
The SDG Fund, created by the
United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), with
an initial contribution from
the government of Spain, has
been designed to smoothen the
transition from the Millennium
Development Goals phase
Courtesy of Paloma Duran/ into the future Sustainable
UNDP Development Goals.
The rationale of the joint
programme initiative is to enhance the development impact
of technical assistance by combining inputs from various
U.N. entities, each contributing according to its specific
expertise and bringing their respective national partners on
board.
To illustrate, we are currently implementing joint
programmes in 18 countries addressing challenges of
inclusive economic growth for poverty eradication, food
security and nutrition as well as water and sanitation.
The majority of our budget is invested in sustainable
development on the ground and is directly improving the
lives of more than one million people in various regions of
Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Arab States and Africa.
The main objective of the SDG fund is to bring together
U.N. agencies, national governments, academia, civil society
and businesses to find ways in which we can reduce poverty,
improve nutrition and provide access to affordable water
and sanitation.
National and international partners provide approximately
56 percent of these resources in the form of matching
funds.
Each programme was originally chosen through a selection
process including the review by thematic and development
independent experts.
In addition, we ensure that local counterparts engage in
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Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • March - April 2015

the decision-making processes from programme design to
implementation and evaluation. More than 1,500 people
were directly involved in designing the various programmes.
The main objective of the SDG fund is to bring together
U.N. agencies, national governments, academia, civil society
and businesses to find ways in which we can reduce poverty,
improve nutrition and provide access to affordable water
and sanitation.
Drawing from extensive experience of development
practice as well as the former Millennium Development
Goals Achievement Fund, we are continually seeking
better ways in which to deal with challenges that present
themselves.
Gender equality, women’s empowerment, public-private
partnerships and sustainability are cross-cutting priorities in
all areas of our work.
It is noteworthy to point out that we are focusing our
efforts on forging partnerships with the private sector as
we recognise the importance of actively engaging with
businesses and ensuring their full participation in the
development process.
It is in this vein that a Private Sector Advisory Group will be
established this spring, consisting of representatives from
various industries worldwide with the aim to coll