UNICEF Board counts down to new Strategic Plan
First regular session of 2025
NEW YORK, United States of America, 11 February 2025 ─ Last Friday, the UNICEF Executive Board wrapped up its first regular session for 2025. During the event, the Board discussed topics ranging from quality secondary education for adolescent girls to disability inclusion and organizational learnings resulting from rigorous evaluation exercises that will inform the development of the new UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2026–2029.
Central to the session was the vibrant engagement of children and young people, who made their voices heard on the importance of investing in and empowering adolescent girls and doing more on disability inclusion.
In his opening remarks, H.E. Mr. Jonibek Ismoil Hikmat – President of the UNICEF Executive Board for 2025 and Permanent Representative of Tajikistan to the United Nations – put the spotlight on 2025 as an important year for UNICEF, as the organization prepares its new Strategic Plan for 2026 to 2029.
“I pledge to chair this Executive Board with a spirit of openness, commitment and partnership,” he said. “Let us all also pledge to not let politics enter our boardroom and to keep our focus on serving the needs of children,” he stated.
After pinpointing several global threats confronting children and the organization’s work on their behalf, Executive Director Ms. Catherine Russell said, “UNICEF is the bulwark against threats to children’s rights and their well-being – especially during these challenging and unpredictable times. To succeed, UNICEF must be at its best…. Our challenge is to be as effective as possible so that we can better deliver for every child in need. This is a key consideration in the ongoing evaluation of the current Strategic Plan, and in the development of the new Strategic Plan for 2026 to 2029.”
Road map to the next UNICEF Strategic Plan
The session marked the organization’s first formal engagement with the Board on the development of the new UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2026–2029, following several informal briefings and a joint workshop starting in late 2024.
“The road map outlines the timeline, the direction and the consultation process, and also familiarizes you with the products that you will have a chance to review and basis on which we will look for your endorsement,” said Ms. Vidhya Ganesh, Director, Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring.
Developed at a pivotal juncture as the organization’s last four-year plan before 2030, the new Strategic Plan will provide a clear framework for engaging with donors, partners and Governments, while fostering accountability for delivering results.
The Strategic Plan will be on the Board’s agenda throughout the year. UNICEF will present a draft for consideration in June 2025 and the final version at the second regular session in September 2025. Several annexes, including a results framework and a theory of change, will accompany the Plan, and the Integrated Budget, 2026-2026 – which will provide the financing for work framed by the Plan – will be presented for the Board’s approval.
In comments made throughout the session, several delegations expressed appreciation to UNICEF for the inclusive approach adopted in crafting the new Plan. Their statements included calls on UNICEF to ensure that child rights provide a more explicit overall framing for the next Strategic Plan; an emphasis on the importance of the next Plan building on the 2024 QCPR and the Pact for the Future; support for the organization’s continued prioritization of equality and humanitarian access in line with the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action; hopes that the Plan would be sufficiently integrative and ambitious to confront the complexity of the international context, and encouragement for UNICEF to seek input from programme countries and to create a needs-based Plan that has a clear focus.
What is shaping the new strategy?
Global challenges – such as the scale and severity of violent conflict, climate change, demographic shifts and the intensifying global debt crisis – are shaping the development of the new plan. So are organizational learnings.
Driven by global evaluations and internal reviews, these learnings allow UNICEF to build on its strengths while addressing gaps – and they represent a key accountability and learning commitment. Importantly, they feature insights from the evaluation of the current Strategic Plan, 2022–2024, which was also presented at the session.
“Besides ensuring overall organizational accountability for the commitments made in the Strategic Plan,” said Mr. Robert McCouch, Director of Evaluation, “the evaluation will provide UNICEF and its partners – including the Executive Board – with timely and valuable insights, lessons and good practices to help share the design and implementation of the next Plan.”
In addition to lessons learned, consultations are critical to strategy. To address the evolving challenges of today’s shifting global landscape, the Plan’s development will also feature regular consultations with a diverse and rich pool of stakeholders – i.e. Member States, UNICEF National Committees, civil society organizations, financial institutions, the private sector and, importantly, children and young people.
As vital partners and contributors to UNICEF’s work, children and young people will be an integral part of developing and implementing the new Plan. This will include leveraging platforms such as the Youth Advocates programme and the Global Girl Leaders Advisory Group to capture and act on their voices.
Perspectives on children, by children
Now a regular feature of Executive Board sessions, the active participation of children and young people added depth to the discussions. Youth voices offered a unique, first-hand perspective on topics that demand attention, such as quality education for adolescent girls, and access to opportunities for children with disabilities.
Quality secondary education for adolescent girls was the theme of a panel discussion that united the five new country programmes documents (for Colombia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Paraguay and Rwanda) presented to Board for no-objection approval. Research findings unequivocally demonstrate that girls who complete secondary education are 50 per cent less likely to marry as children, have 40 per cent fewer pregnancies in adolescence, and their children are three times more likely to survive past age five. Yet, globally, more than 87 million girls of secondary school age remain out of school.
“As an education and STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] advocate, I have experienced the transformative power of access to education and opportunities. It has opened doors for me that I never thought possible,” said Tupokigwe, UNICEF Global Girl Leaders Advisory Group Member from Eastern and Southern Africa. “It has also given me the skills and confidence to boldly pursue my passion and to envision a future where I can make a difference, especially in this digital era.”
Yuliza, Youth Advocate from Latin America and the Caribbean, also stressed the importance of listening of girls’ needs. “Girls staying in school depends on our listening to them and supporting and strengthening their protective environments,” she said.
At the end of the panel discussion one message was unequivocal: Educating girls is not just about individual opportunity; it's a powerful driver of social and economic progress for all. UNICEF urges a collective solution, where Governments, communities and individuals work together to address the barriers adolescent girls face – cultural, structural and financial.
The session presented an opportunity to brief the Board on the progress made with the first UNICEF Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy, 2022‒2030 since its launch in February 2023 and to hear from a young advocate for children with disabilities.
Taqwa, UNICEF Youth Advocate from South Asia, who joined the session online, delivered a powerful message to the Member States. “I am here today to demand change” she said. “I urge UNICEF and its partners to do more on disability inclusion and prioritize inclusive education, accessible healthcare, awareness campaigns, financial support, and inclusive policymaking. Provide us with opportunities to learn through digital technology, empowering us to become financially independent. Ensure resources reach those who need them the most.”
UNICEF has already made significant achievements because of the new policy and strategy. In 2023, UNICEF supported Governments and partners to reach 4.7 million children with disabilities across more than 145 countries, in development and humanitarian contexts, up from 4.5 million in 2022; and nearly 500,000 children were supported with assistive technology (e.g. wheelchairs and prosthetics).
Yet, the gains made are fragile and at risk of being reversed. To advance the inclusion of children with disabilities, stronger disability data and technical capacity; additional financial resources and more leadership commitment and support from Member States are needed.
Key decisions
The UNICEF Executive Board adopts all of its decisions by consensus. New country programme documents, in particular, are approved by the Board on a no-objection basis, in accordance with decision 2014/1. During the first regular session, pursuant to a request from one of its members, the Board for the first time ever put an agenda item to a vote. The Board voted on the country programme documents and adopted decision 2025/1.
By the end of the session, the Board had adopted seven decisions on topics ranging from evaluation items and financial reports for 2023, to the governance and oversight function, the 2025 private sector fundraising workplan and budget, the extension of an ongoing country programme as well as the decision on the five new country programmes on which the vote was taken.
In her concluding remarks, Executive Director Russell expressed appreciation for the comments and suggestions on the development of the new Strategic Plan. She said, “the consultation and engagement process will continue, and we look forward to working closely with the Board and other partners as we develop the blueprint for our efforts over the next few years.”
Ambassador Hikmat said, “the threats facing children, families and communities the world over – climate change, conflicts and disease, coupled with demographic shifts and threats to the financial aid environment, necessitate that we continue to work closely together, especially this year as UNICEF moves towards finalization of its new Strategic Plan.”
“The Plan will shape the organization’s efforts for and on behalf of children – its priorities, its partnerships and its allocation of resources – in the critical years through to 2029 and the 2030 Agenda,” he added. “Our engagement throughout the process will be critical”.
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The Executive Board will meet for its next formal meeting, the annual session of 2025, from 10 to 13 June.
