Product innovation
UNICEF works with partners to identify, develop and scale life-changing products for children.
The challenge
Children worldwide face urgent, unmet needs. From life-saving medical oxygen and nutritional solutions, to learning tools for children with disabilities and mental health resources in crisis zones.
Products that help address these needs are often not readily available on the market. At other times, high costs, lack of adaptability, low demand or other barriers to large-scale deployment make existing solutions out of reach.
The solution
To bridge these gaps, UNICEF works with local communities and governments, academia and business partners to drive the development of innovative and fit-for-purpose products that are affordable, accessible and tailored to children’s needs in different contexts and geographies.
When UNICEF identifies a need that is not appropriately met, it starts by scanning the market for existing product solutions. If relevant products are available, UNICEF procures and makes them available for the children that need them .
When suitable products do not exist, UNICEF fosters research and development, creating Target product profiles that define performance requirements for the desired product. UNICEF also leverages its unique position in procurement and implementation of child health, education and welfare products to incentivize the development of innovative solutions. When lack of funding is a bottleneck, UNICEF works with governments and donors to unlock resources.
The impact
When innovative products are accepted, adopted and brought to scale, children all over the world survive and thrive thanks to these solutions.
For example, each year hundreds of thousands of children with hypoxemia receive essential oxygen thanks to simple, ready-to-deploy solutions like the oxygen Plant-in-a-Box package, which also ensures access to oxygen for millions of people of all ages. With the capacity to produce 720,000 litres of oxygen daily, these plants can treat 100 children with severe pneumonia simultaneously. Since 2020, UNICEF has delivered more than 150 oxygen Plants-in-a-Box to 45 countries, significantly improving access to life-saving oxygen worldwide.
Another impactful innovation is the Complementary Feeding Bowl and Spoon, a simple yet science-driven product that has improved the way parents feed their children, and children’s nutritional status. In 2024, UNICEF reached over 1 million children by distributing these bowls across 14 African and Middle Eastern countries.
To learn more about UNICEF’s portfolio of product innovation projects, and how we work with partners to meet the needs of vulnerable children by driving the development and scaling of new products, visit UNICEF Office of Innovation: Product Innovation.
