ReliefWeb

This year, in our annual sustainability report, we highlight our support to a selection of critical humanitarian emergencies and development initiatives.
These include: Providing over 65,000 Yemenis with access to improved critical urban services, and generating more than 230,000 local, paid work days in the process; supporting 22 organizations as part of a coordinated response to help Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, through work as a fund manager; furthering economic development and cooperation by helping more than 1.5 million people safely cross between Kosovo* and Serbia each year; increasing access and improving the safety, effectiveness and efficiency of maternal and child care in Ghana; and delivering significant savings in the costs of healthcare in Guatemala, through introducing greater levels of efficiency and transparency throughout public procurement, reducing the potential for corruption.

Over the course of 2018, once again, UNOPS support remained field-focused. Across more than 80 countries, UNOPS-supported projects created more than 5 million days of paid work for local people, more than 2.3 million of which were undertaken by women. We delivered almost $1.9 billion worth of support, the majority of which took place in some of the world’s most fragile and conflict-affected states.

In 2018, we also launched two ambitious strategies in support of global movements to address gender equality. We have much work to do to reach our gender targets, but I reiterate our commitment to addressing this area of critical importance. We will do everything we can to reach our goals, and pledge to call on expertise from all sectors of society in support of our aims.
The challenges that face us in today’s world should not be underestimated. Yet we should also not forget that today’s challenges can be solved. This will require new ideas, new approaches and ever closer partnerships. It will need a more efficient, effective and accountable UN. And it requires funding well beyond Official Development Assistance. The international community stands ready to support. The role of the private sector is key. This is no time for half measures. This is a time to accelerate our actions together.

*All references to Kosovo are made in the context of UNSCR 1244