UN spends 94 million USD on strategic priorities

“The UNCT in Serbia allocated $116.34 million in 2024 across three strategic priorities of the UNSDCF. The delivery rate by the year-end was 81.6% ($94.95 million utilized). … Eighteen UN agencies implemented resources in 2024,” the report said.

According to the report, locally raised, earmarked donor contributions accounted for 47.3% of the funding with the EU as the largest single donor accounting for 39.3%, followed by the Serbian government with 33.2%. “UN core resources accounted for 12.8%, pool and thematic funds, 4.8%, while private sector funding and IFIs provided 1.6% and 0.3%, respectively,” the report added.

It said that Serbia ranked 35th worldwide in the 2024 Sustainable Development Solutions Network Report, which measures overall progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The report said that the UN is recognized as a trusted advisor, valued for its technical expertise, advocacy and support to capacity development. “The Cooperation Framework 2021–2025 demonstrates strong alignment with national priorities, particularly Serbia’s EU accession path, though the absence of a national development plan has presented challenges for coordination,” it added.

The report said there was notable progress in green transition, education, governance and crisis responseand that digitalization has been accelerated, particularly in e-Government and health services, though access gaps remain.

The report recommended elevating the UN’s role in Serbia’s transition to high-income status by focusing on policy advice, strategic advocacy and global partnerships, securing institutional sustainability by ensuring successful initiatives are integrated into national policies and budgets, strengthening partnerships and financing, building deeper collaboration with IFIs, the EU and the private sector to broaden development impact, breaking structural barriers by intensifying reform advocacy in areas such as social protection, human rights and gender equality, accelerating the digital and green transition, advancing digital literacy, climate finance and inclusive innovation and boosting UN system efficiency by expanding joint programming, improving monitoring and streamlining inter-agency coordination.