Finland’s funding for UN continues to support women and girls and those in the most vulnerable position

Finland has granted core funding from the 2025 development cooperation appropriation as follows: EUR 25 million to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), EUR 19 million to UN Women, EUR 3 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), EUR 1 million to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and EUR 1.5 million to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Prolonged conflicts, the changing climate and increasing inequality are posing great challenges around the world. At the same time, international development funding is diminishing, which contributes to accelerating reform across the UN system. International instability and crises affect especially those in the most vulnerable position. The UN is a central and reliable deliverer of assistance in difficult circumstances.

“Finland supports the UN system and the UN reform process. By funding UN organisations, we continue our work to advance the rights of especially women and girls globally. Finland’s core funding helps organisations to secure vital services quickly even in the most severe and unexpected crises. This is an investment in resilience and gender equality,” says Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio.

Finland grants the most core funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to support the organisation’s work for women and girls. In 2024, UNFPA’s efforts helped to avoid 39,000 maternal deaths worldwide and prevent 18 million unintended pregnancies and 7.5 million unsafe abortions. In addition, 54 million women and young people received the necessary sexual and reproductive health services, and 290,000 girls were spared from the risk of female genital mutilation.

UN Women used Finland's support to enhance women’s opportunities to participate in social and economic activities around the world. UN Women developed gender equality legislation that impacted approximately 2.9 billion women in 83 countries between 2022 and 2024.

With the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 26 million children and young people were able to go to school in 2024 and more than 18 million children gained access to digital learning solutions that support learning in challenging circumstances. UNICEF offered malnutrition prevention services to 139 million children and young people and delivered a total of 2.8 billion doses of vaccine to 99 countries for protection against measles, for example. Finland also funds UNICEF’s Helsinki-based innovation hubs, which support the organisation’s work globally by developing digital learning solutions and funding models to boost private investments in children's wellbeing.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) continued its work in 2024 to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development in 170 countries. UNDP supports countries in recovering from crises, strengthening climate resilience, consolidating democracy and promoting inclusive economic growth. In Ukraine, UNDP continued to support schools, hospitals and local government in the midst of the war. In addition, UNDP supported 23 countries to organise elections, enabling more than 377 million people to exercise their right to vote.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) supports the development of environmental administrations in developing countries, thereby also creating a better business environment for Finnish companies and other actors. In 2024, UNEP promoted several international environmental negotiations and, among other things, helped 70 developing countries take better account of biodiversity in their national efforts. Last year, Finland decided to grant core funding for UNEP for a two-year period (2024–2025) and is supporting the organisation's Environment Fund by EUR 1.5 million this year.

“This core funding will enable our partners to take rapid and strategic action where the need is greatest. Finland’s contribution reflects our values and confidence in the ability of these organisations to deliver results and act responsibly. Core funding also gives Finland credibility and influence in UN forums,” says Juha Savolainen, Director General of the Department for Development Policy at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.