The United Nations Foundation

Mosquito nets distributed with the support of the UN Foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign in the Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in Tanzania

The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by philanthropic, corporate, government, and individual donors.

Since 1998, the UN Foundation has supported UNHCR with more than $18 million USD through its Nothing But Nets and Girl Up campaigns, among other initiatives, in addition to communications, advocacy, and technical efforts on issues ranging from malaria to energy access, and has made a significant difference in the lives of refugees and forcibly displaced people.

The UN Foundation primarily supports UNHCR through:

Nothing But Nets

Nothing But Nets is the world’s largest grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a disease which claims the life of a child every two minutes. Inspired by sports columnist Rick Reilly, hundreds of thousands of people have joined the campaign that was created by the United Nations Foundation in 2006. Nothing But Nets has raised $60 million to help deliver nearly 10 million bed nets to families in need, along with other crucial malaria interventions. In addition to raising funds for its UN partners, including UNHCR,

Nothing But Nets raises awareness and voices to advocate for critical malaria funding for the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Visit www.NothingButNets.net to defeat malaria.

Girl Up

Girl Up, the United Nations Foundation’s adolescent girl campaign, supports the empowerment of girls everywhere. Since its launch in 2010, the campaign has funded programs run by UN partners like UNHCR that promote the health, safety, education, and leadership of girls in developing countries and built a community of nearly half a million passionate advocates.

Our youth leaders, representing more than 1,200 Girl Up Clubs in 80 countries, stand up, speak up, and rise up to support the hardest to reach girls living in places where it is hardest to be a girl. Learn more at GirlUp.org.

Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves

The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (Alliance) is hosted by the UN Foundation and promotes the adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and protect the environment. The Alliance has been a key technical partner in developing the UNHCR Global Strategy for Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE), and has helped UNHCR develop and implement national 5-year plans and activities for reaching refugees with improved cooking technology and fuels.

The Alliance and UNHCR co-host an annual training for humanitarian staff on Safe Access to Fuel and Energy, and work together to coordinate cooking and energy access activities in humanitarian settings.

Global Strategy for Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE)

Key stats and figures

Nothing But Nets

Nothing But Nets has partnered with UNHCR since 2007 to protect refugees and internally displaced populations from malaria. In total, the campaign has granted over $11 million to UNHCR for bed nets and other critical malaria interventions, including the training of community health care workers.
In 2015, Nothing But Nets launched The Million Nets Pledge, a special two-year commitment to provide 1 million nets and other malaria interventions to refugee and internally displaced populations across sub-Saharan Africa. Through this commitment, Nothing But Nets will provide UNHCR with a new grant for approximately half a million in-kind nets across eight countries. Read the press release.

Girl Up

From 2012-2015, Girl Up’s funding for UNHCR’s “Advancing the Education of Somali Refugee Girls in Ethiopia” project supported the enrollment of 4,281 girls into primary and secondary school.
In 2016, Girl Up will expand its investments into Uganda for the first time. Through UNHCR’s Educate a Child initiative, Girl Up is contributing to reach 50% parity for girls in settlement camps across Uganda and to enroll an additional 4,990 girls in school. Girl Up will continue to fund education for girls in vulnerable settings in Ethiopia. Read the Press Release.