Fund Dates

Start Date:  01 August 2021

End Date:   31 July 2025

Key Documents:

Terms of References (ToRs) - Albania SDC Fund II

Standard Administrative Arrangement (SAA)

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

Overview

The Albania SDG Acceleration Fund supports the integrated and coherent mobilization, allocation, and disbursement of resources to promote effective development and implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) activities. To advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, stakeholders make national progress gains through the provision of ongoing support to projects that address priority SDG areas, creating an evidence-based understanding among policymakers and members of civil society on how Albania has progressed towards SDG and 2030 Agenda achievement.

As of January 2022, however, the Government of Albania and United Nations country team in Albania will launch a second phase of the Albania SDG Acceleration Fund to guide the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2022-2027.

In January 2022, the Government of Albania and the United Nations in Albania will launch phase two of the Albania SDG Acceleration Fund with continued support provided to partners implementing multi-dimensional sustainable development activities that assist Albania in meeting its SDG and 2030 Agenda commitments, under the framework of the Government of Albania and UNSDCF 2022-2026 across four outcome areas: Equitable investment in people; economic growth and resource management; governance, rule of law and human rights, and gender responsive governance. These areas—together with intersecting themes—will form the basis for new funding set against the National Strategy for Development and European Integration 2021-2030, UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2022-2026, the Economic Reform Programme (ERP), 2021-2023, the human rights commitments of Albania and other agreed international and regional development goals and treaty obligations.

In response to the 2030 Agenda calling for integrated approaches across multiple sectors and goals, as well as collective action at all levels to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Government of Albania and the UNCT in Albania launched the SDG Acceleration Fund for Albania in 2018 to support integrated and multidimensional sustainable development activities for Albania’s achievement of SDGs, in full respect for human rights and promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment as of fundamental importance with multiplier effect for achieving sustained and inclusive economic growth, poverty eradication and sustainable development as required by the UN GA Resolution 71/243.

Stakeholders designed the first phase of the Albania SDG Acceleration Fund according to the United Nations Programme of Cooperation for Sustainable Development, 2017-2021. Following consultations with the Government of Albania and other stakeholders, they agreed that under the One UN framework, impact and development effectiveness measures were central to addressing ongoing challenges in four areas:

• Governance and rule of law
• Social inclusion (e.g. health, education, and social protection, and gender-based violence)
• Economic growth, labour, and agriculture
• Environment and climate change.