The United Nations’ 80 initiative aims to equip the UN with the capacity to be more effective, coherent, and results-oriented in a changing world. As retirement approaches, UN News spoke with Indonesia about the role of the UN development system in middle-income countries and how to best leverage partnerships with the UN.
The Role of the UN Development System in Upper-Middle-Income Countries like Indonesia
The UN development system should be positioned as a strategic partner, delivering its core value across four areas:
- Providing expertise to translate a country’s needs into actionable development programs.
- Connecting government, the private sector, civil society, and international financial institutions to tackle complex challenges.
- Acting as a catalyst for innovative financing mechanisms such as blended finance, green bonds, and impact investing.
- Serving as a custodian of inclusivity and universal norms to ensure no population is left behind in the development journey.
The UN’s role in Indonesia is reflected in our 2026–2030 Cooperation Framework, which aligns with Indonesia’s national priorities encompassing human development, environment and decarbonization, and economic and digital transformation. The framework’s ambition is to spread efforts across 18 strategic priority areas, risking too wide a distribution of effort to create deep, catalytic impact. Addressing Indonesia’s persistent inequalities across the vast archipelago will require a level of specificity that a national framework can only partially provide. This will demand strong commitment from provincial and city leaders.
Highlights of the UN Country Team’s Contribution to Indonesia
Every success of the UN Country Team is a success of Indonesia’s own vision and leadership. The UN has been a valuable partner in accelerating our national priorities. There are three measurable, nationally relevant, and forward-looking highlights:
- Accelerating stunting reduction through integrated nutrition and sanitation programs.
- Supporting Indonesia’s COVID-19 response and strengthening its health system.
- Advancing Indonesia’s green transition and climate resilience.
Measuring the Success of These Collaborations
Stunting is a national priority. The UN, particularly UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Food Programme (WFP), has provided technical assistance, global best practices, and supply chain support for maternal health, breastfeeding, water, and sanitation. Consequently, Indonesia has reduced the prevalence of stunting from 37 percent in 2013 to 21.6 percent in 2022. During the COVID pandemic, WHO, UNICEF, and other UN agencies made life-saving contributions, assisting with genomic surveillance, oxygen supply mapping, vaccine cold chain logistics, and risk communication. The UN supported the distribution of over 400 million vaccine doses, trained thousands of health workers, and helped maintain routine immunization during the pandemic. When the world faced an unprecedented crisis, the UN Country Team stood with us as trusted partners on the ground, from Aceh to Papua, not as outsiders. In green transition and climate resilience, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have provided support for mangrove restoration, early warning systems, just energy transition planning, and sustainable agriculture. From protecting our coastlines to creating green jobs, these partnerships are delivering tangible results for our people and our planet.
Advice for Other Foreign Ministries on Engaging Most Effectively with the UN
First and foremost, view the UN Country Team as a strategic partner in delivering your national priorities. Specifically, there are three practical recommendations:
- Fully align the UN’s Cooperation Framework with your national medium-term development plan, ensuring each UN agency’s work plan directly matches specific national objectives.
- Work closely with the UN Resident Coordinator, who can bring together all UN agencies, unlock global technical expertise, and speak with a single UN voice.
- Ensure alignment with UN programs to avoid duplication or redundancy.
What Kind of UN Does Indonesia Want to Emerge from the UN80 Process?
Indonesia wants to see a UN that is more responsive, effective, and reliable, better equipped to tackle today’s complex and interconnected challenges. This includes a UN that is more coherent across its pillars, more efficient in its operations, and more inclusive in reflecting the voices and priorities of developing countries. Ultimately, the UN must remain true to its core principles while adapting to the changing global landscape. Above all, Indonesia envisions a UN that responds to the needs and aspirations of its broader membership, rather than serving the interests of a select few.
Indonesia’s Role in the UN in the Coming Years
Last October, we marked two significant milestones: the 80th anniversary of the United Nations and 75 years since Indonesia proudly joined this great institution. We believe that today’s complex challenges can only be resolved through collective determination, shared responsibility, and genuine partnership. This belief is not mere rhetoric. It is reflected in the deep and productive partnership between Indonesia and the UN system in our home. We are committed to ensuring this partnership continues to deliver tangible, measurable impacts for the Indonesian people. Indonesia is actively seeking a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2029-2030 term, a candidacy that reflects our commitment to contributing more directly at the highest level of international peace and security.
