About Us

 

The MDG Achievement Fund is an international cooperation mechanism whose aim is to accelerate progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) worldwide. Established in December 2006 with a generous contribution of €528 million Euros ($US710M) from the Spanish Government to the United Nations system, the MDG-F supports national governments, local authorities and citizen organizations in their efforts to tackle poverty and inequality.


With 128 active programmes in 50 countries spread across 5 regions of the world we are helping over 3.5 million people with another 20 million people impacted indirectly. In September 2008 at the UN High Level Event on MDGs, Spain committed an additional €90M to the MDG-F.


In all our country programmes we work through the UN and with dozens of governmental and nongovernmental organizations ranging from farmer associations to national alliances and ministries ensuring that development processes are owned and driven locally. With the aim of improving aid effectiveness all MDG-F financed programmes build on the collective strength of the UN bringing several Agencies together to address issues that cut across the mandate of individual organizations. Through this process, the MDG-F is at the forefront of the UN Reform process giving a significant and concrete boost to efforts to deliver as one.

Quick Facts

  • The MDG-Fund was established in December 2006 with a contribution of €528 Million (Euros) from the Government of Spain to the UN system with the aim of accelerating progress on the MDGs.
  • An additional €90M were contributed by Spain in 2008 mainly towards child nutrition and food security, conflict prevention and private sector and development.
  • 85% of overall resources goes to financing 129 joint programmes in eight programmatic areas linked to the MDGs.
  • Programmes are implemented in 50 countries from five regions around the world. To do this we bring together almost 2000 partners from community organizations, national and local governments, private sector, NGOs and UN Agencies.
  • All our programmes are joint programmes meaning they bring together an average of six UN Agencies in a collective effort thereby strengthening the UN system’s ability to deliver as one.
  • To do this we bring together almost 2000 partners from community organizations, national and local governments, private sector, NGOs and UN Agencies.

History


On 18 December 2006, UNDP Administrator Kemal Derviş and Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Leire Pajín, signed a landmark agreement to programme €528 million over the next four years through the UN system, towards key Millennium Development Goals and related development goals in select sectors and countries. This agreement paved the way for the establishment of the MDG Achievement Fund (MDG-F) which was launched in the first quarter of 2007.

MDG-F Framework document


UNDP/Spain Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund Framework Document provides an overview of the background, objectives, purpose and scope of the UNDP/Spain Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund.

Click here for the full document.

Governance Structure


The Governance of the MDG-F is reflected in a fairly light structure at the global level with a two-member Steering Committee, Technical Subcommittees (TSC) led by UN Agency Convenors who have been responsible for coordinating the review of proposals submitted to the MDG-F for funding, and a Secretariat.

Accountability


The MDG-F operates through three primary accounts:

  • A Global Account
  • The Delivering as One UN Account
  • Country Account