Global Annual Results Reports 2020
Programme results achieved by contributions received from partners
The 2020 Global Annual Results Reports take stock of UNICEF’s results at the global, regional and country levels, based on the goals and cross-cutting priorities of the UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2018-2021.
For an overview of the results within each area, please visit the report pages below which provide examples, case studies and interactive data. You can also download the full report for a detailed look at the results achieved in 2020.
At UNICEF, human rights are at the heart of everything we do.
Making child rights a reality for all children, everywhere
UNICEF is mandated to support the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely ratified international instrument. UNICEF is also guided by other international human rights instruments such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and is committed to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda pledge of Leaving No One Behind and the UN Secretary General’s Call to Action for Human Rights. We safeguard the rights of all children, including through our work to address discrimination; increase the participation, voice and agency of children, adolescents and young people in civic life; and leverage human rights mechanisms at the global, regional and country level.
In 2020, UNICEF, together with its partners, continued to translate these commitments and obligations into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, everywhere, with programming targeted at addressing exclusion, inequalities, and discrimination through laws, institutions, policy, programmes, attitudes and practices.
Taking action for equality, non-discrimination, and ‘leaving no one behind’
Measuring results
These reports cover health; nutrition; HIV and AIDS; early childhood development; education; water, sanitation and hygiene; safe and clean environments; child protection; social protection; inclusion; and governance. They also cover UNICEF’s cross-cutting work on gender equality and humanitarian action.
These reports highlight the achievements made possible by the contribution of loosely earmarked global thematic funding received from partners including Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, the U.S Fund for UNICEF USA and the Japan Committee for UNICEF.
Goal Area 1 – Every child survives and thrives
In 2020, UNICEF redoubled efforts to save lives, maintain critical services and continue strengthening the systems that support children’s ability to survive and thrive.
Goal Area 2 – Every child learns
Driven by the scale of the COVID-19 challenge, UNICEF’s education programmes reached far more children in 2020 than at any other time in the organization’s history.
Goal Area 3 – Every child is protected from violence and exploitation
In 2020, UNICEF continued its commitment for every child with efforts to prevent and respond to violence, exploitation, abuse and harmful practices, as set out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Goal Area 4 – Every child lives in a safe and clean environment
In 2020, UNICEF helped children realize their rights to a safe and clean environment through water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programming, child-sensitive risk-informed planning, peacebuilding, strengthening capacity of local governments in rural and urban areas and fostering climate action.
Goal Area 5 – Every child has an equitable chance in life
In 2020, UNICEF worked to reduce child poverty by influencing fiscal policies and mechanisms; enhance coverage and adequacy of child-sensitive social protection systems; address discrimination, including on the grounds of age, gender identity and disability; increase the participation, voice and agency of children, adolescents and young people in civic life; and amplify child rights in human rights mechanisms.
Gender Equality
In this third year of the Gender Action Plan implementation, and despite the enormous challenges brought by the pandemic, UNICEF continued to accelerate results for women and girls, achieving progress in several areas.
Humanitarian Action
In 2020, UNICEF and its implementing partners responded to 455 new and ongoing humanitarian crises in 152 countries, reaching millions of children with life-saving, gender-sensitive and disability-inclusive interventions in the areas of health, nutrition, education, child protection, WASH and social protection.
The maps in these reports do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers.
