Pursuing opportunities for every child: Executive Board endorses UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2026–2029

NEW YORK, United States of America, 10 September 2025 ─ The UNICEF Executive Board wrapped up its final session of 2025, the second regular session, last Friday. A highlight of the session was the endorsement of the organization’s next Strategic Plan, 2026–2029 – 
a road map for the final drive by UNICEF to achieve the child-related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Complementary to this, the Board also approved the UNICEF integrated budget, 2026–2029 and reviewed the new UNICEF Gender Equality Action Plan, 2026–2029.

In his opening remarks, UNICEF Executive Board President, H.E. Mr. Jonibek Ismoil Hikmat, Permanent Representative of Tajikistan to the United Nations, highlighted resilience in times of profound transformation. “We are meeting at a time of continued challenges around the world, challenges that are affecting children in an unprecedented manner,” 
he said. We are also facing “adjustments within UNICEF, as the organization adapts to the global funding crisis and implements changes to its operations and programmes. What remains the same, however, is the unwavering commitment of UNICEF to upholding children’s rights and helping every child reach their full potential.”

Outlining the organizational shifts that UNICEF is making to ensure that it is future proof, Executive Director Russell stated: “we are strategically repositioning UNICEF to continue 
to deliver for every child, especially the most vulnerable, and to implement the ambitious targets set out in our new Strategic Plan in an increasingly constrained resource environment.”

“At this moment of crisis and change, [the] UNICEF mandate is more relevant than ever. But relevance is not enough. We must be effective, efficient, principled and trusted. That is what the Strategic Plan and integrated budget before you represent – a leaner, more agile, more accountable UNICEF but one that is still ambitious for children,” she added.

UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2026–2029

The UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2026–2029, comes at a critical moment, as interconnected crises and growing uncertainty threaten to undo progress already achieved for children. 
Amid funding cuts, geopolitical and economic instability, conflicts and climate shocks, upholding children’s rights will require concerted action rooted in child-centred and evidence-driven investments.

Despite challenges, tremendous opportunities exist to advance child rights, as demonstrated by remarkable achievements by countries across all regions and income levels. The Plan aims to capitalize on these opportunities and achieve five Impact Results for children by 2029 across health, education, nutrition and protection. This will also lay the foundation for future work after 2030.

Anchored in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other key human rights instruments, the Plan is informed by robust evidence – including the midterm review and evaluation of the current plan, and cumulative insights from past programming cycles. It is aligned with key United Nations frameworks, including the 2020 quadrennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system; UN 2.0; the Pact for the Future; and the United Nations System-wide Gender Equality Acceleration Plan.

UNICEF commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of girls and women and principled humanitarian action is at the heart of the Plan. Underscoring countries’ ownership and priorities, the Plan will guide the organization’s work in strengthening national systems to deliver resilient, child-focused social services and create sustainable and meaningful change for children.

Delegations welcomed the normative basis of the Strategic Plan, commending UNICEF for its unwavering commitment to gender equality and for the inclusion of adolescent girls among its accelerators. Some delegations highlighted the renewed emphasis on supporting Governments to strengthen national systems and social services for children, along with the sharpened focus on reaching marginalized and vulnerable children, including girls, children with disabilities and children affected by conflict.

Among the requests delegations made to UNICEF were to accelerate efforts on localization; expand partnerships with the private sector, increase cost efficiency and effectiveness and secure new and diversified sources of funding; as well as to strengthen coordination and joint programming with other United Nations agencies.

How UNICEF will achieve results going forward

To enhance its agility in an increasingly uncertain environment, UNICEF is implementing bold reforms through its Future Focus initiative. These include budget reductions across offices, relocating staff to lower-cost duty stations, consolidating some of the regional offices, establishing centers of excellence and realigning support to prioritize countries with the greatest needs.

To achieve the results set out in the new Strategic Plan, UNICEF is undertaking three intentional shifts: sharpening the focus of its action from a broad menu of results to five specific Impact Results; reaching whole populations of children with a new orientation on scale fuelled by partnerships; and differentiating programming based on country-specific contexts.

Boosting investments to advance the well-being, leadership and agency of adolescent girls is a force multiplier, recognizing that investments in this age cohort yield multiple dividends for children, families and societies. Key to the achievement of results will be strong support of adolescent girls, as outlined in the new Gender Equality Action Plan, 2026–2029.

The new Strategic Plan is underpinned by an integrated budget, which was also approved by the Board. “The integrated budget is not only a financial framework, it is a statement of values. It prioritizes children above all, and it channels resources to where they will have the greatest impact,” said Executive Director Russell in her opening remarks. Prioritized for use in country programmes (more than 90 per cent of it), the integrated budget reflects total projected income of $26 billion for 2026–2029, which represents a 27 per cent decline over the projected income in the midterm review of the current Plan.

“This decline in income necessitates careful prioritization to safeguard the greatest impact of available resources,” said Ms. Diane Kepler, Comptroller and Director of the Division of Financial and Administrative Management. “Programme delivery, independent oversight and country offices will remain the least affected,” she said, adding  “of course…all of UNICEF is affected to some extent by these reductions.”

Given a shifting funding landscape, the budget approved by the Board is based on conservative projections and may be subject to revisions as the global situation evolves.

Protecting children from violence: New country programmes

Protecting children from violence was the theme uniting the new country programme documents presented to the Board for no-objection approval. With a child killed by an act of violence every four minutes somewhere in the world, child protection stands out not only as a moral imperative but also as a collective responsibility.

On Wednesday, the Board approved 16 new country programme documents, for Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Liberia, 
North Macedonia, the Sultanate of Oman, Serbia (and Kosovo, under Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), Timor-Leste, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uganda and Uzbekistan.

A panel discussion featuring representatives from Government, the United Nations, civil society and youth discussed the issue of protection of children against violence. Alarmingly, violence remains a widespread reality for too many children across the world. Preventable and never justified, it undermines nearly every aspect of their well-being and development. To end this, speakers highlighted how we must strengthen prevention, response and care — from families, civil registries and schools to justice systems, alternative care and social services.

Across communities and countries, we have seen what happens when we prioritize the protection of children from violence: lives are transformed, futures are reclaimed, and communities prosper. This is why UNICEF is urging Governments to take action in three areas: scaling up universal prevention strategies (e.g. birth registration and safe schools); providing targeted support for children who are at higher risk of violence (e.g. in humanitarian settings); and ensuring children who have experienced violence can easily receive care, support and justice, preventing recurrence.

Children in crisis: Humanitarian update

With an ever-growing frequency, complexity and scale of humanitarian emergencies, protecting children from violence is as vital as it is urgent. In the update on humanitarian action, the Board heard about the millions of children who continue to needlessly suffer or die in humanitarian crises despite the efforts of UNICEF and many others.

Introducing the update, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations, Mr. Ted Chaiban, stated “in the current funding environment, the global humanitarian response has had to increasingly prioritize focusing on saving as many lives as possible with the resources available and recognizing the primary responsibility of host Governments.”

“This, however, should not come at the cost of addressing protection risks and needs. In this regard, UNICEF has continued to place protection at the centre of its global humanitarian action with practical interventions.”

Support by Member States is essential to ensure the protection of children and UNICEF has outlined a number of steps that need to be taken along with the Member States. UNICEF is calling for support for global advocacy efforts, including accountability of State and non-State entities to address violations of international humanitarian law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child; for support to endorse existing tools that are proven to work to protect children; and for support – in line with new Strategic Plan – for public financing and investment for children to sustain and strengthen social services in moments of crisis.

Securing safe and resilient water and sanitation for every child

On Friday, 5 September, a special focus session held in the context of the second regular session put the spotlight on access to safe water, sanitation and good hygiene practices to protect children’s health and future.

Featuring speakers from Government, the private sector and UNICEF leadership, as well as youth advocates, the session made the case for climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) solutions. Importantly it highlighted WASH as both a moral imperative and a strategic investment in climate resilience, children’s futures, economic stability and global peace – calling for concrete and expanded partnerships to accelerate progress. This high-level event set the stage for a series of pivotal moments in the lead up to COP30 in November 2025 and the UN Water Conferences in 2026 and 2028.

Wrap up of the session

The Board adopted five decisions on the following items: the UNICEF Strategic Plan and integrated budget, both for 2026–2029; Structured dialogue on financing the results of the UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2022–2025; Update on efforts to address racism and discrimination; and Update on progress on the review of the governance and oversight functions of the Executive Boards of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS, UNICEF and UN-Women by the Joint Inspection Unit.

Breaking from its longstanding practice of scheduling its Staff Team Awards ceremony during the Board’s annual session, UNICEF used the opportunity of the second regular session to announce the awards and to screen a video honouring the contributions of the winning teams from the Gaza field office and the country offices for China, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Myanmar and Yemen.

“These awards celebrate the extraordinary achievements of UNICEF's most vital asset, as so many of you have acknowledged, and that is its people. In these challenging times, our six winning teams embody the very, very best of UNICEF,” said Executive Director Russell as she announced the winners, whose work in 2024 was celebrated across three categories: exceptional circumstances, collaboration and innovation.

In her closing remarks, Executive Director Russell expressed her gratitude to the Board for its endorsement of several agenda items. “Our four-year Strategic Plan and integrated budget will guide our work in the years ahead to benefit hundreds of millions of vulnerable children.” I want to thank the members of the Executive Board for the adoption of the decision endorsing UNICEF's Strategic Plan,” she said.

“I am very grateful to the Board for approving 16 new country programmes. UNICEF's presence and work at the country level remain our most effective means to reach the most vulnerable children with the services and support they need. We will continue to prioritize and protect our country programmes despite the current funding crisis.”

Ambassador Hikmat ended the meeting with calls for solidarity and unity. “As we look to 2026, the first year of implementation of the new Strategic Plan, I urge Member States to ensure that children remain at the forefront of the agenda. Your contributions, your advocacy and your support to UNICEF will be increasingly critical as the organization navigates the “new normal” of significantly decreased and uncertain funding, while striving to enhance organizational effectiveness, efficiency, agility and readiness for future opportunities and challenges. UNICEF remains committed to stay and deliver and, with strong support from all of us, it will continue to do so,” he said.

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The Executive Board will meet for its first regular session of 2026 from 10 to 13 February.