The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945, comprising 193 member states. It is committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, promoting social progress, better living standards, and human rights.
ADB has collaborated with UN agencies, funds, and other entities since 1970. ADB has standing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with several UN entities, which include:
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD): ADB and IFAD signed a Cooperation Agreement in 1978 and an MOU in 2013. Both parties agreed to combine efforts to assist their respective regional members in development activities. They also signed a framework cofinancing agreement in 2014 to strengthen collaboration toward increased agricultural development and food security in select countries in the Asia and Pacific region by (i) scaling up pilots, (ii) collaborating on research and knowledge sharing, (iii) cofinancing identified projects, and (iv) streamlining regional and country operations, among other areas. IFAD is a specialized agency of the UN devoted to agriculture and rural development.
UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): ADB and UNICEF signed an MOU in December 2024 to promote children’s health and well-being in the Asia and Pacific region, collaborating in areas such as (i) health; (ii) water, sanitation, and hygiene; (iii) nutrition; (iv) early childhood development; (v) inclusive education, in particular, foundational learning; (vi) inclusive and shock responsive social protection; (vii) child protection; (viii) climate change, disaster risk management, and resilience; (ix) air pollution and other environmental health issues; (x) public finance, innovative finance, public and private partnerships; (xi) gender equality; (xii) disability inclusion; (xiii) digital transformation; and (xiv) urban development, local government, cities, and family friendly policies and care systems. UNICEF works to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential from early childhood through adolescence.
UN Development Programme (UNDP): ADB and UNDP signed an MOU in April 2019 to advance efforts to support progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific. It covers joint knowledge creation, exchange and dialogue, direct technical assistance, and project development and implementation. UNDP is the UN’s development agency that helps eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities, and build resilience so countries can sustain progress.
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP): ADB and ESCAP signed an MOU in April 2015, which was extended in March 2021 to last until December 2025. Through the MOU, both organizations aim to achieve internationally agreed development goals, including the 2000 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to support poverty reduction and sustainable development through improved coordination and connectivity at the regional and subregional levels. ESCAP promotes cooperation among its members toward solving sustainable development challenges. Additionally, ADB, with ESCAP and UNDP, has a partnership to deliver knowledge products and facilitate dialogue, and provides data on SDG progress and implementation.
UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women): ADB and UN Women signed an MOU in 2022 to (i) strengthen gender data and statistics to track and monitor the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG5; (ii) promote gender-responsive governance tools to enhance accountability and resources on gender equality; (iii) support women’s entrepreneurship and gender-responsive value chains; (iv) tackle gender-based violence; and (v) advance knowledge, evidence, and tools on gender and climate change. UN Women delivers programs, policies, and standards that uphold women’s human rights and ensure every woman and girl can reach their full potential.
World Health Organization (WHO): ADB and WHO signed an MOU in 2018 to explore effective collaboration to (i) support Universal Health Coverage, (ii) strengthen health security, (iii) improve urban health, (iv) support responsive older care interventions, and (v) address the health impacts of climate change. WHO’s objective is to help everyone attain the highest possible level of health. It directs and coordinates authority on international health within the UN system.
Other UN entities that work with ADB include:
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN • International Labour Organization • Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS • UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization • UN Environment Programme • UN High Commissioner for Refugees • World Food Programme
29 October 2024
ADB has issued its first biodiversity and nature theme bond to finance a pool of eligible projects across Asia and the Pacific, and in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, among others.
27 September 2024
ADB approved a $2 million grant to assist the Government of Viet Nam in providing emergency and humanitarian services to residents affected by the super Typhoon Yagi in the northern region of the country.
24 September 2024
ADB announced a set of actions to mainstream lead exposure mitigation into its operations, as part of its participation in the newly formed Partnership for a Lead-Free Future, a global initiative led by UNICEF and the United States Agency for International Development. The partnership aims to eliminate childhood lead exposure by 2040.
23 September 2024
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres and top UN officials met with the Heads of Multilateral Development Bank Group on Sunday in a joint effort to better support countries in accelerating progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
20 September 2024
Multilateral development banks announced that their global climate finance reached a record high of $125 billion in 2023.
20 February 2024
The impacts of climate change, including slow and sudden onset weather events, are reducing the ability of countries to meet their Sustainable Development Goals, according to a report released today by ADB, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and the United Nations Development Programme.
A strong and sustainable secondary system will help Nepal achieve its economic and development goals. The government is working closely with ADB and its financing partners to improve access to and quality of secondary education, beginning with competitive curricula, scholarships for poor students, and pilot-testing model secondary schools.
Some 700,000+ displaced persons from Myanmar* flocked to Bangladesh in 2017. ADB swiftly responds to the humanitarian crisis through a $100 million ADF grant. Joining concerted international efforts, ADB quickly mobilized ADF grant funding of $100 million to help ensure that the 2017 Bangladesh crisis did not escalate further.
*Effective 1 February 2021, ADB placed a temporary hold on sovereign project disbursements and new contracts in Myanmar.
Bangladesh’s Primary Education Development Program introduced innovative approaches that changed the face of basic education in the country, helping increase primary school enrollment and completion rates over the last 20 years.
The government and international organizations are partnering to improve health care for mothers and their babies in Uzbekistan.
ADB and the United Nations collaborated on several knowledge products and/or events, including the following:
The World Urban Forum (WUF) is a high-level global conference focused on tackling the challenges of sustainable urbanization. Launched in 2001 and held biennially by UN-Habitat, the first WUF was held in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002 and has since been hosted in cities worldwide.
ADB co-led six side events at the Conference of the Parties 16, alongside multilateral and bilateral partners, civil society organizations, and academic institutions. These events focused on sharing knowledge, promoting partnerships, and exploring opportunities to scale biodiversity efforts in the region.
This report examines the progress of trade facilitation in Asia and the Pacific, highlights recent trends in paperless trade, and evaluates the impact of trade facilitation initiatives on trade costs and overall trade. The publication features a foreword by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, United Nations under-secretary-general and executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
ADB, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and the United Nations Development Programme co-hosted this event, which featured the launch of their joint 2024 Asia-Pacific Sustainable Development Goal Partnership Report. The report examines the interconnected challenges of climate change, poverty, and hunger in the region.
This forum was hosted by the Government of the Philippines with lead representation by the Department of Transportation, supported by the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; and co-organized by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, ADB, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the United Nations Centre for Regional Development of Division for Sustainable Development Goals/United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
The workshop enabled participants from six developing countries to have a deeper understanding of the policy frameworks and regulations for the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement in 2015. ADB’s partners included the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations University.
This webinar discussed how strengthening micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises can diversify the Timor-Leste economy and sustain its development beyond the resource-oriented growth model. Abrao Soares, soft-loan and finance analyst from the United Nations Development Programme Timor-Leste was one of the panelists.
The Climate Finance for Vulnerable Countries event, held on 17 November 2024 at ADA University in Baku, Azerbaijan, was organized by ADB as a side event during the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (Conference of the Parties [COP] 29). COP is the official meeting of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization participated as resource speakers at the Asia Clean Energy Forum 2024. The forum delivered practical knowledge, increased awareness, and opportunities for collaboration on financing clean and efficient energy solutions with a wide range of clean energy practitioners from across Asia and the Pacific.
The United Nations contributes to ADB’s development initiatives through cofinancing.
Sovereign Cofinancing. In 2024, $0.1 million in cofinancing was committed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development to enhance the use of technologies in agriculture in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tajikistan, and Viet Nam.
