All UNFPA funding is voluntary. UNFPA mobilizes financial resources from governments and other partners to support programmes that aim to achieve the "three zeros" – zero unmet need for family planning, zero preventable maternal deaths, and zero harmful practices and gender-based violence – and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Core resources are contributions without restrictions. Every success, every result, starts with core funding. UNFPA, with unique expertise and extensive presence in more than 150 programme countries, including in crisis situations, uses core funding to effectively provide essential sexual and reproductive health services to those most in need.
Core resources enable global reach and reduce transaction costs. They allow UNFPA to focus on programmatic impact, leverage additional resources for greater results and maintain its ability to have a universal presence, even in fragile contexts such as in conflict zones or in refugee situations. Every year, UNFPA launches a campaign to mobilize core resources from a diverse group of donors.
Why core funding matters
Non-core resources include the following funding and financing instruments:
- Thematic funds such as UNFPA Supplies, the Maternal and Newborn Health Thematic Fund, the Humanitarian Action Thematic Fund and the Population Data Thematic Fund. Learn more on how UNFPA’s Thematic Funds are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and strengthen longer term goals so that UNFPA continues to deliver on its transformative results
- United Nations-pooled and inter-agency mechanisms like the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage; the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation; and the Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls.
- Issue-based, regional or multi-country programmes and initiatives.
- Country-level, multi-level pooled funding instruments.
Other resources include consolidated global financing mechanisms and innovative financing models and instruments such as blended finance, impact investment bonds, financial and insurance products, social entrepreneurship, debt swaps and guarantees.
Successful sustainable development also requires dynamic and inclusive strategic partnerships.