This section looks at the progress made in aligning UN entity expenses with the SDGs.85 From the 2021 data-reporting cycle onwards, all UN entities reporting to the CEB have been required to set their expenses against the 17 SDGs or – in cases where entities have programmes not aligned to the SDGs – a single non-SDG code. Even before this practice was made mandatory, some entities had begun as early as the 2018 reporting cycle to voluntarily report their expenses against the SDGs.
Reporting coverage and alignment was further consolidated in 2024. This was reflected by the fact that all UN entities, except UN Tourism, reported their expenses against the SDGs, with 15 entities doing so at the level of specific SDG targets. Furthermore, all UN system expenses (US$ 66.0 billion) were either classified under an SDG or against the non-SDG code. Of these, 83% (US$ 54.9 billion) were aligned with the SDGs, with the remaining 17% (US$ 11.0 billion) reported against the non-SDG code. Notably, the IAEA, the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC), United Nations Volunteers (UNV), the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) all reported 100% of their expenses under the non-SDG code.
Figure 38 shows the distribution of UN system expenses by SDG in 2024, based on self-reported data from UN entities to the CEB. The pattern of expenses across the 17 SDGs are shaped by the mandates of individual UN entities and – given the high levels of earmarked funding – donor priority areas. In 2024, the highest levels of UN expenses were directed towards promoting peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16), followed by eradicating hunger (SDG 2), and ensuring health and promoting well-being for all (SDG 3).
UN expenses linked to SDGs by entity, 2024 (US$ million)
SDG 16 has been described as the linchpin of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, providing an essential foundation for addressing cross-cutting challenges and achieving every other SDG.86 It comes as little surprise, then, that it accounted for the largest share of UN expenses in 2024, totalling US$ 12.1 billion, driven primarily by UN-DPO peacekeeping operations (60%), the UN Secretariat and its Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) (9%), and UNDP’s support for good governance, electoral assistance, rule of law, access to justice, anti-corruption and conflict prevention (8%). Notably, the CTBTO, ICC, IRMCT, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and UN-DPO all focus exclusively on SDG 16 in their expenses.
The second-largest share of UN system expenses in 2024 was directed towards eradicating hunger (SDG 2). Geopolitical tensions, ongoing conflicts and climate-related disruptions have led to persistent global food insecurity, stunting and malnutrition. Such consequences are particularly onerous for children and women, with malnutrition responsible for half of all child deaths and 20% of maternal deaths.87
UN system expenses towards SDG 2 totalled US$ 10.2 billion, primarily ascribable to WFP assistance around reducing food insecurity and malnutrition, alongside providing sustainable agricultural resilience (80%). UNICEF contributed mainly through nutritional care and counselling for children and women (8%), while FAO provided agriculture and rural development support aimed at increasing food production and availability (7%). In addition, IFAD’s expenses were exclusively directed at SDG 2.
Improving global health remained a key priority for the UN system in 2024, as reflected in UN expenses linked to SDG 3. At present, however, insufficient progress is being made towards achievement of the health-related SDGs and other global targets. Although mortality rates have declined across all causes addressed by SDG-related indicators –including maternal, child and neonatal mortality; premature mortality from non-communicable diseases; injury-related deaths; and deaths linked to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and air pollution – the pace of improvement has either slowed or stagnated in recent years. As a result, if current trends continue, it will not be possible to meet the corresponding global mortality targets by 2030.
UN system expenses linked to SDG 3 totalled US$ 8.4 billion in 2024, with three entities accounting for more than two-thirds of this. WHO was the largest player, responsible for 43% of total expenses linked to SDG 3 (almost all – 96% – of the entity’s expenses were linked to this goal). UNICEF contributed 21%, primarily through spending on newborn, child and maternal health among the most vulnerable populations, and UNFPA 7%. Elsewhere, the expenses of both the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and Unitaid were fully linked to SDG 3.
In reality, directly linking UN expenses to SDG outcomes captures only part of the UN’s overall impact on SDG achievement. While expenses based on structured trans-actions – particularly the procurement of goods such as food or vaccines – are relatively easy to track and report systematically, much of the UN’s work falls outside such categories. For instance, normative work and support for national development policies may generate substantial, long-lasting contributions to sustainable development, despite requiring comparatively limited financial resources.
Figure 38 also highlights the comparatively modest investments being made in environmental sustainability and resource use, which in 2024 received the lowest levels of UN expenses among all the SDGs. Efforts to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy (SDG 7); promote responsible consumption and production patterns (SDG 12); conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources (SDG 14); and protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial eco systems, sustainably managing forests, combating desertification, halting and reversing land degradation and biodiversity loss (SDG 15) each received less than US$ 500 million in reported spending by UN entities.