Mapping of Multilateral Organisations' Response to the Current Funding Environment

Over the past two decades, Official Development Assistance (ODA) from Development Assistance Committee (DAC) countries has grown significantly, with a notable increase in the core contributions to multilateral organisations, referred to as multilateral ODA, with the multilateral development system’s share of total Official Development Finance (ODF) rising from 45% to 61% between 2012 and 2022​ (OECD, 2024_[8])​. These core, unearmarked funds have traditionally enabled UN agencies to expand their budgets and operations flexibly. Figure 1 illustrates the upward trend in multilateral ODA from DAC countries since 2000, highlighting the ample funding environment that UN agencies have benefited from via stable donor core contributions, even if this growth has been eroded by inflation over the same period. The trend has now reversed. The OECD projects a 9% decline in net official development assistance (ODA) in 2024, with a further 9–17% decrease in 2025​ (OECD, 2025_[9])​. While these figures are estimates and may not account for all implementation arrangements, they represent the best available picture of the current global landscape for core multilateral funding. On a net flow basis, contributions to the core budgets of international organisations fell by 19.1% in 2024 and contributions on a grant-equivalent basis drop 10.9%​ (OECD, 2024_[10])​. 

It is important to distinguish multilateral ODA core, unearmarked donor contributions from bilateral aid channelled through MOs (“multi-bi”), where donors earmark funds for projects or uses. Although multi-bi flows also pass through multilateral organisations, they remain classified as bilateral aid and are usually less flexible and more targeted.

The overall fall in total ODA masks sharper declines in specific sectors. Although total ODA fell by only 6% in 2024, ODA for health plummeted by 40% in 2023 after peaking in 2022, largely reflecting the winding down of COVID-19 pandemic support​ (OECD, 2025_[9])​. Humanitarian assistance is projected to fall by 21–36% between 2023 and 2025, mainly due to US aid cuts. Here, it is vital to note that much “humanitarian ODA” is a mix of direct bilateral and multilateral mechanisms. ODA for education is expected to decline by 18–22% over the same period, with primary education being particularly affected​ (OECD, 2025_[9])​. These sectoral declines are concentrated in areas where UN agencies are most active, increasing financial pressures on both core multilateral budgets and project-based revenues (earmarked funding). 

The previously ample and growing funding environment enabled many UN entities to significantly expand their overall revenues across core, voluntary and project-based funding streams. Figure 2 tracks total revenue for sampled agencies (excluding UNOPS), with all values normalised to 100 in 2011. On average, total revenue, including both multilateral ODA and additional funding sources, doubled between 2011 and 2022. Notably, UNOPS saw a 16-fold increase in overall revenue from 2011 to 2023. However, this trend of expansion has already begun to reverse; revenues for major agencies such as WHO and WFP fell sharply in 2023, reflecting wider declines in both health and humanitarian ODA reported by the OECD, as well as drops in other voluntary and earmarked contributions.

Despite increased overall revenues among the MOs sampled, much of this growth has been driven by voluntary or earmarked funding. While such approaches can achieve discrete objectives, they reduce flexibility and introduce more bilateral priorities into the multilateral system​ (Woods and Sridhar, 2013_[11])​

Figure 3 displays funding shares by type for aggregated sectors among the agencies in the sample⁴. It illustrates a clear shift over time toward voluntary and earmarked funding, with core funding representing a shrinking share of total revenue. These shifting funding structures suggest a potential move toward more project-based mandates, as voluntary and earmarked funds are generally channelled into project support rather than flexible, long-term initiatives. This was further illustrated by former UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner during the 2025 annual session of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board, who stated that, in 2025, core funding was expected to fall below 10% of total contributions for the first time​ (UNDP, 2025_[12])​. 

In addition to the effects of rising earmarked funding discussed in the second thematic brief in this series, “Closing the UN Mandate-Results Gap: Realigning Incentives for Lasting Impact”​ (MOPAN, 2025_[13])​, such as encouraging entities focused on normative support to expand into direct service delivery, increased funding unpredictability has also made the UN system more vulnerable to funding shocks. This vulnerability was clearly demonstrated in 2025, with most agencies reporting funding reductions primarily stemming from recent cuts to voluntary donor contributions, which had driven growth in the lead-up to the current crisis.

Staffing trends offer important insights into how agencies are adapting to growing or constrained budgets. Figure 4 presents staff levels by region for four agencies in the sample that experienced funding cuts in 2023⁵. WHO and WFP saw the most significant reductions in staffing. For WFP, staff losses were most pronounced in Africa, likely reflecting cuts to aid programme delivery. In the case of WHO, staff reductions were sharpest in Europe, suggesting that agencies may have targeted headquarters staff for cuts. These patterns provide an early indication of agency responses that have now become more widespread in the context of recent UN system budget reductions.