The Peaceful Uses Initiative (PUI), launched in 2010, has become instrumental in mobilizing extrabudgetary contributions which supplement the Technical Cooperation Fund to support technical cooperation projects and other unfunded projects of the IAEA in the areas of peaceful application of nuclear technology.
PUI has also allowed the IAEA to be more flexible and quicker in responding to shifting priorities of Member States, as well as to unexpected needs or unforeseen emergency events, as demonstrated in the response to the Ebola virus disease in West Africa and the recent outbreak of the Zika disease in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Extrabudgetary contributions made through PUI have been used to support a wide variety of IAEA activities aimed at promoting broad development goals in Member States. Some of the PUI projects which could contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include:
| Enhancing food security |  | ||
| Initiatives to combat zoonotic disease |  | ||
| Providing potable water to underserved communities |  | ||
| Strengthening and developing nuclear energy infrastructure |  |  | |
| Interventions focused on mitigation and adaptation efforts related to climate change |  | ||
| Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development |  | ||
| Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss |  | ||
The IAEA will continue the work of the PUI to further expand the benefits of the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology in order to contribute to the attainment of the SDGs.