At the fifth Responsible Business Forum, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today called on business leaders to take a greater role in the new development era in order to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This Forum, opened in Singapore by UNDP and Global Initiatives, aims to address a sea change in the nature of development funding by creating a new partnership for sustainable development.

While foreign funding (Official Development Assistance) is still essential for the development system, it now accounts for 0.7 percent of total financial flows in Asia-Pacific (down from 13.5 percent in 1990), while domestic public and private finance accounts for 89 percent, according to a UNDP report launched last month.

It is one year since every country in the world signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals. They form a blueprint for addressing the most significant challenges facing our planet and its people. Challenges like climate change. This is likely to be the hottest year on record and here in Asia, climate change is a cause of the natural disasters that have claimed half a million lives in the last decade. Challenges like inequality, which has been growing for four-fifths of Asia-Pacific’s population over the last 20 years. Challenges brought on by the accelerating process of ageing, which will make it harder for many Asian states to provide basic services to their people. The 17 SDGs will address these challenges and other interlinked issues, including education, hunger and security. But governments cannot implement this blueprint on their own. Nor can the UN and other development organizations.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Asia-Pacific Development Effectiveness Facility (AP-DEF) opened a two-day meeting on aid ahead of the upcoming Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation. More than 100 government delegates and development experts are exploring how to design integrated national financing frameworks for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Asia-Pacific. “Domestic sources of finance are emerging as a key driving force for sustainable development in Asia-Pacific,” said Haoliang Xu, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Director for Asia and the Pacific. “These new sources of finance allow us to expand the existing development cooperation and partnership.”

The United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) entered into its first Government Co-Financed project with the Kaduwela Municipal Council to effectively manage solid waste in the area to generate bio gas energy.

All you need to know about the upcoming Foresight and Innovations Summit for Sustainable Human Development - Sri Lanka’s first National Summit on Foresight and InnovationAll you need to know about the upcoming Foresight and Innovations Summit for Sustainable Human Development - Sri Lanka’s first National Summit on Foresight and Innovation

“I was not always independent and self-confident. Quite the contrary; I was extremely shy. But now I make a conscious effort to advocate for equality in our society. Someone has to stand up!” says Sumangala, a YLDP Participant from Batticaloa. Read more about her story..

UNLOCKED is a space for Sri Lankan youth to express their views and opinions on development with the aim of creating positive change in the world. The views expressed in the blogs are solely those of the authors.

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The European Union Support to District Development Programme (EU-SDDP) funded by the European Union is a 60-month Programme aimed at assisting Sri Lanka to make a transition from post-conflict assistance to reconstruction and development. UNDP is proud to be one of the six implementing agencies of this Programme.

The Sri Lanka National Human Development Report 2014 on Youth and Development explores the challenges of young people and opportunities for development, in the areas of education, employment, health, political participation and social integration, with gender as a cross-cutting theme. The Report was launched on the 12th of August, 2014, coinciding with the International Youth Day.

AusAID, UNDP and other partners initiated “Strengthening Disaster Management Capacities in Conflict Affected North and Eastern Provinces in Sri Lanka,” a project to create village resilience development plans for vulnerable communities in Sri Lanka.