The Role of the UNSGSA
Advocacy at the Core
As the UNSGSA, H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands works to empower people with suitable financial products and tools that enhance their ability to manage their day-to-day finances, build resilience to financial shocks, plan for the future, and feel confident about their financial lives. The advocacy of the UNSGSA helps ensure individuals are not merely participants in the financial system but can seize opportunities to protect against hardships and build a better future, all within a safe, inclusive, and sustainable financial system.
Fostering Collaboration
The work of the Special Advocate is characterized by collaboration with governments, private sector leaders, civil society, and international development organizations. Together, they develop strategies and policies that prioritize financial health, ensuring that financial systems are inclusive, equitable, and support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Championing Innovative Policies
UNSGSA Queen Máxima advocates for policy and market innovations that help to enhance the financial health of individuals and households around the world. She engages with public and private sector leaders, namely in the financial sector, to champion applying a financial health lens to corporate strategies, national development plans, and appropriate policies and regulations.
Harnessing Digitalization for Financial Health
The Special Advocate champions the strategic integration of digital technologies to revolutionize and transform financial health solutions, including through emerging solutions such as data sharing and open finance. She promotes the responsible use of technology to provide secure, accessible, and user-friendly financial services, particularly for underserved and vulnerable populations, including low-income groups, smallholder farmers, women, and microentrepreneurs.
Ensuring Progress and Impact
The UNSGSA advocates for the development of comprehensive financial health measurement metrics to drive evidence-based decision-making and a robust measurement agenda:
- Creates reliable baselines for measuring progress over time.
- Identifies financial health challenges for a given population and uncovers opportunities for action.
- Supports a common understanding of financial health issues across communities and countries.
This approach enables continuous refinement of strategies, fosters accountability, and accelerates the adoption of proven best practices across diverse markets. By championing rigorous measurement, the Special Advocate aims to catalyze a cycle of innovation and improvement, ultimately enhancing financial health on a global scale.
UNSGSA Queen Máxima also advocates for a robust research agenda to advanced evidence-based decision making for financial health, including assessing the effectiveness of interventions to inform policies and product design. A robust financial health measurement agenda can help analyze the broader economic impacts of financial health, including its role in supporting financial stability.
Charting a Course for the Future
Ultimately, the advocacy of the UNSGSA aims to create financial systems that empower people through well-designed and responsibly delivered financial services and tools that meet their needs, enhance financial health, and contribute to positive development outcomes.