All reports

The success of social protection programmes in promoting gender equality depends on their design, delivery, and implementation. With funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), UNICEF Innocenti implemented the multi-year Gender-Responsive Age-Sensitive Social Protection (GRASSP) research programme (2018–2024) to build a robust evidence base on what works, how, and why social protection can advance gender equality.A key area of inquiry within the research programme examined the implementation processes of social protection programmes that influence the achievement of gender equality objectives. This brief synthesizes evidence from six case studies — Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Angola, and Mali — highlighting what worked and the challenges encountered in delivering social protection. The case studies investigated diverse social protection programmes, including cash-plus programmes, using mixed-methods impact and process evaluations to generate evidence.

Gaming has become the world’s most profitable form of entertainment, with over 3.4 billion players globally and a market worth nearly $188 billion. For children, especially in middle- and high-income countries, gaming is now a core part of social life — nine in 10 play online games. These digital worlds foster creativity, collaboration, and community.But alongside these benefits lies a growing threat. Violent and criminal organizations are exploiting gaming platforms – from multiplayer chat to virtual communities — to socialize and recruit young players, including children, to involve them in violence. This emerging form of online exploitation abuses the very features that make gaming engaging: social interaction, identity play, and shared experience.This UNICEF working paper explores how gaming ecosystems are being weaponized by non-state armed groups and hybrid criminal networks to involve children in organized violence. It highlights the urgent need for coordinated action across the gaming industry, policymakers, child protection actors, and law enforcement.  While gaming itself is not inherently harmful, its infrastructure is being misused at scale. Protecting children’s right to play and to be safe from violence demands new forms of prevention, detection, and response.The report offers actionable recommendations to ensure gaming remains a space of inclusion, creativity, and joy.  Not one where children are targets of exploitation.

The Data Must Speak (DMS) Positive Deviance research explores what makes certain schools perform better than others facing similar challenges. Drawing on evidence from 13 countries and territories, this new synthesis report identifies schools that are “beating the odds” and uncovers the locally rooted practices and behaviours that contribute to their success. By analysing data from over 1,100 schools, the research highlights how everyday actions of teachers, school leaders, parents, and communities are already contributing to improving children’s foundational learning outcomes.The report groups 15 effective practices and behaviours under six focus areas:Improving teachers’ skillsAdopting student-centred pedagogiesPreserving available learning timeLeveraging community supportStrengthening collaboration through effective communicationCultivating a safe, supportive school environmentTogether, these insights provide actionable, evidence-based entry points for governments and partners to adapt and scale what already works within their education systems. Co-created with ministries of education, UNICEF and local education partners, the DMS Positive Deviance research underscores the power of local solutions to drive equitable, sustainable improvements in learning for every child.Data Must Speak (DMS) is a global initiative launched in 2014 to address evidence gaps and mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners across 15 countries. It employs mixed methods and innovative approaches, including positive deviance, behavioral sciences, implementation research, and scaling science, to generate knowledge and practical lessons. The research focuses on understanding 'what works,' 'why,' and 'how' to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the international education community.

2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY). WPAY provided a policy framework and guidelines for national action and international support to improve young people’s lives around the world. Leveraging this moment to critically reflect on the journey so far, the United Nations Youth Office (UNYO) launched the #YouthLead Dialogues, a global youth-led initiative to gather perspectives directly from young people as well as key stakeholders, including UN entities, country teams, youth-led organisations, and civil society partners. UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight and the United Nations Futures Lab/Global Hub partnered with UNYO to integrate strategic foresight into the design and implementation of the initiative.Over 75,000 children and young people from more than 180 countries answered the call by leading their own dialogues, sharing their lived experiences, aspirations, and recommendations on how we can create a better future for young people. Decentralised youth foresight processes such as these can model meaningful youth participation in decision making, placing young people’s visions at the center of global action. The key findings are captured in the #YouthLead Dialogues Summary, which served as one of the key inputs to inform the High-Level Meeting celebrating WPAY30 and other key moments during the United Nations General Assembly high-level week. Dive into the #YouthLead Dialogues Summary to explore:Key priorities for youth affairs identified by children and young peopleCore elements of the futures children and young people want to live inSeeds of change they see in the present that have transformative potential and deserve more attentionActionable recommendations for policy and action This summary report captures the voices, visions, and commitments of over 75,000 children and young people from around the world. Whether you are a policymaker, educator, activist, or a citizen interested in the youth agenda, this is an opportunity to see the future through the eyes of an emerging generation of changemakers—and to discover how you can play a part in bringing their vision to life. Visit United Nations Youth Office and United Nations Futures Lab to learn more about the #YouthLead Dialogues initiative.

In Djibouti, children with disabilities continue to face significant barriers to accessing quality education. Although their right to education is recognized in national policies and laws, implementation gaps remain. The education system is currently undergoing a transition toward full inclusion. During this period, the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFOP) has opted to maintain special schools to meet existing demand. Key challenges include limited teacher training in inclusive pedagogy, inadequate infrastructure, lack of adapted learning materials, and varying perceptions of inclusive education across the education system. This report, developed under the Learning is For Everyone (LiFE) research, outlines four strategic recommendations to support a progressive, system-wide shift toward inclusive education. These include improving awareness on inclusive education, teacher capacity, data systems, and mobilizing staff in special schools to support mainstream schools. The LiFE research was implemented in Djibouti through a partnership between UNICEF, MENFOP, and the National Agency for Persons with Disabilities (ANPH).

How can governments train thousands of teachers effectively and at scale? This implementation research shares evidence from Sierra Leone’s nationwide initiative to train 12,500 Grade 1 teachers and headteachers in structured pedagogy.Drawing on test data from over 7,500 teachers, classroom observations, and feedback from more than 5,600 participants, the report explores what worked, what didn’t, and why. It highlights the strengths and limitations of the cascade training model, explains variations across districts and topics, and identifies ways to sustain teacher professional development beyond one-off workshops.

Forcibly displaced children and child migrants face heightened protection risks, including violence, family separation, trafficking, child marriage, gender-based violence (GBV), forced labour, and psychosocial distress. In Pakistan, nearly half of UNHCR’s population of concern are children. Internally displaced Pakistani children, Afghan child migrants, and other forcibly displaced children face significant risks, especially in urban and peri-urban areas, where access to protection services is limited.Despite the scale of displacement—an estimated 3.6 million Afghans in Pakistan—there is limited research on the specific risks these children face, barriers to their protection, and the mechanisms available to support them.To address this gap, the study Generating Evidence on Internally Displaced Children, Afghan Child Migrants and Forcibly Displaced Children in Pakistan provides new insights into their lived experiences and access to child protection services. Produced by UNICEF Innocenti in collaboration with UNICEF Pakistan and the Pakistan National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC), and funded by the Netherlands, the research was conducted by Samuel Hall Ltd.The report aims to:Assess urban and peri-urban contexts where Afghan children with Proof of Residence (PoR) cards and internally displaced children live.Explore their daily lives, perceived barriers to services, and future aspirations.Understand current child protection service provision in these settings.Offer evidence-based recommendations to UNICEF, the Government of Pakistan, and other stakeholders.An accompanying policy brief, Increasing Access to and Quality of Child Protection Services for Children on the Move in Pakistan, highlights the need for inclusive, rights-based responses for migrant and displaced children, and promotes social cohesion between host and migrant communities through equitable access to protection and social services.

This work is part of UNICEF's Good Governance of Children's Data projectEducation technology (EdTech) offers powerful opportunities to improve learning outcomes, personalize instruction, and expand access to quality education, particularly in low-resource settings and for children with disabilities. At the same time, the collection and use of student data present significant risks, including privacy violations, biased profiling, and the commercial exploitation of children’s information.To help address these challenges, UNICEF partnered with UNESCO and the Global Privacy Assembly to produce a global landscape review on data governance in EdTech. The paper identifies the key stakeholders in EdTech data governance and the obstacles they face in protecting children’s rights. It also examines existing multi-stakeholder governance mechanisms across countries, highlighting the respective roles of governments, data protection authorities, and EdTech companies.The landscape review is accompanied by policy recommendations that demonstrate how sound data governance principles can be applied within the EdTech sector. Developed through a global consultation process with data protection authorities, civil society organizations, academics, and EdTech companies across five regions, the recommendations include strengthening legal and regulatory frameworks, embracing anticipatory governance, promoting rights-based business models, and fostering both multi-stakeholder and multilateral collaboration.By adopting these recommendations, stakeholders can help ensure that EdTech not only drives innovation in education but also safeguards the rights and well-being of every child.

Programming to prevent and respond to child marriage in humanitarian settings is vital to the health, safety and wellbeing of women and girls, but little documentation or evaluation of programmes and best practices exists to guide implementation.UNICEF Innocenti undertook a study in five countries in the Middle East, speaking with more than 60 practitioners and policymakers to understand the challenges faced in designing and implementing child-marriage focused programming in complex and diverse humanitarian settings as well as the facilitators that enable effective programming.Putting girls at the heart of programming and designing programmes to address the immediate and long-term needs of girls in a humanitarian crisis or protracted refugee setting requires targeted efforts to improve monitoring, evaluation, and accountability while acknowledging the complexity of these situations and the varying cultural, normative and logistical factors that deter and facilitate implementation.  

Foundational literacy is a pivotal step in every child’s development, marking the transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” In Egypt, nearly six in 10 children are unable to read or write a simple story by age 10, limiting their ability to progress in education and fully participate in society and the economy. To address this, the Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MoETE), in partnership with the National Center for Examinations and Educational Evaluation (NCEEE) and UNICEF, launched the National Programme for Developing Arabic Language Skills (NPDA) in February 2025. Over 12 weeks, the programme reached more than 180,000 students in grades three to six across 980 schools in 10 governorates, with eligibility based on a baseline reading assessment. NPDA combined structured literacy instruction, teacher training, and dedicated teaching and learning materials. Research embedded in the programme showed significant improvements in children’s literacy outcomes, with the largest gains among the lowest-performing students and girls. Strong fidelity in classroom implementation and growing teacher confidence highlight the programme’s success and potential for scale. Findings and recommendations from this research will inform the next phase of NPDA, set to launch in October 2025.

While there is evidence that digital learning can improve learning outcomes, less is known about how to integrate it in the daily routines of schools, especially in low-resource contexts.Digital Learning, Real Classrooms examines how digital learning was used to build foundational literacy and numeracy in Ghanaian primary schools. Using an implementation research lens, the study looks at four dimensions that matter for digital learning in low-resource contexts: appropriateness (how stakeholders view the platform), adoption (how schools and learners use it), fidelity (how closely practice follows intended pedagogy), and feasibility (the infrastructure and capacity to sustain it).The paper shares lessons from real classrooms and offers practical steps and recommendations for policymakers and practitioners planning digital learning initiatives in low- and middle-income countries.

Climate change is not just an environmental crisis—it is a security crisis. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and resource scarcity are driving instability, conflict, and displacement around the world. For children, who make up nearly one-third of the global population, the stakes could not be higher.This discussion paper, Why is Climate Security Important for Children?, explores how climate change fuels insecurity and how these compounded risks uniquely and severely impact children. From malnutrition and disrupted education to displacement and increased exposure to violence, children are among the most vulnerable to the cascading impacts of climate insecurity. Alarmingly, two-thirds of the countries most affected by climate change also face fragility and conflict, leaving millions of children without the protection and essential services they need to survive and thrive.Yet, children are not only victims – they are agents of change. By investing in foresight, preparedness, and child-centred solutions, the global community can help safeguard children from climate-related threats while empowering them to participate in shaping a more resilient, peaceful future.The paper identifies four priority actions:Integrate responses across climate, humanitarian, and peacebuilding sectors to address compound risks.Ensure climate finance reaches fragile and conflict-affected settings, where children are most exposed.Strengthen data and evidence on children’s climate and security risks to guide better policies.Amplify children’s voices in climate and security decision-making processes.Addressing climate security through a child lens is essential to safeguarding children’s rights and building more stable, resilient societies. By investing in preparedness and child-focused solutions, the global community can help protect today’s children while supporting their role as changemakers for a more secure future.