TABLE 2. UNDP COVID-19 budget utilization, 2020 and 2021, as of November 2021 (In millions of United States dollars)
2020
2021
Total
%
Health systems support
361
370
731
44
Inclusive integrated crisis management
125
291
416
25
Social protection
61
115
176
11
Digital disruption
39
73
112
7
Governance
38
64
102
6
Socioeconomic impact assessments
26
53
79
5
Green economy
25
15
40
2
675
981
1,656
100
Source: UNDP COVID-19 Monitoring Dashboard
Finding 3. UNDP support to the health sector was central to the initial pandemic response in many countries and was well aligned with government-led responses. In the initial months of the pandemic, Governments of programme countries were responding to an unfolding crisis in health systems. UNDP supported this response through activities ranging from procurement support to the delivery of PPE, ventilators and other medical support. UNDP has shown itself to have robust procurement services in health, through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as well as the ability to respond quickly to crisis needs.77 The country studies undertaken for the evaluation capture the scale of the crisis in which UNDP was operating. In Peru, a country severely hit by the pandemic, UNDP initially supported purchasing of PPE for indigenous communities and then collaborated with WHO and the Municipality of Lima to produce PPE for front-line workers made by a local company from recycled plastics, among other support.78 In Bangladesh, also severely hit by the pandemic, UNDP provided COVID-19 awareness materials and PPE supplies and supported the establishment of medical helplines. The Partnership for a Tolerant, Inclusive Bangladesh adjusted social media tools originally developed to fight violent extremism, to curb COVID-19 disinformation. In Armenia, existing disaster risk reduction partnerships shifted focus to COVID-19 preparedness and response and partnerships with youth groups helped to counter the spread of COVID-19 misinformation. Spending across the four tipping points outlined in Beyond Recovery – governance, social protection, the green economy and digital disruption – accounts for a small proportion of overall fund utilization. In 2020 and 2021, health system support accounted for 44 percent of fund utilization, followed by inclusive and integrated crisis management (25 percent), social protection (11 percent), digital disruption and innovation (7 percent), governance (6 percent) and the green economy (2 percent).79 A shift to a more developmental approach to recovery has yet to be seen. The green economy, governance and
77 78 79
UNDP IEO, 2020, Reflection, Lesson from Evaluations: UNDP Support to the Health Sector. https://www.pe.undp.org/content/peru/es/home/presscenter/articles/2021/nuevos-cascos-de-vida-para-la-primera-linea.html UNDP COVID-19 Monitoring Dashboard, 17 November 2021.
26
