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The MDG Achievement Fund (MDG-F)


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About the fund

The MDG Achievement Fund (MDG-F) is an international cooperation mechanism aiming to accelerate progress towards the universal fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Established in December 2006, with a Spanish Government donation of $710 million US Dollars to the United Nations system, the MDG-F supports national governments, local authorities and citizen organizations in their efforts to tackle poverty and inequality.

With 128 active programmes in 50 countries, spread across 5 regions the MDG-F is directly helping over 3.5 million people and indirectly improving the lives of another 20 million people. In doing this the MDG-F brings together nearly 2000 partners from various community organizations, national and local governments, the private sector, NGOs and UN Agencies.

All of the MDG-F programmes are joint UN programmes bringing together an average of six UN Agencies in a collective effort thereby strengthening the UN system's ability to deliver as one. (All MDG programmes are realised by bringing together at least six UN agencies thereby strengthening the UN system's ability to deliver as one)

MDG-F aims to:

  • Positively impact on the status of the MDGs and tackle inequality; 
  • Increase national ownership and strengthen civil society participation; and 
  • Improve aid effectiveness by building on the collective strength of the United Nations  

MDG-F Croatia Joint Programme Document:

More about the Fund and its activities in Croatia: http://www.mdgfund.org/country/croatia.

MDG-F in Croatia

Within the framework of the global MDG Achievement Fund (MDG-F), a programme was launched in May 2009 in Croatia - Closing the Chapter: Social Inclusion and Conflict Transformation in War-Affected Areas of Croatia. The Programme, whose overall value is 3 million US dollars, aims to bridge regional disparities and is being implemented by four UN agencies (The International Organisation for Migration - IOM, United Nations Children Fund – UNICEF, United Nations Development Programme – UNDP and United Nations Refugee Agency - UNHCR), in cooperation with the Croatian government and with the support of the Spanish Government as the founder of the MDG-F. The MDG-F Joint Programme in Croatia will be active for two years.

In the context of Croatia's EU accession's path, the MDG-F Joint Programme supports projects aiming to bridge the socioeconomic divide between the richer and poorer parts of Croatia. The main beneficiaries of this Programme are groups most at risk of exclusion such as: women, returnees, war veterans and children or youth facing the risk of violence.

What do we do?

The MDG-F Joint Programme in Croatia is implemented in the Areas of Special State Concern (Vukovar-Srijem, Sisak-Moslavina, Karlovac, Lika-Senj, Zadar, Šibenik-Knin), as these are the areas that have the lowest development indicators in Croatia and are least likely to meet the goals by 2015.

The Programme is directly linked to the achievement of three national Millennium Development Goals, namely:

- Mitigation of Poverty, through empowering groups most likely to be long-term unemployed and through supporting the creation of improved local development conditions and access to basic services in areas at risk of poverty and conflict. Activities are implemented by UNDP and UNHCR.

- Education for All; supported by UNICEF's 'Protecting children from violence' project that works to ensure children do not enter adulthood as individuals likely to become prejudiced, or socially / economically excluded. This situation is particularly acute for national minorities that face added barriers to accessing education based on ethnicity; and,

- Gender Equality will be advanced by supporting relevant legal frameworks, national strategies and substantive projects that target women at high risk of poverty and violence, particularly those in rural areas with lower levels of education and those living in areas of former conflict. This is particularly important given that women – nation-wide - are 20% more likely to be at risk of poverty than men. Activities are implemented by IOM, UNDP and UNHCR