Fragile and conflict-affected contexts

Persistent poverty and inequality, deadly conflicts, gender-based violence, the climate emergency, rising inflation and debt distress threaten SDG progress and are leading to an increase in the number of countries characterized as fragile or crisis-affected. These countries are at risk of becoming trapped in a crisis cycle in which limited financial resources are used for crisis response, leaving no room for investment in building resilience and supporting sustainable development.

In these contexts, significantly increased investment is needed to address the root causes of fragility and crisis, manage risk and accelerate the implementation of the SDGs. Additionally,  financing processes are an important enabler in addressing the root causes of fragility, conflict and crisis in their own right.

Despite this clear and pressing need, sustainable finance is not reaching fragile and crisis contexts at the scale and speed necessary. In this vein, it is vital that UNDP’s $1 trillion moonshot target to help mobilize public and private sector resources towards sustainable development reaches all countries in which it works, including those at risk for, experiencing or emerging from crisis.

UNDP has adopted an internal strategy to ensure that financing support reaches fragile and crisis contexts, providing financing solutions specifically adapted to meet the needs of fragile and crisis-affected contexts.