This independent Inter-Agency Humanitarian Evaluation (IAHE) assessed the collective famine prevention response of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) member agencies in Somalia between 2021 and 2024. The IAHE was led by OCHA, and the UNFPA Independent Evaluation Office was part of the management group together with IOM, IRC (on behalf of ICVA), UNHCR, UNICEF, UN Women, WFP and WHO.

The evaluation found that, despite a highly challenging operational environment, the scaled-up collective response by IASC members played a critical role in preventing famine and saving thousands of lives in Somalia. The response also contributed to expanding humanitarian access to marginalized communities and hard-to-reach areas.
 
The evaluation also highlights several challenges that impacted the effectiveness of the response, including unintended negative consequences, overly complex and duplicative coordination structures that limited the efficiency of decision-making, and persistent gaps in ensuring accountability to affected people. 
 
The evaluation identifies improvements that would enable humanitarian organizations to better serve communities in future responses, with a focus on how short-term life-saving aid should be designed and making the response more accountable. The report recommends reducing the number of coordination fora and meetings by at least half, eliminating duplication, and making the response more accountable by increasing transparency and strengthening the engagement of affected people.

Drawing on about 300 United Nations evaluations and employing a responsible AI-enabled methodology, this evidence synthesis report provides validated lessons on what works and what doesn't in advancing youth education and employment programmes. These lessons directly contribute to the implementation of the United Nations Youth Strategy 2030.

The lessons emphasize the need for targeted interventions and tailored approaches for specific disadvantaged youth groups, the importance of cross-sector collaboration and holistic approaches to enhance youth employability and personal development, the necessity of tailoring educational programmes to local and cultural realities, and the value of a balanced approach combining direct youth support and upstream strategies for long-term success. By applying these lessons to programme design, budget allocation and advocacy, programmers and decision-makers can ensure young people are better prepared for the future of work and learning.

The report is a result of an inter-agency knowledge collaboration, co-led by the UNFPA Independent Evaluation Office and UNICEF Evaluation Office, along with the EvalYouth Global Network, Generation Unlimited, Global Partnership for Education Youth Leaders, ILO, IOM, OHCHR, UNDP, UNESCO, and the United Nations Youth Office. The report was officially launched at a Youth ECOSOC Forum side event on 15 April 2025. 

This is the third report, part of a series of four meta-synthesis exercises on lessons learned in the implementation of the United Nations Youth Strategy. The first synthesis focused on ‘What works to amplify the rights and voices of youth?’ by exploring youth participation and youth and human rights. The second synthesis focused on ‘What works to amplify the rights and voices of youth in peace and resilience building?’. Together this evidence package aims at strengthening the United Nations effectiveness on youth programming globally.

The UNAIDS Joint Programme is a multi-stakeholder and multisectoral initiative that leads the United Nations system’s response to the global AIDS epidemic. The purpose of this review was to consolidate and analyze findings from previous Joint Programme evaluations, assessments, and reviews conducted between 2020 and 2024, as well as their management responses, to inform ongoing processes and an upcoming evaluation of the Joint Programme. 

The UNAIDS Evaluation Office led the review, with support from a Management Group that included the UNFPA Independent Evaluation Office, alongside the UNAIDS Secretariat, UNESCO, UNICEF and WHO. 

This review analyzed the Joint Programme’s work across several dimensions, focusing on its successes, key internal and external challenges, and opportunities in relation to the UNAIDS Joint Programme’s programmatic objectives. It also analyzed existing evidence on the extent to which key Joint Programme structures were fit-for-purpose, and the added value of the Joint Programme in sustaining the HIV response.
 

Yemen is in a dire humanitarian crisis after nine years of war, with over half of its population needing aid. Displaced women and girls, especially those with disabilities, struggle to access reproductive health care and are at high risk of gender-based violence. UNFPA has been coordinating and providing reproductive health and protection services since the start of the crisis, and leading the rapid response mechanism for immediate assistance to displaced people since 2018. This independent evaluation undertaken by the UNFPA Independent Evaluation Office assesses UNFPA's response to the crisis in Yemen from 2015 to the present.

The evaluation finds that UNFPA effectively adjusted its programme in Yemen to meet the changing needs of the population, while remaining sensitive to the socio-political context. Although starting with very limited services, UNFPA's work in reproductive health, gender-based violence, and youth programmes led to positive outcomes. UNFPA also successfully adapted its systems and leveraged its partnerships to meet the demands of the humanitarian crisis. The evaluation also highlights the need for UNFPA to strengthen its engagement with vulnerable groups, particularly persons with disabilities. The evaluation recommends better integration of short-term humanitarian efforts with long-term approaches for resilience building and development.
 

A joint initiative of the United Nations and the European Union, the Spotlight Initiative is one of the largest targeted efforts to end all forms of violence against women and girls. UNFPA Independent Evaluation Office seconded a senior evaluation specialist to the System-Wide Evaluation Office to manage the final evaluation of the Spotlight Initiative’s first phase (2017-2023). 

The evaluation assessed how the Initiative shaped and influenced programming to address violence against women and girls, the effectiveness of management and operational systems in achieving results at all levels, the quality of partnerships and decision-making processes, the Initiative’s impact on the reform process, including its role in driving transformative change.

Overall, the evaluation found proof of concept for the Spotlight Initiative model while also highlighting areas for improvement. The comprehensive design demonstrates the ability of an integrated, inter-agency approach to ending violence against women and girls, contributing to higher-order changes at regional, national and local levels. The Initiative was able to respond to contextual changes to deliver important results across pillars. The governance model brought together expanded stakeholders with an elevated role for civil society engagement. At the same time, the evaluation found that programme delivery was significantly challenged by a complicated operational model and by limitations in the compatibility of United Nations administrative and financial systems. While some elements and activities of the Initiative show signs of continuation, the sustainability of the overarching approach is still to be determined.
 

The Global SDG Synthesis Coalition is a multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to provide rigorous evidence around the five pillars of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. The evidence synthesis for the partnership pillar of the SDGs provides evidence to understand what works, why, and in what context to accelerate progress towards SDG 17. 

The synthesis of the partnership pillar was conducted under the guidance of the Coalition and led by a management group consisting of Canada, Ireland, Spain, OIOS, UNDP, UNFPA, WFP, UN Joint SDG Fund, UNICEF and the International Development Evaluation Association (IDEAS). The synthesis uses evidence from 183 impact evaluations and 70 performance and process evaluations to provide a comprehensive assessment of how to accelerate SDG 17 objectives. 

The synthesis captures key areas concerning SDG 17 such as horizontal cooperation, partnership models, trade opportunities, green technology, digital initiatives, inclusive development including the effective use of evaluative evidence and statistical data in Voluntary National Reviews. The synthesis also identifies evidence gaps and provides a roadmap for addressing them.

Impact evaluations evidence and gap map
Performance and process evaluations evidence gap map 
 

The Global Action Plan for healthy lives and well-being for all (GAP) initiative, launched in 2018, seeks to enhance interagency collaboration and accelerate progress towards the health-related targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UNFPA, along with 12 other agencies— Gavi, GFF, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, ILO, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNICEF, UNITAID, UN Women, WFP, WHO, and the World Bank—are signatories to this initiative. 

In 2024, WHO Evaluation Office led a joint evaluation of the GAP initiative. The UNFPA Independent Evaluation Office participated in the Evaluation Management Group, alongside evaluation offices from GEF, Global Fund, ILO, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNICEF, UNITAID, UN Women, WFP, and the World Bank. Covering 67 countries where the GAP approach was applied, the evaluation assesses the coherence, effectiveness, and sustainability of collaborative efforts from 2019 to 2024 at the country, regional, and global levels. The evaluation results are informing discussions among agency principals on the future of the GAP.

The evaluation concludes that, globally, the GAP aligns well with current and past international health initiatives, demonstrating continuity and opportunities to build on previous work. However, despite initial support from agency principals, achieving interagency coherence and country engagement has been challenging. While there is insufficient evidence to definitively conclude that the GAP has met, or will meet, its objectives of accelerating progress towards SDG 3 targets, it has not hindered progress. Importantly, the sustainability of the GAP and its outcomes must be considered within the broader context of global health and individual country contexts, where few are on track to achieve SDG 3 targets.

Based on the evaluation results, two potential paths forward were proposed. The first path suggests closing out the current GAP within six to twelve months, contingent upon the agencies reaching a consensus on whether closure serves their collective best interest. Alternatively, the second path recommends developing a new framework that retains select GAP elements. This evaluation equips signatory agencies with the necessary information—including evidence, benefits, trade-offs, and risks—to inform their decision-making regarding the future of the GAP. The management response accepts the first option and commits to preparing a 6-9 month sunsetting and close-out action plan with key milestones.
 

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.
 

The United Nations Sustainable Development Group System-Wide Evaluation Office (SWEO), in collaboration with the Independent Evaluation Offices of IFAD, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNDP, UNICEF and WFP has produced evaluation evidence summaries and maps to inform the upcoming 2024 Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR). This review, conducted every four years, allows Member States to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and coherence of United Nations development activities.

In 2024, the SWEO launched a cross-system initiative to gather and analyze evidence from nearly 1000 United Nations evaluations conducted between 2021 and 2024. This has resulted in interactive digital maps and five evidence summaries linking to the priorities of 2020 QCPR, such as building a whole of system response to complex settings; the independent resident coordinator system; United Nations development system reform at the regional level; quality funding; and sustainable food systems.

The summaries offer evidence and lessons learned for Member States involved in the 2024 QCPR negotiations. The initiative also aims to optimize the use of evaluation evidence in the United Nations and identify evidence gaps. 

The UNFPA Independent Evaluation Office actively supported and contributed to this initiative alongside the evaluation offices of UNDP and the World Food Programme, participating in the management group and peer review teams. UNFPA evaluations analyzed include the formative evaluation of the organizational resilience of UNFPA in light of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic (2024), the formative evaluation of the UNFPA engagement in the reform of the United Nations development system (2023), and the joint evaluation of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation: Accelerating Change, Phase II (2021).

These evidence summaries, along with accompanying briefs and evidence gap maps, are essential resources for stakeholders striving to strengthen United Nations development work and advance progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Evaluation map by: 
Coverage of 2020 QCPR priorities (detailed evidence map)
Coverage of SDGs
Coverage of country/territory and region (forthcoming) 
 

The Global Programme to End Child Marriage is jointly managed and implemented by UNICEF and UNFPA. The elimination of child marriage and other harmful practices is a Sustainable Development Goal target 5.3, and also a strategic priority of both organizations. The programme is concluding its phase II and planning to commence phase III. 

In 2023, the evaluation offices of UNICEF and UNFPA commissioned an independent joint evaluation of phase II (2020–2023) of the Global Programme. The joint evaluation aims to assess the Global Programme’s contribution at global, regional and country levels to ending child marriage. The evaluation also seeks to identify good practices and lessons learned from the implementation of phase II in order to inform the development of phase III, as well as efforts to end child marriage globally. 

Building upon the findings, the evaluation offers a series of recommendations related to programme design, contexualization and adaptability; strengthening coordination and programme convergence; deepening and further embedding the gender transformative approach; generation and use of evidence; and improving sustainability. It examines the integration of the gender transformative approach, analyses progress in relation to the “leave no one behind” principle, and explores the catalytic effect of the Global Programme within and beyond the 12 programme countries (Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, India,  Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia). Other focus areas include the added value of joint programming and coordination by the two agencies and how the Programme has adapted to crises.