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> $55M 
$55M - $25M
$25M - $5M
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The Global Disability Fund (GDF) is a global multi-partner fund that delivers coordinated and collective programmes and innovations, and shares capacity building and evidence to support disability inclusion in developing countries. GDF works in stable and emergency contexts to accelerate inclusive development, build climate resilience, and ensure inclusive humanitarian context and recovery.
Status: Active
Latest reports:
Fund established:
The work of the Global Disability Fund is possible thanks to the efforts of . These resources are pooled and channelled to participating organizations to promote joint action and multi-stakeholder partnerships, making a difference on the ground.
Fund Scope
The Global Disability Fund (formerly UN PRPD MPTF) was established in 2011 to respond to the global need to accelerate CRPD implementation at national level. Since 2012, the Fund has implemented over 108 joint programmes that have benefited more than 350 million people across 93 countries. Its five-year strategies, the most recent of which is Strategy 2025-2030, are adaptive and responsive to the needs of persons with disabilities in a variety of contexts and across different thematic areas.
The Global Disability Fund is the only UN inter-agency, multi-stakeholder funding mechanism dedicated to accelerating the implementation of the CRPD, playing a unique role in advancing the rights of persons with disabilities through joint programming initiatives at the country level, bringing different UN entities together along with government, persons with disabilities, and civil society.
Scope and Theory of Change
The Fund’s scope and Theory of Change are outlined in detail in the Global Disability Fund Strategy 2025-2030. The Strategy builds upon twelve years of experience investing locally and nationally, improving standards, building capacity, convening stakeholders. The strategic direction and cross-cutting thematic areas of the strategy have been carefully designed to ensure maximum impact on persons with disabilities and the systems and structures that support them.
GDF targets results across seven interconnected goal areas that create compounding, holistic, long-term change towards a world where the rights of persons with disabilities are promoted, protected, and fulfilled, and all persons with disabilities enjoy full and equitable participation in society. Delivering inclusive services, structures, systems and policies across these goal areas will offer substantial and lasting impacts on the lives of persons with disabilities.
Uniquely positioned as a convening, coordinating Fund, GDF aims to deliver work at the nexus of two or more of these interconnected goals in all of its programmes. Results in these areas will lead to the greatest measurable and lasting impacts on the lives of persons with disabilities. Moreover, GDF’s focus on interconnected goal areas allows it to concentrate resources effectively, accelerate progress, and achieve models of success that can be scaled globally.
Governing Bodies
The Governance of the GDF is divided across two mechanisms, the Steering Committee and the Programmes Committee. The Steering Committee is a high-level body responsible for setting strategic direction, providing strategic programmatic and financial oversight, and supporting resource mobilisation of the Fund. The Programmes Committeeis a working-level, standing committee of the Steering Committee responsible for technical oversight of programme implementation and approving programme funding decisions.
The work of these Committees will be complemented and supported by other bodies such as the Donors Group, the External Review Panel, Working Groups and the Biennial Consultative Forum.
Secretariat
Supports the governance functions of the GDF and is responsible for coordination, resource mobilization, external relations, monitoring and evaluation, capacity building, and knowledge management.
Administrative Agent
Funds are routed by way of a pass-through mechanism. Participating Organizations receive funds through the Administrative Agent, Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) Office. The Administrative Agent is responsible for the receipt, administration and management of contributions from donors, disbursement of funds to Participating Organizations, and consolidation and dissemination of progress reports to donors.
Participating Organizations
Programme implementation is the responsibility of Participating Organizations. Each organization is programmatically and financially responsible for resources received.
The work of is possible thanks to the efforts of contributors. Since together they have contributed . In the annual contributions amounted to .
| Funds with Administrative Agent | |
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| -Sub-total contributions | |
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| Transfers to Participating Organizations for Direct Cost - Fund Secretariat etc | |
| -Sub-total transfers | |
| Refunds from Participating Organizations | |
| Refunds received from Participating Organizations for Direct Cost | |
| -Sub-total refunds | |
| Administrative Agent Fee | |
| Bank Charges | |
| Other | |
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| Funds with Participating Organizations | |
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| Total Balance of Funds | |
| As a percentage of deposits |
Global Disability Fund is currently supporting count_projects ongoing projectscount_globalInterregional and count_countries country-specific. This table shows the most recently approved ongoing projects.
All project financial information can be found in the Financials section, including delivery analysis by organization, theme and project; project financial status by country and by theme.
Global Disability Fund
Contributions to trust funds administered by the MPTF Office are pooled with other partner resources to achieve greater impact and leverage the SDGs. This map provides a geographical breakdown of all investments.
* The designations employed and the presentation of material on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations or UNDP concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
> $55M $55M - $25M
$25M - $5M
< $5M
Budget amounts in US$
The Global Disability Fund brings together stakeholders from all backgrounds to support the full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Progress is made by facilitating policy dialogue, building coalitions, and developing institutional capacities at country, regional and global levels.
Ola Abualghaib, Director of the GDF Secretariat, Email: ola.abualghaib@undp.org
Eva Saenz, Portfolio Manager, Email: eva.saenz@undp.org
Sean Chen, Portfolio Associate, Email: sean.chen@undp.org
Ramon Gatchalian, Finance Associate, Email: ramon.gatchalian@undp.org
