Geneva – Director-General Dr. Ariane Hildebrandt of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Assistant Director-General Mia Seppo of the International Labour Organization (ILO) met in Geneva to reflect on progress and strategize key priorities for the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions (GA) and the Multistakeholder Engagement to Implement the Global Accelerator and the World Bank Social Protection and Jobs Compass (M-GA) in 2025. The meeting, which brought together high-level representatives from BMZ, the ILO, the World Bank, and the UN Joint SDG Fund, focused on scaling up advocacy, mobilizing resources, and strengthening collaboration to accelerate efforts toward universal social protection and decent jobs agenda globally.
A central theme of the meeting was the need to accelerate resource mobilization for decent jobs and bridge the global social protection coverage gap, which leaves over 4 billion people without any access to social protection. Participants underscored the importance of increasing financial commitments and leveraging major international events to enhance visibility and attract new funding. Dr. Ariane Hildebrandt echoed this message, acknowledging both progress and challenges in advancing the Global Accelerator and M-GA objectives. She stated that while €20 million by Germany, €1.2 million by Ireland and €1 million by Spain have been set aside to launch in 2025, a new funding round to expand social protection to those currently excluded, efforts to mobilize additional resources must be reinvigorated and accelerated, especially amid the current challenges in international development. The vision behind the Global Accelerator is to extend social protection and create decent jobs to facilitate just transitions and “we must give more speed and energy to resource mobilization to meet these ambitions” she stated.
As multilateral cooperation is a key requisite to the success of the Global Accelerator, the meeting provided an opportunity to agree on a common narrative for joint advocacy, ensuring a coordinated approach to mobilizing partners and resources for the M-GA, where the UN and the World Bank collaborate closely toward shared goals. During the meeting, the ILO and the World Bank presented the jointly developed communication and visibility plan to focus on raising awareness, continue to securing funds for the M-GA and the GA for upcoming funding rounds, amplifying impact, and fostering learning across countries—while engaging local civil society and social partners for broader outreach. The launch of a dedicated webpage for the M-GA to enhance outreach and promote the initiative was also announced as part of the joint communication and visibility plan.
Looking ahead, several key actions have been identified as part of the joint advocacy strategy to sustain momentum. A virtual donor acquisition meeting is scheduled for April to engage potential funders, while the World Bank Spring Meetings, G20 Development Working Group meetings and the 4th international Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) will serve as key platforms for strengthening support for the Global Accelerator and M-GA through bilateral meetings and side events. The World Summit for Social Development in November 2025 will be another important platform for the GA and the M-GA to highlight social protection and decent jobs as key global priorities and investments. Additionally, targeted visibility efforts will be expanded to broaden outreach, deepen partnerships with local actors, and enhance collaboration with national institutions.
The meeting also highlighted progress in pathfinder countries that are advancing the Global Accelerator’s agenda through implementation of their national roadmaps supported through the Joint SDG Fund’s joint programmes. Assistant Director-General Mia Seppo reaffirmed the importance of investing in social protection, stating:
"Social protection is not a cost but a vital investment. When integrated with decent work, it lays the foundation for just transitions and accelerates the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals."
Despite financial and geopolitical challenges, global leaders remain committed to advancing sustainable social protection and employment systems through partnerships with national institutions, expanded stakeholder outreach, and country owned national financing strategies. The Global Accelerator and M-GA, as the joint UN-World Bank coordination and financing mechanism, continue to be a crucial mechanism for driving real impact at both national and global levels in 2025, ensuring that decent jobs and social protection remain at the forefront of the development agenda.
Originally published at unglobalaccelerator.org
Note:
All joint programmes of the Joint SDG Fund are led by UN Resident Coordinators and implemented by the agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations development system. With sincere appreciation for the contributions from the European Union and Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and our private sector funding partners, for a transformative movement towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
