About the Event
The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation invites you to The UN Funding Crisis: What is at stake? – a virtual discussion held as part of the OECD Multilateral Development Finance (MDF) Week 2026.
The event takes place at a moment of profound uncertainty for the multilateral system. The latest OECD figures indicate a historic decline in Official Development Assistance (ODA), while multilateral organiations face growing financial pressures, increasing fragmentation of funding, geopolitical tensions, and rising demands to demonstrate effectiveness and value for money.
While current debates often focus on budgets and efficiency, the implications are significantly broader. Declining levels of predictable and flexible funding are increasingly affecting the ability of multilateral institutions, particularly the United Nations development system, to sustain normative work, support coordination functions, maintain impartiality, and respond effectively to interconnected global challenges.
Bringing together experts from the UN system, think tanks, multilateral organisations, and development policy institutions, the discussion will explore what current funding pressures mean for multilateral effectiveness, UN reform, governance, country-level delivery, and the future of international cooperation.
Key questions include:
- What happens to multilateralism when funding becomes increasingly fragmented, earmarked, and politically conditional?
- What institutional functions are most vulnerable under prolonged financial pressure?
- How can the multilateral system adapt while preserving legitimacy, effectiveness, and universality?
- How are funding pressures affecting country-level delivery and support tonational priorities?
- What role should Member States play in protecting the long-term foundations of multilateral cooperation?
The discussion will feature contributions from:
- John Hendra (Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation)
- Suzanne Steensen (MOPAN)
- Angela Heucher (DEval)
- Ronny Patz and Anna Novoselova (IDOS).
The discussion forms part of the OECD Multilateral Development Finance Week 2026 programme. Read more about the MDF Week 2026 here.