UNFPA Administrative Agent Annual Report 2016

UNFPA plays an active role in inter-agency funding platforms, including oversight, coordination and implementation of pooled financing mechanisms. UNFPA continues to coordinate, participate in and administer strong joint programmatic and funding portfolios with United Nations entities for result areas that benefit from leveraging inter-agency synergies to maximize effectiveness as a modality that facilitates not only joined-up delivery, but is also lightly earmarked and flexible. With predictable contributions from donors, pooled and other inter-agency funding mechanisms play a complementary role to regular contributions and agency-specific thematic funds in the UNFPA financing strategy.

The Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child Health (RMNCH) Fund, which UNFPA administers and implements jointly with UNICEF and WHO, is an example of a strategic pooled funding mechanism with significant capitalization to facilitate scaled-up progress. The RMNCH Fund was established in response to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health and the Every Woman Every Child movement to increase access to life-saving services, including essential medicines and medical devices that effectively address leading avoidable causes of death during pregnancy, childbirth and childhood in priority countries. Since its launch in late 2013, the fund mobilized total contributions of $186.2 million and is expected to close in 2017 after successfully providing the programmatic springboard for the development of the Global Financing Facility for Every Woman Every Child, a multistakeholder partnerships which aims to leverage significant additional financing for RMNCAH. 

UNFPA’s Administrative Agent function (the AA) witnessed two periods of considerable growth, one in 2012 and another during the launch of the RMNCH Fund in 2014. In 2016 donor contributions dropped to $18.4 Million largely due to a transition period with multiple closing funds and others in design phase. In 2017, UNFPA is investing in its Administrative Agent function, bringing together thematic and operations experts to enhance the quality of the design of new funds, improve efficiencies in the existing portfolio and update information, accounting and web systems that will lead to increased transparency, coordination and value-for-money for fund stakeholders.

UNFPA continues to strengthen systems, building capacity to support quality design and administration of a critical mass of new relevant global, regional and country-level joint thematic programmes, empowering UN entities and partners to work together to accelerate progress on key transformative results and to ensure that no one is left behind.

Through its AA portfolio UNFPA will focus on contributing to 5 key areas in the next 5 years: (i) improving aid coordination and coherence; (ii) promoting better risk management; (iii) broadening the donor base for the UN system; (iv) facilitating transformative results and approaches promoting no one left behind; and (v) bridging humanitarian, peace and security, and development assistance.