The Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha reaffirmed a strong global commitment to social justice through the adoption of the Doha Political Declaration in November 2025. With nearly 4 billion people lacking social protection and widespread unemployment and exclusion, the declaration highlights the urgent need for coordinated action to address growing social vulnerabilities worldwide.
Turning these commitments into reality requires strategic investment, and the UN’s Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions plays a central role in this effort. Launched in 2021, it aims to drive job-rich recovery and build sustainable, inclusive economies. The UN Joint SDG Fund’s investment supports this by combining pooled financing with country-led solutions to deliver systemic change.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep weaknesses in global social protection systems. Despite progress, 3.8 billion people still lack coverage, with wide gaps between high- and low-income countries. The crisis widened the financing gap for universal social protection and forced millions of workers to continue working while sick, worsening poverty and health risks. These vulnerabilities underscore the urgency of strengthening national systems to withstand both pandemics and climate shocks.
To address interconnected development challenges, the Joint SDG Fund uses pooled, flexible financing that enables integrated, multisector responses. Since 2019, it has committed over $380 million and leveraged $6.6 billion more to advance progress in over 90 countries. Its investments in the Global Accelerator support efforts to expand social protection, create decent jobs, and guide economic transitions in key sectors such as energy, agriculture, and digital technology.
The Fund’s model places national ownership at the center. Under the leadership of UN Resident Coordinators, UN agencies work together to align support with countries’ development strategies. This coordinated approach strengthens programme quality and ensures that reforms are embedded in national priorities, supported by technical expertise from across the UN system.
Several countries have begun transforming their social protection and employment systems through High Impact Track programmes. Cambodia is integrating social protection with livelihood support for 200,000 households, while Albania is advancing reforms in child benefits, care services, and social insurance. Indonesia is expanding digital platforms for skills development and embedding analytics for disaster and gender-responsive planning. Namibia is implementing pension reform and employment strategies that support informal workers and rural communities.
Efforts to promote decent jobs and skills development are central to these reforms. Malawi is strengthening youth apprenticeship pathways in agriculture and supporting women entrepreneurs through financial inclusion. Uzbekistan is undertaking far-reaching reforms to formalize informal work, expand social insurance to hundreds of thousands of people, and support transitions to greener and more digital economies.
The Joint SDG Fund also serves as a catalyst for unlocking large-scale financing. By supporting health financing reform, digital integration, and cross-sector coordination, it helps countries create long-term funding systems that extend beyond initial investments. Across the Accelerator portfolio, programmes are expected to benefit at least 16 million people while mobilizing more than $170 million in additional resources.
The Multi-Stakeholder Engagement to Implement the Global Accelerator (M-GA), a partnership between the UN and the World Bank, further strengthens support for countries seeking to expand social protection and employment. Cabo Verde, Colombia, Nepal, and Indonesia are among the countries benefiting from this initiative by improving programme design, strengthening data-driven policymaking, and promoting inclusive growth.
Looking toward 2030, the pace of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals remains insufficient. The Joint SDG Fund’s work demonstrates that integrated, innovative, and scalable approaches are essential to accelerate action. By linking financial innovation with policy reform and skills development with social protection, joint programmes across multiple countries are creating more resilient and inclusive systems. These efforts show that transformative progress is achievable through collaboration, solidarity, and sustained multilateral action.
