Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is at a crossroads. The region faces an increasingly intense convergence of crises—economic, social, environmental, and digital—that have ceased to be exceptional and have become systemic. One in three people remains vulnerable to falling into poverty in the face of a crisis. The region accounts for a quarter of the world's climate disasters and over half of the associated economic losses. Despite this, the region invests less than 2% of its GDP in strengthening resilience. Organized crime alone absorbs 3.5% of regional GDP, while over 20 million people are displaced, and public trust in institutions remains fragile. Yet, this is only half the story.

LAC is also the most biodiverse region on the planet and possesses vast untapped wealth in natural capital, as well as enormous regenerative and human potential. When adjusting its Human Development Index for planetary pressures, the region climbs 10 positions—underscoring the immense value of its ecosystems and the potential to drive sustainable development. In a world that is rapidly revaluing nature, inclusion, and climate action, LAC's assets are not just vulnerable: they are vital.

The opportunity is clear: with bold investments in resilience—including green infrastructure, digital public goods, inclusive insurance, and nature-based solutions—LAC can reduce development risks, unlock innovation, and position itself as a global hub for sustainable growth. The benefits will not only be measured in GDP, but also in protected lives, expanded markets, and a new model of prosperity forged through collaboration between governments, international partners, and forward-thinking businesses.

Now is the time to transform resilience into benefits, and pressure into purpose.

A Regional Platform to Align Investments, Foster Collaboration, and Build Resilience

The LAC Facility for Financing Resilient Human Development, led by UNDP through its Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (RBLAC), is a multi-stakeholder strategic platform designed to transform resilience into an opportunity for investment, collaboration, and scaling. It brings together actors at all levels—multilateral and regional organizations, national and local governments, development banks, private sector actors, and civil society—under a common purpose: to accelerate financing and investments that strengthen countries' capacities to anticipate, adapt to, and respond to complex and interconnected crises.

At its core, the Facility helps navigate the region's diversity—supporting governments and partners in designing investment portfolios tailored to each country, subregion, or theme. Whether focusing on building climate-resilient infrastructure in the Caribbean, social protection in Central America, or digital public goods in the Southern Cone, the Facility offers an evidence-based regional architecture to identify strategic opportunities, align incentives, and reduce fragmentation.

Recognizing that the future of finance for development in LAC will be increasingly domestic, the Facility places governments at the center of action—not only to articulate national priorities, but also to lead peer exchanges and scale South-South and Triangular cooperation in the region. It is a platform to co-invest, co-learn, and co-deliver.

Based on the latest analyses from the Regional Human Development Report, the Facility promotes integrated and cross-sectoral responses across the economic, social, and governance spheres. In doing so, it transforms resilience from a reactive necessity into a proactive strategy for sustainable development, unlocking the types of capital, coordination, and commitment the region needs and deserves.

How the Facility Works: A Platform Anchored in National Priorities and Designed for Systemic Impact

With presence in all countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, and operations in over 170 countries and territories worldwide, UNDP combines deep local knowledge with global reach. This extended presence—built on decades of collaboration with national and local authorities, development banks, the private sector, and civil society—positions UNDP as a uniquely reliable and well-informed partner. Through initiatives such as the Climate Promise, Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs), and SDG Investment Maps, UNDP is already supporting over 120 countries in aligning their development goals with their climate priorities, identifying areas with investment potential.

The LAC Facility for Financing Resilient Human Development builds on these foundations. It is structured around three interconnected pillars that work together to scale financing, accelerate solutions, and connect countries and partners across the region:

1. National and Local Governments at the Center

The Facility recognizes the leadership of national and subnational governments in shaping resilient development pathways. It provides a platform for countries to:

• Showcase success stories, strategic priorities, and investment opportunities.
• Engage in structured South-South and Triangular cooperation, exchanging innovations, policy frameworks, and delivery models.
• Strengthen their voice and agency  in regional and global investment dialogues, helping to translate public mandates into co-financed actions.

This pillar ensures that resilience strategies are not externally imposed but are driven by the countries themselves, with support tailored to their context and aspirations.

2. Unleashing Investments for Resilient Human Development

This pillar focuses on identifying, designing, and enabling investment opportunities in resilient infrastructure, agrifood systems, health, digital public goods, and smart climate finance, among others. To achieve this, it leverages tools and partnerships that allow for:

• Aligning financing with national priorities, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), and national development plans.
• Supporting the development of fit-for-purpose instruments: from sustainability-linked bonds and parametric insurance to blended finance platforms.
• Offering technical assistance and facilitating strategic partnerships among governments, the private sector, International Financial Institutions (IFIs), national development banks, and other actors.

UNDP's role is catalytic: while it may not participate in every transaction or phase, it helps create an enabling environment and connect actors throughout the investment cycle, unlocking scalable and sustainable solutions aligned with resilience outcomes.

3. A Regional Network of Experts to Level the Playing Field

Effective investment in resilience requires a common understanding among institutions that often operate in isolation. This third pillar builds a regional ecosystem of knowledge and technical expertise, composed of:

• Public officials from ministries of finance, planning, environment, health, infrastructure, and others.
• Practitioners from international and regional organizations, as well as independent experts.
• Development finance actors, who help bridge the gap between public policy objectives and structuring financial mechanisms.

By connecting capacities across different thematic and institutional areas—finance and gender, infrastructure and climate, social protection and digital innovation—this network fosters a common language and toolkit for designing and implementing resilience-centered investments. It addresses practical asymmetries: finance ministries may understand fiscal tools but not necessarily climate or gender risks; sectoral ministries may excel at service delivery but not at blended finance mechanisms. The Facility helps close these gaps.

Unleashing Investments for Resilient Human Development

Financing is not just a means—it is a lever for systemic transformation. Advancing resilient human development requires aligning capital with long-term, risk-informed strategies that strengthen societies' capacity to anticipate, adapt, and thrive amid uncertainty. The Facility supports this through innovative financial instruments, strategic advisory services, and enabling tools that connect public priorities with investment-ready solutions.

The following elements offer further insights into the pathways and mechanisms available through the Facility and UNDP to unlock investments aligned with the second pillar: Mobilizing Investments for Resilient Human Development:

• Pre-investment technical assistance that enables the identification and preparation of high-impact projects, making them viable and attractive for investment.
• Thematic bonds that mobilize capital for specific development objectives, aligning financial returns with measurable social and environmental impacts.
• Risk mitigation mechanisms, such as sovereign parametric insurance, enable countries better plan, respond more quickly, and reduce recovery costs in the face of crises or disasters.
• Blended finance strategically channels investments into climate- resilient infrastructure, basic services, or public transportation, raising concessional capital to mobilize private finance in markets perceived as high-risk, where capital does not typically flow.
• Rehabilitation of underperforming loans allowing governments and development banks to optimize existing portfolios and redirect investments towards higher-efficiency priority development areas.
• Development of the Seed2Scale Portfolio to drive innovative initiatives with high growth and scaling potential.
• Digital and MSME finance, particularly through fintech innovations, play a critical role in strengthening resilience in the real economy. These tools improve productivity, expand credit access to underserved areas, support small businesses, and reach the last mile, generating inclusive growth capable of withstanding crises.

By de-risking development finance, the Facility helps countries make smarter investments today and be better prepared for tomorrow.

Partnering for Impact

The LAC Facility for Financing Resilient Human Development is designed as a collaborative space that enables a diverse set of actors to come together and co-create solutions that strengthen resilience across the region. Partners can engage in different ways, depending on the capabilities, priorities, and strategic interests of each partner:

1. Visibility and Legitimacy Partners support the Facility by authorizing the use of their logos and helping to amplify its messages. Through communication and visibility support, partners help to legitimize and expand the reach of the Facility's work, reinforcing its collective value and regional ownership. These partners commit to dedicating nine hours over the course of a year, attending two Facility Board sessions.
2. Financial Partners contribute directly to the operation and initiatives of the Facility by signing cost-sharing agreements with UNDP RBLAC, enabling it to effectively fulfill its role as coordinator and convener.
3. Strategic Collaboration Partners play a central role in the co-design and implementation of initiatives to strengthen resilience, collaborating closely with UNDP RBLAC as a key convener of the sustainable finance ecosystem.

To ensure focused and coherent collaboration, strategic partners are encouraged to pre-identify areas of collaboration, whether by thematic priorities, portfolio development, or governance mechanisms.