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Global Fund Risk Management Requirements for PRs

Once UNDP is confirmed as interim Principal Recipient (PR), the capacity of the local UNDP office is assessed during the grant negotiation phase, through a UNDP tailored Global Fund Capacity Assessment Tool (2023) (CAT examples are available here). Therefore, the grant is ultimately approved on the basis of a positive assessment of local UNDP Office capacities to implement the grant and effectively manage risks.

The UNDP-GF Framework Agreement (2023) Article 2, Annex A, states that:

“The Principal Recipient will implement or oversee the implementation of the Program in accordance with UNDP regulations, rules, policies and procedures and decisions of the UNDP Governing Bodies, as well as the terms and conditions of the relevant Grant Agreement. The Principal Recipient will be responsible and accountable to the Global Fund for all resources it receives under the relevant Grant Agreement and for the results that are to be accomplished.”

It is therefore expected that standard UNDP’s internal controls systems, policies, and regulations, as set out in UNDP’s Programme and Project Management (POPP), are used to provide the appropriate level of assurance throughout the design and the implementation of the Global Fund grant.

The UNDP-GF Framework Agreement (2023), includes new provisions for the prevention and management of Sexual Exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH). These further define UNDP’s standard SEAH provisions and clarify the standards that apply to SEAH prevention and management when implementing Global Fund resources. Details are provided in the UNDP risk management measures during grant formulation and UNDP risk management measures during grant implementation sections of this Manual.

To support Country Offices, UNDP has developed a number of stand-alone risk management tools for a risk-informed implementation of Global-Fund-funded projects. These are listed in the Risk management architecture for UNDP-implemented Global Fund projects section of this Manual and are in addition to standard UNDP risk management procedures, as listed in POPP and mapped here.

When selected as PR, UNDP is entrusted with Global Fund resources, and it is therefore fully accountable in ensuring that (i) the funds are efficiently and effectively directed to achieving programmatic results and reaching people in need and (ii) programmatic and financial data are accurate, timely and complete. UNDP accountability also extends to the management of risks related to the activities implemented by the Sub-Recipients (and their Sub-Sub-Recipients) contracted by UNDP.

Therefore, where Sub-Recipients are involved, the Principal Recipient has the responsibility to manage the Sub-Recipients. In managing the SRs, UNDP is also responsible for managing the Sub-Sub-Recipients (SSRs) and risks that can emerge from the engagement between SRs and SSRs. For more details on SR selection, capacity assessment requirements and process, refer to the Sub-Recipient Management section of this Manual.

Additional guidance to support this area of work are also available through a number of resources listed below:

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