In the past months, twelve countries have joined the Global Accelerator, officially becoming pathfinder countries of the initiative. These countries are committed to creating decent jobs, expanding social protection, and promoting pathways for just transitions.
On 27 February, the Operational Steering Committee of the Joint SDG Fund approved the creation of a Funding Track on Decent Jobs and Universal Social Protection to channel a first financial allocation of US$ 17.8 million to support pathfinder countries to develop and implement their national Global Accelerator roadmaps.
In advanced-stage pathfinder countries, this high-impact and catalytic funding will accelerate the progress of national development priorities while overcoming decent jobs and social protection deficits. Early-stage pathfinder countries will receive seed funding to develop their national roadmaps, establish results frameworks and prepare for the Global Accelerator implementation.
The priorities of pathfinder countries support the extension of social protection and the promotion of decent work in certain value chains for key transitions in the economy, such as digitalization or the transformation of agriculture, or for certain target groups such as young people or women.
“Promoting decent jobs and universal social protection to facilitate agri-food systems transformation is one of the entry points of the Global Accelerator in Malawi and Namibia; also there are clear connections between Global Accelerator’s focus on skills for youth in Albania, Cambodia and Indonesia and the education transition; the Global Accelerator in Rwanda will take advantage of the digitalization of the urban informal economy to make jobs more decent and increase social security affiliation, creating bridges with the digital transition,” said Mia Seppo, ILO Assistant Director-General.
The launch of the Decent Jobs and Universal Social Protection Funding Track responds to the UN Secretary General’s call on joint action and further collaboration with key stakeholders, including the international financial institutions through dedicated resources to encourage UN-World Bank collaboration.
"As we embark on the journey towards a fairer and more sustainable world, the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions epitomizes our commitment to action. With the United Nations reform driving our agenda and the entire development system working together, we confront challenges head-on. Together, we stride towards a future where every individual enjoys the dignity of decent work and social protection, leaving no one behind on our path to progress," highlighted Oscar Fernández-Taranco, Assistant Secretary-General for Development Coordination.
This Funding Track on Decent Jobs and Universal Social Protection was made possible thanks to the contributions of the governments of Belgium, Germany and Spain, pledged during the SDG Summit 2023. The Global Accelerator will also advocate for additional resources in high-level fora and through enhanced multilateral cooperation aiming to extend the support to countries and strengthen the impact and results on the ground.
The pathfinder countries that have secured political support at the highest level at the time of launching the Funding Track on Decent Jobs and Universal Social Protection are Albania, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malawi, Namibia, Nepal, Paraguay, Rwanda, Senegal, Viet Nam, Uzbekistan.
Besides the high-level commitment from the government, to be considered as official pathfinder countries of the Global Accelerator, countries need to establish a cross-ministerial coordination mechanism and start the design and development of the national implementation roadmaps.
Read in Spanish.
Note:
All joint programs 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, 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.
