COVID-19 Private Sector Global Facility announced at SDG Business Forum at 75th UN General Assembly to help communities recover better

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Global Compact (UN Global Compact) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) have established the COVID-19 Private Sector Global Facility, a global initiative and collaboration bringing together public and private sector partners to help local communities recover better from the pandemic. Deutsche Post DHL Group, Microsoft Corp. and the PwC network (“PwC”) have already joined the COVID-19 Private Sector Global Facility, and the initiative is open for other like-minded private sector organizations that want to contribute.

The Global Facility is a response to corporate calls to action for private sector leaders and governments to work together to address the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The initiative has been established to better coordinate their responses, helping to ensure that immediate stimulus efforts flow into the real economy.

The Global Facility will operate at both the global and national levels. It aims to co-create solutions that are tailored to the phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in a given area and the specificities of the local private sector and government context. Guided by the UN Global Compact’s Ten Principles and the Sustainable Development Goals, the Facility will support a multisectoral, whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to face the multidimensional nature of the crisis. Recovery efforts will focus on how to rebuild more inclusive economies and societies, to set a new course for a socially just, low-carbon and climate-resilient world where no one is left behind.

Initial projects will focus on the countries of Colombia, Ghana, the Philippines and Turkey. Both the geographical scope and participating partners will expand as the Global Facility develops.

"Solidarity to ‘Recover Better Together’ can boost our collective efforts not only to cope with the crisis but overcome it. UNDP's footprint across some 170 countries and territories, combined with the UN Global Compact's network of more than 10,000 companies and 68 Local Networks around the world, and the International Chamber of Commerce's network of over 45 million companies, multiplies our collective capacity and potential. The Facility is the first of its kind – designed to join forces across public and private sectors to serve humanity in an imperative moment,” said UNDP Administrator, Mr. Achim Steiner.

The COVID-19 Private Sector Global Facility was announced by Mr. Steiner at the SDG Business Forum during the UN General Assembly, the largest and most inclusive UN convening of private sector leaders. Launched under the motto “Recover Better Together”, the timing of this initiative has special importance, marking the commemoration of some important UN-related milestones: the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations; the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Global Compact; and the Centenary of ICC’s founding after WWI at a time when multilateralism is facing the greatest challenge of its generation.

“Results from our recent COVID-19 Business Tracker survey suggested that the pandemic had great impacts on Ghanaian businesses, forcing many firms to cut costs by reducing staff hours, lowering wages, and even laying off workers. Ghana’s selection to be one of the initial four countries to benefit from the partnership is great news for us as we believe this will complement ongoing efforts to support businesses to build back better”, stated Silke Hollander, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Ghana.

In order to effectively reach the most vulnerable in the most efficient ways, the facility aims to expand the list of strategic partners. Organizations that want to play a leading role in the global pandemic recovery and join this call to action are encouraged to contact the UNDP project coordinator at global.facility@undp.org for a discussion on how they can get involved.