Making finance work for people and planet: how countries are building their sustainable finance ecosystem through integrated national financing frameworks

The INFF Facility report, "Making finance work for people and planet: how countries are building their sustainable finance ecosystem through integrated national financing frameworks," was launched during a side event on April 24th 2024, at the ECOSOC Financing for Development (FfD) Forum held at UN Headquarters, New York. 

The report contains achievements, lessons and best practices to date, drawing from country experiences in using the INFF approach to navigate the shifting economic landscape and the dynamic nature of development financing. 

First introduced by UN Member States in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, INFFs are being used by countries to reshape the financing ecosystem at the country level. Today, 86 countries are using the INFF approach to establish financing strategies and deliver related policies, reforms, resource mobilization efforts and governance frameworks. Thirteen national and subnational governments have an operational financing strategy and more than 50 countries are implementing finance policy reforms shaped through their INFF. An increasing number of countries are using their INFF as a platform to align their financial strategies with their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, promoting investment in climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives.

The United Nations Joint SDG Fund has supported many of the countries developing an INFF. Through its ‘SDG Financing: Enabling environment’ portfolio, the Joint SDG Fund ran 62 joint programmes in 69 countries from June 2020 to June 2023. Working through a total of 21 United Nations entities, these joint programmes were designed to support Governments in creating strategies, policies and capabilities for aligning public and private capital to the SDGs and NDPs. In most countries, the joint programmes were used to support Governments to explore and lay the foundations for the INFF approach. Results across the portfolio as a whole show that the joint programmes offered timely assistance that was instrumental as Governments dealt with the effects of the pandemic, and many were beginning to use the INFF approach as a framework to consider financing.

For example, in Guinea, the Government is strengthening capacities for national and local planning, budgeting, project programming, and monitoring and evaluation. This includes developing financing strategies at local levels, increasing the decentralization of public expenditure, and improving the traceability of funding flows from development partners. A methodology for local-level SDG budgeting and monitoring and evaluation has been developed with the support of the Joint SDG Fund and the UNDP-UNICEF Global Finance Flagship.

The report illustrates a growing momentum in the use of country-led financing strategies and growing consensus on their value from a diverse range of public and private sector partners. It provides valuable insights and recommendations as the process for taking stock, considering what can be achieved at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) and reshaping the Addis Ababa Action Agenda moves forward over the coming year.

Originally published by the INFF Facility.

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.