UN response and Recovery Fund for COVID-19

Taken from UN Secretary General's UN Response and Recovery paper found in full here.

The United Nations COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund is a UN inter-agency fund mechanism established by the UN Secretary-General to help support low- and middle-income program countries overcome the health and development crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and support those most vulnerable to economic hardship and social disruption.

The Fund contributes to financing the three objectives of the UN Secretary General’s Call for Solidarity: (1) Tackle the health emergency; 

(2) Focus on the social impact and the economic response and recovery; and 

(3) Help countries recover better. 

The financial requirements of the Fund are projected at $1 billion in the first nine months and will be reviewed with the evolution of needs as a result of the pandemic.

Modelled after the successful UN Ebola Response MPTF (2014-18), the Fund complements the World

Health Organization (WHO)’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan and the Consolidated Global

Humanitarian Appeal for COVID-191 of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The Fund’s coverage extends to all low- and middle-income programme countries, and in particular, those populations not included in the Global Humanitarian Appeal, helping to safeguard their progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Fund aligns with the UN Development System Reform Agenda, offering a cohesive UN System

response to national governments through a common financing mechanism, led by UN Resident Coordinators. It leverages the critical expertise and delivery capacities of UN agencies, helps to close gaps in National Action Plans for Health Security (NAPHS), harnesses the resources of the public and private sector, and supports whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches. The Fund offers fast, flexible finance to meet shifting demands of a rapidly evolving global crisis.

FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS: $1 BILLION IN THE FIRST NINE MONTHS

WINDOW 1: Enable Governments and Communities to Tackle the Emergency

• Support countries to fully implement their National Action Plans for Health Security (NAPHS), helping them to close critical gaps pertaining to the acquisition of essential equipment and supplies and the payment of salaries and incentives to the health-care and social workforce;
• Assist non-health ministries and government agencies (such as ministries of education, agriculture, women’s empowerment, transport, interior, labour, social welfare and public services), along with local governments, to maintain situation rooms and critical services interrupted by COVID-19.

WINDOW 2: Reduce Social Impact and Promote Economic Response

• Enhance social protection mechanisms through immediate impact measures, scaling up cash transfers, insurance, food security, asset creation, and safety nets, and relieve the burden of COVID19 on women and children;
• Meet children’s food and educational needs through school meal programmes and access to learning;
• Promote digital innovations that boost employment, support livelihoods, and improve the provision of social services in line with COVID-19 response measures.

WINDOW 3: Recover Better 

• Strengthen and test national preparedness measures, inclusive of: integrated disease surveillance and response and community-based surveillance; maintenance of key services and a health-care workforce during crises; laboratory capacity; public procurement protocols and logistics; clear and targeted communications; cross-border collaboration; and national plans that include dedicated budget lines for funding preparedness; 
• Invest in effective and innovative delivery of public services to achieve sustainable and inclusive economies that leave no-one behind and safeguard country SDG programmes from COVID-19-related setbacks.