The M-GA is the latest partnership between the United Nations and the World Bank to accelerate progress to achieve universal social protection and create decent and productive jobs. This joint initiative was initiated in 2023 with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) aiming to support countries to develop integrated and well-coordinated national employment and social protection programmes and policies.
A first funding round for the M-GA has been launched with a financial contribution of 7 million euros, pledged by Germany during the SDG Summit 2023 in New York to implement the Global Accelerator in pathfinder countries and beyond. This funding round allows the World Bank and the United Nations to jointly support countries in the development of integrated employment and social protection policies, the establishment of social protection systems and active labour market policies, the financing of these policies, the development of joint tools (such as diagnostic tools), and a research agenda. The M-GA resources are made available to country teams through calls for proposals jointly managed by two funds: the United Nations Joint SDG Fund and the World Bank Rapid Social Response Adaptive and Dynamic Social Protection (RSR-ADSP) Umbrella Trust Fund. Nine countries will be able to benefit from this first envelope at the rate of 500,000 dollars per country.
The World Bank and United Nations country teams are currently submitting joint proposals. The deadline to submit the proposals is the 1st of July. The highest-scoring proposals will be recommended for funding and will start implementation in October 2024, for a period of two years.
The M-GA is paving the way for UN-World Bank collaboration by providing catalytic funding for joint action at the country, regional and global level. The Global Accelerator aims to accelerate the extension of social protection to the 4 billion people currently excluded and contribute to the creation of millions of decent jobs in sustainable and future-oriented sectors. The World Bank Social Protection and Jobs Compass is closely aligned to these objectives, aiming to achieve equity, build resilience, and create sustainable economic opportunities for all.
Originally published by UN Global Accelerator
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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.
