UNFPA has a bold vision: a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. The UNFPA Strategic Plan 2022-2025 is a crucial stepping stone towards this vision, focusing on three transformative results: ending preventable maternal deaths, ending unmet need for family planning, and ending gender-based violence and harmful practices. This plan is the second in a series of three strategic plans until 2030, each building on the last to accelerate progress towards the three transformative results.
This independent evaluation assesses the organizational readiness and strategic positioning of UNFPA to accelerate progress towards the achievement of the three transformative results, and provides evidence and insights for the development of the next UNFPA Strategic Plan 2026-2029. In particular, the evaluation examines two key innovations: six accelerators designed to drive faster results, and twelve strategic shifts that represent UNFPA's commitment to adapt and evolve its approach, to support the implementation of the strategic plan.
The evaluation concludes that while successive strategic plans aiming for the three transformative results provide continuity and focus, they require adaptability, with acceleration remaining relevant yet potentially insufficient for countries facing setbacks. The evaluation recommends to focus the next strategic plan on further acceleration - rather than unfinished business - and ensuring that efforts to protect the ICPD agenda are fully integrated into the approach.
While the three transformative results effectively focused UNFPA resources on key priorities, they do not fully encompass all stakeholder needs or the organization’s broader contributions to the ICPD Programme of Action and the Sustainable Development Goals. The next strategic plan should clarify the UNFPA strategic positioning in population dynamics and other key areas of work (such as HIV, gender equality, youth and adolescence and ageing) and the direct contribution of these areas to the SDGs and ICPD Programme of Action.
The shifts in the Strategic Plan 2022-2025 demanded substantial organizational effort, with clearer guidance, and needed to consider internal capacity constraints, especially in smaller country offices. The evaluation recommends operationalizing acceleration by clarifying and strengthening linkages between concepts and programming approaches well in advance of the launch of the new strategic plan.
A clearer approach to acceleration in the next strategic plan, and the country programmes, is needed in order to enhance coherence across UNFPA initiatives, align modes of engagement and guide human resource priorities at the country level. The evaluation recommends strengthening capacities to undertake the critical measures that will support acceleration, especially in normative work, funding to finance, knowledge management and strategic communications.
Finally, UNFPA has improved its humanitarian response capacity but needs clearer guidance and strategic integration to coordinate and implement resilience, humanitarian, development and peace efforts within resource constraints. The evaluation recommends better integration of humanitarian, development and peace-responsive interventions while taking into account the different and changing contexts within which UNFPA works.