LocationsInvesting in people, peace and progress
June 12, 2025
In countries affected by crisis, UNDP helps communities address immediate needs while laying the foundations for medium-term recovery and long-term development.
Last year, in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, I witnessed firsthand the devastation brought by two years of armed conflict. Families had been torn apart, homes and livelihoods were lost, and the scars of brutal violence, especially against women, were evident. Yet, even amid suffering, there was resilience. Communities were beginning to rebuild, determined to shape a future defined by hope, not destruction.
Today, we face unprecedented crises around the world, from climate change to disasters and conflicts, that are disrupting lives and creating profound uncertainty.
It is estimated that 1.2 billion people globally are vulnerable to climate change impacts, and more than 305 million affected by conflicts and other crises will need urgent humanitarian and lifesaving assistance in 2025. For those affected, the consequences can last for generations.
The journey of rebuilding lives and communities is challenging. Each context demands unique approaches, from immediate relief to long-term development. Resilience is not built overnight – it requires targeted support and sustained commitment.
Our donors provide this vital support, allowing us to be agile and respond quickly, while also ensuring that we stay on the ground to support communities and governments to recover and rebuild after crises.
Here are a few examples that show how UNDP’s work in crises empowers communities and governments to rebuild, strengthen resilience, and lay the foundation for sustained peace and development.
In northern Ethiopia, UNDP Crisis Bureau Director Shoko Noda visited communities working to rebuild after years of conflict.
Rebuilding communities, restoring trust
In northern Ethiopia, years of conflict and humanitarian crisis have left millions vulnerable, with more than three million people internally displaced. To help communities recover and rebuild, UNDP helped establish a Peace Support Facility. This initiative supports a range of locally driven efforts, including access to essential services like healthcare and education, reviving livelihoods and small businesses, reducing tensions between communities, and restoring people’s trust in government institutions.
In the Amhara region, local peace forums have played a pivotal role in reducing tensions and helping communities regain a sense of normalcy, while in Tigray, rebuilding the judicial system has ensured that people once again have access to justice.
These efforts illustrate how effective recovery goes beyond rebuilding infrastructure – it must also restore the dignity of people, give them economic opportunities and security, and ensure good governance.
Strengthening crisis preparedness, accelerating early recovery
In Lebanon, overlapping crises, from a banking collapse to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, and the ongoing political instability, have severely worsened people's economic hardship. The escalated hostilities at the end of 2024 displaced thousands, leaving communities in urgent need of support.
Responding to these crises, UNDP strengthened national institutions and their capacities for disaster risk management to ensure humanitarian response in a swift as well as inclusive manner.
Responding to rapidly evolving situations, daily situational updates provided vital information on displacement, while public awareness campaigns encouraged people to report unexploded ordnance, preventing further casualties. By ensuring timely coordination and flow of information, both the authorities and the people were able to prepare and respond better.
For long-term recovery, further investments in crisis preparedness, disaster risk assessment and governance reforms are ensuring that Lebanon is resilient against future shocks. These insights are now being shared with other countries to help build their risk management systems.
UNDP helps countries strengthen national institutions, including police, so they can ensure humanitarian response is swift, inclusive and effective.
Enabling sustainable transitions
Following Bangladesh’s political transition in August 2024, targeted support enabled key governance and policy reforms. Consultations with reform commissions and expert guidance helped strengthen local governance, the rule of law and economic policies, while enabling security sector reforms and ensuring stability as the country prepared for upcoming elections. Technical expertise was provided to the Election Commission to ensure voter registration and electoral integrity, reinforcing the foundations of democracy.
Investing in hope, securing the future
Rebuilding after a crisis is a multidimensional process – addressing immediate needs, supporting medium-term recovery and enabling long-term development across a range of areas including livelihoods, peacebuilding, governance and institutional strengthening. All of these are essential to help communities not only recover but thrive.
Our donors and partners make it possible for UNDP to respond swiftly and comprehensively, helping bridge critical gaps and support people-led recovery. Their support enables us to tailor solutions to local contexts while aligning with the global development goals. Together, we work towards building a more resilient and sustainable future, ensuring no one is left behind in the journey towards peace and progress.
This work is made possible by the support of our partners, the governments of Denmark, Luxembourg and the Republic of Korea, through their pooled and flexible contributions under the Governance, Peacebuilding, Crisis and Resilience Funding Window. Funding Windows are a thematic funding mechanism that helps UNDP be agile and respond to crises immediately and effectively.
Learn more about and the impact of UNDP’s thematic pooled funds: Funding Windows
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