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(5th meeting) UNICEF Executive Board, First regular session 2026 - Economic and Social Council — Economic and Social Council — 11 February 2026
Language: en
Automatically generated transcript — may contain errors. Not an official United Nations record.

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UNICEF Executive Board · President [0:00]:

Colleagues, please take your seats and let us start.

Thank you very much, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, As a first item of the agenda this afternoon, we will resume our consideration of Agenda Item 4, A. UNICEF Program Cooperation. Country Program Documents. Before we begin the plenary discussions, I'll share a brief procedural note. Delegations are kindly reminded that their statements should remain within the agreed time limits. Three minutes for individual delegations speaking in their national capacity and five minutes for delegations speaking on behalf of the United nations regional groups or for joint statements of two or more member states.

Microphones will start blinking to alert speakers one minute before the end of the allotted time, and speakers will be muted after their time has ended at either the end of three minutes or the end of five minutes. We will now move directly to seeking the Board's approval of eight new Country Program documents for Argentina, Cuba, Georgia, Malaysia, Mexico, Somalia, South Africa and the Sudan. Documents E ICE F 2026 B L1 to E ICEF 2026 P. L8 that were discussed during this morning's plenary meeting.

This morning we concluded our review of a Country Program document for Malaysia. Document E ICEF 2026 p. L1, in accordance with Executive Board Decision 2014 1. May I take it that the Country Program document for Malaysia is approved?

I see no objections. It is so decided.

This morning we concluded our review of the Country Program document for Georgia. Document E ICEF 2026 p. L4 in accordance with Executive Board Decision 2014 1. May I take it that the Country Program document for Georgia is approved?

I see no objections. It is so decided.

This morning we concluded our review of the Country Program documents for Somalia and South Africa. Documents E ICEF 2026 P Elda 2 to E ICE F 2026 P LDAT 3. In accordance with Executive Board Decision 2014 1. I would like to inform you that we will first seek the Board's approval for the Country Program document for somalia document E ICE F 2026 p. L and will then seek approval of the Country Program document for South Africa. Document E ICEF 2026 p. L3.

We shall now proceed to approval of the Country Program document for somalia document E ICE F 2026 elder. 2. May I take it that the Country Program document for Somalia is approved? No. I see.

United States want to take a floor. You have a floor.


United States of America [4:17]:

Thank you. The United States has an objection and wishes to request a vote on a decision to approve a Country Program document for Somalia and offer this explanation of vote. This document before us requests a staggering half a billion dollars.

This casts serious doubts on efforts to foster self reliance. Included that is $74 million for program effectiveness, more than the budget for protection, education or wash. While we stress the need for effective oversight of funds and programs, we will not fund a coordination industry just to talk about the implementation of actual programs. The CPD exemplifies straying from core mandates with unicef, trading safe vaccines and clean water for social norms and transformative governance. Furthermore, similar to our assistance with wfp, the United States has grave concerns over transparency, accountability and the accuracy of program monitoring in Somalia.

The United States, in good conscience, cannot endorse a program with continual concerns over accountability. Once again, the United States calls on the UN to work with Member States as it was created. To do so, agencies must focus on core mandates alone. Thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [5:51]:

I thank the distinguished delegate of the United States. And I've taken note of a statement made by the delegate and the request for a vote on the country program document for Somalia. E ICE F 2026 p. L2.

The. Board will now vote on the country Program document for Somalia. E ICEF 2026 p. L2 those voting in favor of approval of a country program document for Somalia will vote yes. And those voting against the approval of a country program document will vote no. Before we move towards commencement of the voting, I kindly ask the Secretary to share some of the procedural issues related to voting.

Mr. Secretary, you have a floor.


UNICEF Executive Board · Secretary · Andreas Franco [6:51]:

Thank you, Mr. President.

I see there is a request before the vote from Eritrea. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We have a request from Eritrea. Please, Mr. President, I want to make.


Eritrea [7:08]:

A general statement before the vote. Is the right time to. To intervene?


UNICEF Executive Board · President [7:15]:

Yes. Please go forward.


Eritrea · African states on UNICEF Executive Board [7:23]:

Thank you, Mr. President. This is a joint statement on behalf of the African states that are members. Of the Executive Board of unicef. From the outset, we wish to once. Again reiterate our strong support to the.

Mandate and work of UNICEF to safeguard. The well being and welfare of children everywhere. Guided by the Convention on the Right. Of the Child and other relevant international. And regional legal instruments.

Mr. President, while we welcome the adoption. Of several CPDs by consensus today, we express our deep concern that the CPDs of Cuba, Somalia, Sudan and South Africa. Will be put to a vote. The selective targeting of countries for political. Reasons is contrary to the long established decision making process of the executive board of UNICEF.

It is important to be mindful that the CPDs are exclusively child focused and technical in nature. These documents are framed according to national priorities under the leadership and ownership of. The program countries in close cooperation and collaboration with unicef. Therefore, the African states that are members of the executive board of UNICEF, consistent with executive board decision 2014, one will vote in favor and call on all. Members of the Board to do the same.

I thank you, Mr. President.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [9:20]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Eritrea.

Mr. Secretary, you have the floor now.


UNICEF Executive Board · Secretary · Andreas Franco [9:29]:

Thank you, Mr. President. Delegations are reminded that in accordance with Rule 42 of the Rules of Procedure of the UNICEF Executive Board, representatives may make brief statements consisting solely of explanation of their votes before the voting has commenced or after the voting has been completed. The representative of a member sponsoring a proposal or motion shall not speak an explanation of vote thereon except if it has been amended. Explanations of vote may only be made by members of the Executive Board before the voting has started or after the voting has been completed.

Sponsors may not speak in explanation of their vote unless their draft has been amended. It is recalled that in accordance with Rule 39.1 of the UNICEF Executive Boards Rules of Procedure, decisions of the Board shall be made by a majority of the members present and voting in accordance with Rule 39.2. Members that abstain from voting are considered as not voting. I can confirm, Mr. President, that there is quorum to proceed with the vote in accordance with Rule 43. After the President has announced the commencement of voting, no representative may interrupt the voting except on a point of order in connection with the actual process of voting.

The individual votes will be displayed on screen. The tally of all votes will be displayed as well, and the President will announce the result of the vote. Finally, in accordance with Rule 41, the vote of each member participating in the electronic vote will be inserted in the record of the meeting. Back to you, Mr. President. I thank Secretary for his remarks.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [11:17]:

Does any member of Executive Board other than the Sponsor wish to make a statement in explanation of the vote before the voting commands?

I don't see.


UNICEF Executive Board · Secretary · Andreas Franco [11:35]:

No somebody who's requesting the floor, but it's next to. It's not in the actual chair.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [11:52]:

May I check again? Is any delegation who is willing to take a floor?


UNICEF Executive Board · Secretary · Andreas Franco [12:01]:

I can't hear you. No.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [12:06]:

Okay. Let us now proceed with electronic vote. If there are no objections, and I see no objections, the Executive Board will now vote on the approval of a country program document for Somalia. Document E ICE F2026P.L2. And we shall now begin the voting process.

Those in favor, against or abstaining from the approval of a country program document for Somalia, please signify.


UNICEF Executive Board · Secretary · Andreas Franco [12:46]:

The Board is now voting on the approval of the country program document for Somalia. May I request all Executive Board members to Confirm that their votes are accurately reflected on the screen.

The voting has now been completed. Technicians, please lock the voting machine.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [13:26]:

You can move.


UNICEF Executive Board · Secretary · Andreas Franco [13:28]:

Distinguished delegates, the result of a vote is as follows. In favor 31 against 1. Abstentions, 0. No abstentions.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [13:42]:

With this result, the Executive Board has approved the country program document for somalia. Document E ICE F 2026 p. L2.

Does any member of Executive Board, our vendor sponsor, wish to make a statement in explanation of the vot?

I don't see anyone. Then we shall now proceed to seek approval of the country program document for South Africa. Document E ICE F 2026 p. L3. May I take it that the country program document for South Africa is approved? No.

I see you us willing to take a floor? You have a floor.


United States of America [14:44]:

Thank you. The United States has an objection and wishes to request a vote on the decision to approve a country program document for South Africa and offer this explanation of vote. This document highlights that national budget allocations fall short of addressing the scale of challenges facing children and the inefficiencies in the management of public resources that undermine services. Why is the international community being asked to provide tens of millions of dollars when South Africa is constrained by its own debt and domestic budget mismanagement? South Africa's continual economic mismanagement focus on radical divisive racial politics and poor governance continue to limit the country's development and and constrain its growth.

UNICEF's programming should be intended for true humanitarian needs, not for higher income countries that have mismanaged into decay. These resource constrained times. UNICEF must focus on core mandates such as clean water, basic nutrition and primary health care. We urge the Executive Board to return to common sense service and a relentless focus on the most vulnerable rather than subsidizing the political agendas of middle class states. Thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [16:10]:

I thank the distinguished delegate of the United States and have taken note of a statement made by the delegate and the request for a vote on the country program document for South Africa. E ICEF 2026 p. L3.

We have no request. We have no request for taking a floor. So Board will now vote on the country program document for South Africa. E ICF 2026 p. L3 those voting in favor of approval of a country program document for South Africa will vote yes. And those voting against the approval of the country program document will vote no.

And before we move towards commencement of the voting, I kindly ask the Secretary to share some of the procedural issues related to voting. Mr. Secretary, you have a floor.


UNICEF Executive Board · Secretary · Andreas Franco [17:12]:

Once again, as in the previous vote, representatives may make brief Statements consisting solely of the explanation of their votes before the voting has commenced or after the voting has been completed. Seated. The representative of a member sponsoring a proposal or motion should not speak an explanation of vote thereon except if it has been amended.

It is recalled that Rule 39.1 of the UNICEF Executive Board Rules of Procedures. Decisions of the Board shall be made by a majority of the members present in voting in accordance with Rule 39.2. Members that abstain from voting are considered as not not voting. I can confirm as well for this vote, Mr. President, that there is quorum to proceed with the vote. After the President has announced the commencement of the voting, no representative may interrupt the voting except on a point of order in connection with the actual process of voting.

The individual votes will be displayed on screen. The tally of all the votes will be displayed as well, and the President will announce the result of the vote. Finally, the vote of each member participating in the electronic vote will be inserted in the record of the meeting. Back to you, Mr. President. I thank the Secretary of Executive Board for his explanation.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [18:28]:

Does any member of Executive Board other than the sponsor wish to make a statement in explanation of the vote before the voting starts?

I don't see any. Let us now proceed with electronic vote. If there are no objections, and I don't see any objections. The Executive Board will now vote on the approval of a Country program document for South Africa. Document E, ICF 2026 p. L3.


Speaker 23 [19:04]:

We shall now begin the voting process. Those in favor against abstaining from the approval of a Country program document for South Africa, please signify. The Board is now voting on the approval of the country program document for South Africa. May I request all Executive Board members to confirm that their votes are accurately reflected on the screen.


UNICEF Executive Board · Secretary · Andreas Franco [19:36]:

The voting has been completed. Technicians, please lock the voting machine.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [19:45]:

Distinguished delegates. Distinguished delegates. The result of a vote is as in favor 31 against 1. There are no abstentions. With this result, the Executive Board has approved the Country Program document for South Africa.

Document E, ICE F 2026 p. L3.

Does any member of Executive Board other than the sponsor wish to make a statement in explanation of their vote?

I see. South Africa, you have a floor.


South Africa [20:25]:

Thank you, Chairperson. Chairperson, I'd like to start out by thanking the Executive Board for approving the program for South Africa. And also I'd like to deliver the following statement in response to the call by the United States to call a vote on South Africa's country program.

Chairperson, the intention of the UN Development system is to ensure that the UN delivers coherent country driven support for sustainable development, especially the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, in line with national priorities and with greater coordination, accountability and impact across UN entities. The UN development system is an enabler of country driven support and programs for sustainable development. This is ostensibly done through operational activities provided for in the country programs. The vote call today on our country program, despite the clear indication that its development was in partnership with the South African government, is unfortunate. This program seeks to enable and uplift the children of South Africa through education, nourishment, health and increased safety and is in line with South Africa's national development priorities as well as our international obligations.

We will therefore work closely with UNICEF to ensure its implementation. Despite the politicization of the interests of South Africa's children. The decision to request a vote and its broader meaning is disappointing and somewhat troubling. This is an indictment of the normative understanding that underpins the un, its development system and multilateral cooperation within the confines of international law. The system is premised on mutual respect amongst nations and a commonly held understanding that development is successful when it is determined by the country that is subject of that development.

Our country program is clearly an articulation of this. Regrettably, we are confronted with actions that project a particular interpretation of development in a manner that casts doubt on another country's cooperation with the UN system. This manner of engagement does not serve the interest of the organization nor the children which we aim to uplift and assist. We will not consider this country program as voted, but rather as a result of the consultative and collaborative process it underwent. We trust that the development community will recall that the asterisk, asterisk next to this country program is not a reflection of its value or worth.

Rather, it serves as a reminder of one country conferring upon itself the right to dictate from its own political perspectives the development trajectory of another country's children. Such actions manipulate the intention of the system and undermines the ideals of multilateral cooperation upon which the UN development system is bolt. Thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [23:35]:

I thank the distinguished delegate of South Africa for these remarks.

Let us move forward then, if there are no our delegations taking the floor. This morning we concluded our review of the Country Program documents for Argentina, Cuba and Mexico. Documents E ICF ICEF 2026 p l 5 to E ICEF 2026p


Speaker 28 [25:06]:

We shall now proceed to approval of a Country Program document for Cuba document E ICEF 2026b L6. May I take it that the Country Program document for Cuba is approved? I see no United States. You have a floor. Thank you.


United States of America [25:27]:

The United States has an objection and wishes to request a vote on the decision to approve a Country Program document for Cuba and to offer its explanation of vote as an Executive Board member. The United States takes its oversight responsibility over agency operations seriously. This extends to review of UNICEF CPD's including that for Cuba for 2026 to 2030. As formally stated when the CPD was available for comment. The United States was deeply dismayed to find blatant and overt political messages in the cpd.

Cuba yet again blames the United States for its negative outcomes resulting from the Cuban regime's own mismanagement. Overt and inappropriate political references undermine the purpose and credibility of Country Program documents. We reject the claim that the US Embargo is responsible for harming the development and well being of children and adolescents in Cuba. In fact, Cuba's own debts, corruption and command economy policies are the true causes.

This CPD legitimizes the Cuban regime's own gross mismanagement. For these reasons, we have requested a vote and are voting no on the decision to adopt this Country Program document for Cuba. These divisive policies instill policies that are antithetical to the United to individual state sovereignty. Thank you, Mr. President.


Chair [27:10]:

I thank a distinguished delegate of the United States and have taken note of a statement made by the delegates and the request for a vote on the Country Program document for Cuba document E ICEF 2026 p. L6.

Next speaker on my list is Cuba. You have a floor.


Cuba [27:33]:

Gracias. Thank you, Chairman. Chairman, we are taking the floor once again to respond to the disrespectful, unfounded statement from the representative of the United States about Cuba.

It is shameful that the only country that has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child dares to try to tarnish Cuba's record in the protection and protection of promotion of children's rights. They should stop trying to distort the reality in my country. They should concentrate on solving their own human rights challenges and this includes the rights of children. They should focus on providing dignified treatment to migrants children and eliminate structural racism that is occurring. What kind of moral standing does the United States claim when it denounces Cuba and they, given that they are separating children from their parents at the border?

They have been implementing a policy for 70 years against Cuba which only inflicts sorrow and pain. This is an unjustified policy and the request by the United States to have a vote on this policy, on this program is another shameful move. We reiterate that this document is fully in line with Cuba's development efforts, which have nevertheless been hindered for more than 70 years by the embargo imposed upon us by the United States. This is a criminal policy that hinders children's development in Cuba. It has an impact on all areas of life.

The embargo limits our access to medicine and technology and more than 10% of medical components that we require come from the United States.

This means that the healthcare that is that we need to provide is being held back. While the representative of the US Denies the fact that the US Government policy is the main hindrance to Cuban children's development, my country is adopting urgent measures to keep hospitals and medical infrastructure going. On the 29th of January we announced further measures to make sure that fuel can get into our country.

The aim of the US Policy is to promote as much harm as possible on the Cuban society and they will not be successful. Even though the current policy requires great sacrifice, the Cuban people are determined to fight for their freedom, independence and self determination. Thank you.


Speaker 32 [30:49]:

I thank the distinguished delegate of Cuba for the remarks.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [30:55]:

The board will now vote on the Country Program document for Cuba. E ICEF2026P


UNICEF Executive Board · Secretary · Andreas Franco [31:27]:

Thank you, Mr. President.

Once again, the delegations are reminded that in accordance with Rule 42 and the Rules of procedure of the UNICEF Executive Board, representatives may make brief statements consisting solely of explanation of their votes before the voting has commenced or after the the voting has been completed. A representative of a member sponsoring a proposal or motion shall not speak an explanation of vote thereon except if it has been amended. Explanations of vote may only be made by members of the Executive Board before the voting has started or after the voting has been Completed. Sponsors may not speak in explanation of the vote unless their draft has been amended it is recalled in accordance with Rule 39.1 of the UNICEF Executive Board. Rules of Procedures.

Decisions of the Board shall be made by a majority of the members present and voting in accordance with Rule 39.2. Members that abstain from voting are considered as not voting. I can confirm, Mr. President, for this vote. There is quorum to proceed with a vote in accordance with Rule 43. After the President has announced the commencement of voting.

No representative may interrupt for the voting except on a point of order in connection with the actual process of of voting. The individual votes will be displayed on screen. The tally of all the votes will be displayed as well, and the President will announce the result of the vote. Finally, in accordance with Rule 41, the vote of each member participating in the electronic vote will be inserted in the record of the meeting. Back to you, Mr. President.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [32:56]:

I thank the Secretary of Executive Board for his explanation. Does any member of Executive Board other than the Sponsor wish to make a statement in explanation of the vote before the voting commences?

Let us now proceed with electronic vote. If there are no objections, and I don't see. I see no objections. The Executive Board will now vote on the approval of a Country Program document for Cuba. Document E ICE F 2026 p. L6.

We shall now begin the voting process. Those in favor, against or abstaining from the approval of a Country Program document for Cuba, please signify.


UNICEF Executive Board · Secretary · Andreas Franco [33:45]:

The Board is now voting on the approval of the Country Program document for Cuba. May I request that all Executive Board members to confirm that their votes are actually accurately reflected on the screen.

The voting has been completed. Technicians, please lock the voting machine.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [34:15]:

Distinguished delegates, the result of the vote is as follows. In favor, 33 against, 1. No abstentions. With this result, the Executive Board has approved the Country Program document for Cuba. Document E ICEF 2026p.l6.

Does any member of Executive Board other than the Sponsor wish to make a statement in explanation of the vote?

I see. Now let us move then forward. This morning we concluded our review of a Country Program document for the Sudan. Document E ICEF 2026 p. L8. In accordance with Executive Board Decision 2014 1.

May I take it that the Country Program document for the Sudan is approved? I see no. United States, you have a floor.


United States of America [35:29]:

Thank you. The United States has an objection and wishes to request a vote on the decision to approve a Country Program document for Sudan and offer this explanation of vote. We do not take this position because of our Lack of concern over the grave humanitarian disaster in Sudan for too long Sudan has spiraled out of control in a completely man made conflict that parties have the power to control. The United States continues to view the humanitarian crisis in Sudan as in dire need of attention, resources and a commitment to bring parties to account in the international system. However, the way the CPD is written suggests a mismanaged roadmap with extensive bureaucracy, mission creepy and the prioritization of a political ideology over the life saving basics that UNICEF was founded to support.

The CPD exemplifies straying from core mandates with unicef, trading safe vaccines and clean water for social norms and transformative governments in support of a politicized UN sustainable goal. The United States has grave concerns over transparency, accountability and the accuracy of program monitoring in Sudan. The lack of specificity in regards to educational priorities appears untenable in regards to the potential for exploitation of educational funding. Program effectiveness mandates will not help Sudanese children. We cannot stress enough the need to run better, more informed and more targeted humanitarian interventions that actually have real world impact.

Once again, the United States calls on the UN to return to the work that Member States created it to do. Agencies must focus on core mandates alone. Thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [37:23]:

I thank the distinguished delegate of the United States and have taken note of a statement made by the delegates and the request for a vote on the Country Program document for the Sudan. E ICEF 2026 p. L. The Board will now vote on the Country Program document for the Sudan. E ICEF 2026p. ElderTheights those voting in favor of approval of a Country Program document for the Sudan will vote yes and those voting against the approval of the document. Program document.

The Country Program document, Sorry. Will vote no. Before we move towards the commencement of the voting, I kindly ask the Secretary to share again some of the procedural issues related to voting. Mr. Secretary, you have the floor.


UNICEF Executive Board · Secretary · Andreas Franco [38:22]:

Thank you, Mr. President. Once again, delegations are reminded that accordance with Rule 42 of the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Board, representatives may make brief statements consisting solely of the explanation of their votes before the voting has commenced or after the voting has been completed. The representative of a member sponsoring a proposal or motion shall not speak in explanation of vote thereon except if it has been amended. Explanations of vote may only be made by members of the Executive Board before the voting has started or after the voting has been completed. Sponsors may not speak in the explanation of the vote unless their draft has been amended as recalled in accordance with Rule 39.1 of the UNICEF Executive Board Rules of Procedure.

Decisions of the Board shall be made by a majority of the members present and voting in accordance with Rule 39.2. Members that abstain from voting are considered as not voting. I can confirm, Mr. President, that there is quorum to proceed with the vote in accordance with Rule 43. After the President has announced the commencement of voting, no representative may interrupt the voting except on a point of order in connection with the actual process of voting. The individual votes will be displayed on screen.

The tally of all the votes will be displayed as well, and the President will announce the result of the vote. Finally, in accordance with Rule 41, the vote of each member participating in the electronic vote will will be inserted in the record of the meeting. Back to you, Mr. President.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [39:51]:

I thank the Secretary of Executive Board for his explanation. Does any member of Executive Board other than the Sponsor wish to make a statement in explanation of the vote before the voting starts?

Let us now proceed with electronic vote. If there are no objections, and I see no objections. The Executive Board will now vote on the approval of the Country Program Document for the Sudan. Document E ICEF 2026p. L. We shall now begin the voting process.

Those in favor against abstaining from the approval of a Country Program Document for the Sudan, please signify.


UNICEF Executive Board · Secretary · Andreas Franco [40:41]:

The Board is now voting on the approval of the Country Program document for the Sudan. May I request that all Executive Board members to confirm that their votes are accurately reflected on the screen?

The voting has been completed. Technicians, please lock the voting machine.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [41:10]:

Distinguished Delegates, the result of a vote is as follows. In favor 33 against 1. No abstentions. With this result, the Executive Board has approved the Country Program Document for the sudan. Document E ICEF 2026.

Does any member of Executive Board other than the Sponsor wish to make a statement in explanation of the vote?

Distinguished Delegates, since there are no other matters.


UNICEF Executive Board · Secretary · Andreas Franco [41:58]:

After this, you can open the floor.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [42:06]:

Distinguished Delegates, since there are no other matters to be discussed, this concludes our consideration of sub item 4A of the Agenda UNICEF Program Cooperation Country Program Documents.

But of course, we open the floor for delegations to their comments now. Germany, you have a floor.


Germany · Joint statement (multiple states) [42:35]:

Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to deliver a statement on behalf of Belgium, Canada, China, Cuba, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Lalau, dpr, Liechtenstein, Mexico, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, South Africa, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and my own country, Germany. We deeply regret that a vote was called today on the adoption of four Country Program documents for Cuba, Somalia, South Africa and Sudan. CPDs are technical evidence based frameworks developed by UNICEF through extensive consultations. They are country led and country owned and designed to enable predictable delivery for children.

The endorsement is critical for UNICEF to fulfill its mandate for all children everywhere. CPDs should be agreed by consensus. Voting on CPDs politicizes what should be. An operational decision making grounded in results. This distracts from implementation of UNICEF's dual mandate on the ground and undermines a long standing practice of the Executive Board.

Above all, children bear the risk of any potential disruption at a time when needs are rising and operating conditions are becoming ever more challenging. Accordingly, we supported the adoption of all four CPDs on a matter of principle. And it is also a sign of support for the continuity of UNICEF's work for every child. UNICEF's mandate to safeguard the rights of every child everywhere is rooted in the. Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This must remain the non negotiable foundation for programming and decision making. And we want to reaffirm our strong commitment to unicef, its mandate and its indispensable work. We stand ready to work with UNICEF in a spirit of partnership to keep children's rights and well being at the center of our decisions. I thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [44:44]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Germany.

Is there any other delegation willing to take a floor?

If not, I would like to give a floor to Executive Director Russell for your comments.


Executive Director · Russell [45:05]:

Thank you very much, Mr. President. Just two very brief comments. First, on CPDs, we endeavor to have as informative a process as possible and welcome member questions about CPDs. Of course, I hope in the future we can raise and address them in a timely manner.


UNICEF · Executive Director · Russell [45:21]:

More generally, I just want to say that I regret that we were not able to reach consensus on several matters today. I hope we will find a way to return to our tradition of finding common ground on critical issues and critical work to support children. Thank you very much.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [45:38]:

I thank Executive Director Russell for her remarks. Distinguished delegates, let us now turn to the next item of the agenda this afternoon.

The violation of UNICEF work in Early Childhood Development and early childhood education 20182023 and management response. The summary report of the evaluation and the Management Response are respectively contained in documents E ICEF 2026 free and E ICEF2026 4. The full evaluation report is available on the website of Evaluation Office. Excuse me.

I will call on Mr. Wilfred Segun Oyankanmi, UNICEF Director Deputy of Evaluation at Interim who will present the summary report of evaluation. He will be followed by Ms. Chemba Raghavan, Global Lead, Early Childhood Development Global Program Division who will be joining us online to present the Management response from UNICEF Mr. Oyankamme, I invite you to take the floor.


UNICEF · Deputy Director of Evaluation (a.i.) · Wilfred Segun Oyankanmi [47:08]:

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

I'm pleased to present this evaluation on behalf of our Director Robert Mikac, and would like to sincerely thank our many UNICEF colleagues and partners who contributed to it, especially my colleague Chemba Raghavan and our team for their open and collaborative engagement. Slide 2 this evaluation assessed an exceedingly important area of UNICEF's work. We know from a wealth of scientific evidence that the first few years of a child's life are critical periods in their psychological, cognitive, psychosocial and moral development and one that is highly predictive in their chance of surviving and thriving. UNICEF's work with government and other partners addresses this crucial period, focusing on the 1.2 billion children ages 0 to 8 years old who make up the fully 14% of the world's population. The main purpose of this evaluation was to provide UNICEF and its partners a robust analysis of what has worked well, what has worked less well, and why in its contributions to the enabling environment and for the integrated ECD approach, in its support to system strengthening and in the result of our global ECD ECE program as actually achieved for children, including the factors that has helped and hindered helped or hindered our ability to achieve results.

Next slide these next two slides summarize our key finance starting here with UNICEF's support in building an enabling environment and strengthening systems for ECD and ece. With UNICEF support, the number of countries with multisectoral ECD policies increased from 47 in 2018 to 83 in 2021. Moreover, the evaluation found that overall, UNICEF supported multisectoral ECD policies and plans were sufficiently aligned with national goals and objectives. In many cases, however, these policies and plans did not explicitly address the unique needs of young children at different stages of development or at the most marginalized children. In the same context, the evolution revealed that UNICEF's support to boost countries budget allocation to ECD and ECE through public and private financing mechanisms has not yet translated into substantial investment on a large scale.

However, there are positive examples. In Timor Leste, for example, preschool budget allocations increased by 230% from 2022 to 2023, owing directly to UNICEF's partnership with the government with regards to system strengthening. We found that UNICEF's effort improved key stakeholders knowledge of key ECD and ECE concepts and of the importance of a holistic integrated approach to ecd. There is room for improvement, however, in ensuring that all key stakeholders clearly understand how the integrated approach to ECD actually works. If it's to succeed at scale, especially in reaching the most vulnerable.

All told, UNICEF's effort to improve the enabling environment and system strengthening have created a strong foundation for sustainable progress. At the same time, the lack of public financing commitments I just described, coupled with reduced ECDECE capacity on Yousef's part, pose substantial risk to the sustainability of of these achievements. Next slide. And finally, we sought to answer the all important question, what result did UNICEF ECDEC work achieve for children during the period covered and where is still there work to be done? Between 2018 and 2023, UNICEF supported 21 million children with early learning materials, learning opportunities and a wide range of ECD services.

These interventions enable many children and their families to stay on track even under very challenging circumstances such as the COVID 19 pandemic and other emergencies. More than 80 countries have now integrated ECD into their primary healthcare systems. For example, Pakistan embedded ECD concepts within its existing health infrastructure and workforce training and establish dedicated ECD corners in healthcare facilities. Overall, UNICEF made notable contributions to data collection, especially through the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey program. But a lack of data on outcomes and impacts in lives of children limits the ability to measure the tangible difference we are making.

Data data on Early Childhood Development Index or ecdi, a measure of whether children are developmentally on track, indicate that despite progress, substantial efforts are still needed to ensure that all young children are developmentally heading in the right direction. Next slide. So all told, our evaluation conveys that UNICEF has indeed made significant positive difference in strengthening national systems in support of this critical area of intervention for children. At the same time, although UNICEF's support to countries to increase public and private financing for ECD ECE was substantial, these efforts have not consistently translated into tangible results. Finally, more important investment is needed to strengthen national statistical systems if we want to know whether we are making a real difference in children's lives.

Slide 6. These takeaways are what led us to the recommendation areas you see in this slide. My colleague Chemba will walk you through these important points of departure in our presentation. In closing, we hope that this evaluation has been useful in helping to ensure that UNICEF remains well positioned in the years ahead to support children at the formative stage of their development. Thank you for your attention, Mr. President and distinguished delegates.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [54:06]:

I thank Mr. Kanmey for his remarks and now give the floor to Ms. Raghavan to present the management response. Madam, you have a floor.


UNICEF · Global Lead, Early Childhood Development · Chemba Raghavan [54:18]:

Thank you. Thank you everyone. Mr. President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, it is indeed my pleasure to present the management response for the evaluation that was conducted recently and was the major findings of which were presented by my colleague from the evaluation group. I want to really extend my thanks to the evaluation, the countries that participated in the evaluation and all of you who have stood steadfast in support of this program. Next slide, please.

So I am honored to say that I wanted to start with saying that overall. Already we have started taking many of the recommendations seriously.


Speaker 54 [55:13]:

20:29 with the high.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [55:18]:

Madam, we don't hear you.

Excuse me? We don't hear you.


UNICEF · Global Lead, Early Childhood Development · Chemba Raghavan [55:25]:

Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?


UNICEF Executive Board · President [55:29]:

Maybe you can turn off your video.


UNICEF · Global Lead, Early Childhood Development · Chemba Raghavan [55:31]:

Hello?


UNICEF Executive Board · President [55:32]:

Yes. Maybe you can turn off your video so that we hear you better. Thank you.


UNICEF · Global Lead, Early Childhood Development · Chemba Raghavan [55:39]:

Can you hear me now?


UNICEF Executive Board · President [55:40]:

Yes.


UNICEF · Global Lead, Early Childhood Development · Chemba Raghavan [55:44]:

Great. So the findings. I was saying that overall, UNICEF has already prioritized early childhood development.

We'll cover now three areas which were presented. One was on enabling environment for an integrated ECD approach, system strengthening for an integrated ECD approach and program results coming from that integrated ECD approach. There were four recommendations that the evaluation presented and 14 sub recommendations.

UNICEF agrees with all the proposed recommendations and is proposing 14 targeted actions to address the recommendations. We have timelines for these with five actions to be completed by end of 2026 and nine of these to be completed by end of 2027. Next slide, please.

Advocacy and communications and global guidance on the unique needs of young children of different ages across the early childhood development. I'm sorry. And for the most marginalized child.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [57:20]:

I'm very sorry, Mr. We cannot. We cannot hear you.

My suggestion is that maybe with the available agreement. George. Mr. George Larrea Ajay would take it over from here because we don't hear you. Thank you very much.


UNICEF · George Larrea Ajay [57:41]:

Thank you, Mr. President.

I'll take over from here. My colleague Chamber is now based in Nairobi and we know the executive board appreciates hearing from the leads of the area being evaluated. So we tried to get her to join, but the line is not good. So I'll continue from here.

So, as my colleague was saying, this evaluation is timely is come at the start of the new strategic plan. And we truly appreciate the rigor in which the evaluation office conducted the exercise. Many country offices were involved in it and headquarters and our key partners were also involved in it. There are a few recommendations that require immediate attention. There are some that indeed we've started implementation already in the current year as the strategic plan starts.

And there are some that will roll into next year. So I'm going to start with the slide on the screen now that requires US UNICEF strengthening advocacy, communications, global guidance on the unique needs of young children of the different ages between 0 and 8 in various contexts. And indeed, we have begun the revision of guidance on ecd. And as part of the FFI process that Executive Director talked about, we have located a lot of our teams within health, within nutrition protection and in education. So our ECD colleagues have been embedded, have been embedded and are producing guidance through these teams.

In addition, my colleague who oversees that network keeps oversight as implementation goes on. So in various locations where the centers of excellence are located, you will find ECD expertise helping to support countries on strengthening advocacy implementation of programs that promote child development among marginalized groups. We're in touch with a division of communication to help advance this. But essentially the implementation of advocacy efforts is going to be at the country level and guidance is being prepared in this regard. Next slide, please.

Management recommendation an evaluation recommendation on strengthening and scaling UNICEF's communication, especially with with regards to public financing for early childhood development. And all in all, we're working with some of our key partners on innovative financing. In the current year there are plans towards a summit with some of our key partners to explore. Explore various channels to help countries that are investing in early childhood development to scale up. Of particular interest is a revision of the early childhood education accelerator toolkit that many countries rely on and that is work in progress.

Next slide, please.

The next recommendation from the evaluation was on methodological notes on a range of integration approaches in countries.

And there we've engaged a number of countries. I think examples were given of countries that are making good investments in this area, like East Timor and in Kenya, in South Africa, who are advancing work in this area. And again, the advances has been on an integrated approach in the guidance, in training packages and in joint visits with governments. And we hope that this will lead to scale of their efforts in the coming year as they plan for acceleration. Next slide, please.

The fourth recommendation was about UNICEF's program guidance again in relation to the strategic plan. And it's about how we work together in unicef. I've just mentioned how our staff have been placed in health, nutrition centers of excellence, education centers of excellence and working on how they come together as a network in an integrated way to support government and expanding the data collection exercise through the Multi Indicator Cluster survey, introduce stronger budget tracking approaches for governments. Next slide, please.

So again, we are appreciative of the evaluation. It was rigorous and we endorse all the recommendations. About a third have already started and we are hoping that in the course of next year would have finished implementing all the recommendations and the Feedback will be sent to the Executive Board through the usual process. So, Mr. President, with that I thank you very much.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [1:04:15]:

Thank you very much. I thank Mr. Ragavan and Mr. Laurea J for their remarks and open the floor for discussion. First country on my list is Oman. You have floor, please.

Microphone to the speaker, please.


Oman [1:04:51]:

I have the great honor to deliver this statement on behalf of my country, the Sultanate of Oman. For decades, UNICEF has been a pioneer for early childhood development. UNICEF vision for every child in the UN system which acknowledges the certainty of adequate policies, programs and practices in protecting and fulfilling the survival, growth and development rights of all children in early life, including in fragile and humanitarian settings. Furthermore, the 2030 Sustainable Agenda for Development has also embraced development in early childhood as a central to ending poverty and ensuring prosperity and peace. Mr. President, the Sultan of Oman would like to highlight on the importance of a child's early years.

A growing body of evidence underscores investments in early childhood education. ECE yield amongst the highest returns of human capital interventions. Studies across diverse contexts show that children who attend early ECE program benefit significantly with improved academic performance, higher graduation rates, reduced social exclusion, poverty and better long term earning potential. Moreover, investing in ECE is essential to upholding the fundamental rights of children as outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child CRC non discrimination devotion to the best interest of the child, the right to life, survival and development. The key recommendation on UNICEF evaluation and UNICEF management response focus on the following important pillars.

First of all, strengthen UNICEF advocacy and communication and global guidance on the unique needs of young children of different ages. Second, strengthen and scale UNICEF global advocacy and communications on public financing of ecd. Third, strengthen the UNICEF program guidance for ECD and methodological notes on the range of integration approaches and protocols on ECD in countries in different stages of program development with varying degrees of resources. Mr. President, the Sultan Suman emphasizes the importance of designing public financing and costing models for robust planning and programming design for ecd. In addition, we encourage UNICEF to continue its ambitious vision in strengthening government capacities and ownership and in providing technical assistance in ECD and ECE toward universal child and child benefits to expand actions to.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [1:07:51]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Oman and I now give a floor to El Salvador.


El Salvador [1:07:59]:

Senor Presidente sir, we welcome the presentation of the report on UNICEF's work and the response by the administration to the report. We highlight the recommendations that have been made and we trust that the implementation of these recommendations will strengthen UNICEF's work in this important area of work in future years both for the programme looking at Ensuring that appropriate resources are allocated and also for making progress on other areas. UNICEF's work within the normative framework is extremely important. Putting children at the heart of public policy, particularly through the implementation of of laws that strengthen the resources being provided for education, for instance, for children.

We've seen various initiatives, including those that are that harness technological development to help children's development. My delegation believes that all of the efforts needs to be targeted appropriately to strengthen implementation on the ground. We urge UNICEF to continue contributing to national efforts, focusing on the strategic priorities that have been defined. Also ensuring that capacity building at the local level is carried out to ensure appropriate national ownership. Thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [1:09:45]:

I thank you, distinguished delegate of El Salvador and I now give a floor to France.


France [1:09:54]:

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to thank you for the statements which provide which shed light on the work of UNICEF in the area of development and early childhood education.

These years are an important time in the lives of a child. It is a key time for the development of children for their health and for the adults that they will become. And yet millions of children fail to receive adequate care to nutrition and health which they need. They are exposed to pollution and violence. In 2024, we have seen how globally approximately 400 million children under age 5, 6 out of 10 children are subject to violent disciplinary measures by parents or other people in their lives.

We believe that efforts to improve childhood is a potent catalyst for achievement of this SDGs. This is an important component of our National Strategy for Basic Education which was launched in 2024, which advocates the ambition of guaranteeing for all people high, mandatory, high quality school education. We prioritize education protection of early childhood and we seek to train educators to ensure proper development of children. We welcome the progress that has been made by UNICEF. Progress which has been significant.

200 million children have been receiving received assistance including emergency situations addressing urgent needs and with the delivery of oda. We call on UNICEF to implement the recommendations that have been set out, including particularly when it comes to data collection. Moreover, we encourage the agency to diversify resources including together with national committees to facilitate the achievement of the 10% target. France reiterates our full support for UNICEF.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [1:11:51]:

Thank you, distinguished representative of France.

Next speaker on my list is Canada.


Canada [1:12:02]:

Thank you, Mr. President.

We wish to emphasize the importance of education in the assessments for gender equality and inclusion of persons with disabilities and the importance of addressing the needs of children in rural areas. We believe that these equity indicators are necessary in order to ensure holistic services reach people who are those who are. Most vulnerable on these equity focused practices. In the new strategic plan, embedding them more systematically across ECD policies, programs and. Measurements to ensure sustained and inclusive impact beyond the use of disaggregated data.

We would welcome greater clarity on how gender equity and disability inclusion are being operationalized across UNICEF's ECD and ECE interventions. Lastly, given the ambition of the management. Response and the reality of resource constraints, we would welcome further clarification on how. UNICEF will sequence and prioritize the proposed actions to ensure that the most critical elements are integrated from the outset of the new strategic plan period. Yossi, thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [1:13:18]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Canada. Next speaker on my list is United kingdom.


United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [1:13:25]:

Thank you, Mr. President. The United Kingdom welcomes this evaluation and commends UNICEF for its strong contributions to advancing early childhood development and education. We recognise UNICEF's important role in supporting multi sectoral ECD policy development, strengthening frontline workforce systems and engaging parents and caregivers. We particularly want to highlight UNICEF's ability to sustain and expand ECD and ECE programming throughout the COVID 19 pandemic as recognised in this evaluation. At the same time, we noted the findings on the shortfall in financial investment for ECD and the gaps in consistent data on child development outcomes and caregiver practices.

The UK supports the evaluation's recommendations and encourages UNICEF to strengthen ECD sensitive policies, enhance coherence across sectors and continue advocating for increased public financing for ECD and ECE. We also note and support UNICEF's management's response which agrees with the recommendations and outlines concrete steps to address the findings of the evaluation. We look forward to updates of how these recommendations have been adopted in due course. Thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [1:14:53]:

I thank a distinguished representative of the United Kingdom.

Is there any other delegation willing to take a floor?

If not, I invite the Secretariat to respond to the comments and questions which we just heard. Please.


UNICEF · George Larrea Ajay [1:15:12]:

Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, distinguished delegates. Oman, thank you for your comments, especially on the multistectoral approach, including the expansion of the child benefit program. We know there's a lot to learn from your own experience and we thank you for bringing this to the Executive Board. On the question of investment, how UNICEF will continue to mobilize investments in support of national plans in support of national priorities. I believe the same question was asked by UK to an extent.

Canada, let me take advantage of the Board's station to say that we are planning with some of our key partners, including many in this room, for an investment Summit next year, 2020.

Executive Director has been in touch with many partners and we are looking Forward to you joining to help the international community rejuvenate the support that used to go into early childhood development. El Salvador, thank you again for your emphasis on on a clear normative framework, again backed by an investment framework.

We appreciate the massive investments going on in your country on this issue and we look forward to accompanying you on the ground. We have a Center of Excellence in Panama and your points about implementation on the ground, the capacity for implementation and how that can be expanded. We look forward to accompanying you on that journey. We had a privilege of meeting you a few weeks ago and we look forward to expanding the partnership in this area of work. And Franz, thank you for mentioning things that some dimensions that usually are overlooked.

You mentioned pollution, which is a growing phenomenon impacting the les, and violence, violence happening to children as young as two at times one.

And yes, we have specific programs on these, but indeed we acknowledge your point that these need to be scaled up on data collection. We've mentioned more work through the Multi Indicator Clusters survey so that more countries are able to assess progress in this area. Canada, thank you very much for pointing out some very deprived groups, marginalized groups, children with disability, especially girls especially.

And yes, we've seen them fall through the cracks even as national priorities have been implemented. So we are now working on guidance on targeted approaches for such children. And on your question, how do we prioritize? UNICEF has advanced a lot of work in health and nutrition in early learning. Where we think we need to really prioritize going forward is in the area of early stimulation due to the impact it also bring in later years.

Again, we look forward to working with you on the summit that will come on next year. Thank you for your support, especially from the perspective of care. We acknowledge your leadership in the area and we look forward to working with you on the financial investment approaches that will bring in many more countries to leverage what governments are doing themselves with that. Mr. President Abasdev, Mike to you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [1:20:00]:

Thank you very much. I thank Secretariat for these remarks as no additional delegations have signaled their wish to comment. We shall consider the evaluation of UNICEF work in Early Childhood development and early childhood education 2018, 2023 and management response later on agenda item 16, the adoption of draft decisions. Distinguished delegates, we shall now turn to item 10 of Agenda the Plan for Global Operations 20262029 document E ICEF 2026 5, which is being presented to the Board for decision. The Plan has been prepared in accordance with the revised evaluation policy of UNICEF and relevant Executive Board decisions.

A costed annual work Plan formulation for 2026 is also being presented to the Board for information in accordance with decision 2025-14. Mr. Ankanmi, Deputy Director of Evaluations AI will present the agenda item. You have the floor.


UNICEF · Deputy Director of Evaluation (a.i.) · Wilfred Segun Oyankanmi [1:21:19]:

Thank you very much, Mr. President, distinguished delegates, thank you again. I'm pleased to present this final plan for global evaluations, 2026, 2029, which builds directly on the draft plan discussed at your second regular session last September. Since then, we've continued to receive feedback from our UNICEF colleagues, while expanding our our consultations to include our UN Agency partners and the UNICEF National Committees and very importantly, your delegations. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for engaging so closely and constructively with this with us in the finalization of the plan which is now being presented for your endorsement. If I may.

Even before beginning this presentation, I'd like to take a moment to express our very sincere thanks for your strong words of support at yesterday's opening session. We frankly never heard so many delegations, nor have we heard so much from such broad range of Executive Board membership coming forward so strongly in support of our role in fostering learning and accountability. So, thank you. The same sincere thanks goes to our Executive Director for once again underscoring our support for our role in helping to ensure that UNICEF remains as effective, efficient and future fit as possible, and for our personal commitment to fostering an enabling environment for what we do here too. I don't think we've ever heard such a strong and strongly personal statement of support for evaluation from a principal of a UN agency to date.

So again, on behalf of our Director, we thank you. Madam Executive Director. Next slide. Given the extensive engagement to date, I'll be very brief and focus on the key elements of the document. The Plan is a commitment, a commitment to UNICEF's management and colleagues and to you to deliver a specific suite of global or corporate evaluations of UNICEF's work that we are pledging to undertake because they cover the highest criticality aspects of UNICEF's work towards the goal of the strategic plan.

2026, 2029. The plan does not include evaluations conducted at the regional or country levels. It will, however, aid our ongoing effort to maximize substantive synergies, reduce duplications and optimize the use of our finite evaluation resources across the three levels of the organization. The plan also does not capture as yet unforeseen evaluations such as demand driven evaluations, evolutions of Level 3 emergencies, or joint, interagency or system wide evaluations. We will be asked to participate in next Slide Two main factors beyond your and our other partners feedback have shaped the final plan.

First, the ongoing reorganization in UNICEF through the Future Focus initiative and second, the confirmation of our quadrennial budget ceiling. Next slide in response to this development, we now have 23 evaluations. The plan maintains balanced coverage across UNICEF's core areas of work as shown here. Our evaluations are organized into three main development, effectiveness and impact, humanitarian effectiveness and institutional effectiveness. Next slide the next two slides respond to the Executive Board's decision and your delegation's feedback in which you asked us for a transparent overview of the resource needs and gaps associated with the plan.

This transparency is both a strategic tool and an ethical duty that we hope to help the Executive Director and management as well as the Executive Board see in a timely manner which key risk will and will not be covered by evaluation in the plan. We do offer some ideas and solutions for which for these gaps for which we may plug these gaps through other resources or or and we remain in your and management's hands on the next steps. Next slide in this slide we are presenting your delegation to Presenting to your delegation our costed annual work plan for 2026 in response to the executive board decision from 2025 14. Here is where you will see those evaluations, such as carryover exercises from 2025, joint and interagency work, and all other strategy priorities such as building national evaluation capacity in addition to the commitment in the current quadrennial plan that will be completed this year. Next slide against this resource backdrop, the Plan also sets out key strategic priorities for ensuring that evaluation remains timely, credible and useful in a period of significant organizational change.

These are the same as those discussed in the presentation of the draft plan, so I will not repeat them. I would, however, like to draw your delegation's attention to the independent external assessment of the evaluation in UNICEF, which is in response to the executive board decision 2023-12 and 2023-20. This exercise will be managed externally by an independent and broad based team of experts led by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Assistance Committee, OECD dac. We are grateful in advance for your delegation's engagement in this exercise. Next slide in closing, Mr. President and distinguished delegates, I would like to thank you for your guidance throughout this process and again for your strong words of support for this critical function.

In the four years ahead, evaluation will be more critical than ever in a Ensuring the ongoing learning and improvement that helps UNICEF remain as efficient and effective as possible in our drive for results for children. B. Providing your delegation assurances of organizational accountability to children for the outcomes and impact level results we're aiming to achieve c helping maximize returns on investment for our finite resources and d helping the organization navigate uncertainty and change and manage risk through impartial evidence driven analysis. In Hope I hope that we have earned your endorsement of the Plan and look forward to continued engagement with your delegations as we embark on its implementation. Thank you, Mr. President.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [1:28:28]:

I thank Mr. Ankanmi for his remarks and open the floor for discussion. First speaker on my list is Germany.


Germany · Joint statement (multiple states) [1:28:43]:

Mr. President Excellency's distinguished colleagues. I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and my own country, Germany. We would like to begin by expressing our appreciation for the thorough and transparent preparation of the Plan for global evaluations 20262029 as well as the accompanying costed annual work plan for 2026. The PGE is firmly embedded in the UNICEF Strategic Plan 20262029 and we particularly welcome its strategic emphasis on evaluation as both an oversight and evidence function. In 2025, the executive board took the decision to request costed annual work plans in order to increase transparency on the financial situation of the evaluation function.

In retrospect, this appears to have been a timely step as it provides much needed clarity regarding concrete funding gaps and moves the discussion beyond the more abstract debates of previous years on the 1% target. These figures demonstrate not only which evaluations can and cannot be implemented, but also the significant added effort required to securing funding, diverting time from critical evaluation work, and potentially undermining the evaluation function's independence and integrity. We recognize the persistent funding constraints affecting the entire organization. However, we are concerned that evaluation commitments have been reduced to about half of the previous cycle, even though the overall budget has not declined in a similar proportion. This reduced coverage in the PGE raises concerns about potential evidence gaps across key strategic plan impact areas, which could limit UNICEF's ability to demonstrate progress and identify implementation bottlenecks.

It also raises questions as to whether resources match commitments and allow UNICEF to meet the minimum obligations set out in the 2023 revised evaluation policy. In light of UNICEF's major organizational changes, we believe it is key to ensure adequate funding for the evaluation function to assess if the intended results are achieved. While we welcome the efforts outlined in the PGE to identify additional funding sources to ensure the completion of critical tier 1B evaluations, it is our firm expectation that management allocates sufficient resources for the evaluation function Considering the substantial funding gaps, we would appreciate clarification on how management understands its responsibility in securing the resources needed to implement the PGE and how it intends to address the disproportionate funding cuts faced by the evaluation function. We strongly welcome UNICEF's continued commitment to impact evaluations as a crucial tool for ensuring results oriented implementation. We want to encourage learning within UNICEF and reiterate our firm belief in the value of evidence generation to inform decision making and program implementation.

In this regard, we would like more detail on what is envisioned under the key priority of enhanced strategic communications and how evaluation findings will be made more accessible and useful, particularly for country programming. We would also like to express our appreciation to the evaluation function for the report on UNICEF's work in early childhood development and education which clearly highlights how evaluation findings contribute to improving programming. The evaluation identifies learning opportunities such as the retroactive development of an ECD theory of change and its recommendations have been positively recognized by management. This example underscores the strategic value of evaluations which stands in sharp contrast to the significant financial constraints it faces. In closing, we want to emphasize that supporting the evaluation function is not a technical add on but a strategic investment in governance, accountability and the credibility of UNICEF's work.

An organization's effectiveness requires being fit for purpose with adequate investment in monitoring and evaluation and specialized technical capacity. We call on UNICEF to explore ways to fully fund evaluation commitments, ensuring that they are delivered entirely and effectively aligned with policy priorities and organizational objectives. In the context of necessary budget savings. The evaluation function must not carry a disproportionate share, particularly at a time when evidence based prioritization is most critical. Thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [1:33:42]:

I thank distinguished representative of Germany and I now give a floor to Canada.


Canada [1:33:51]:

Thank you.

Canada aligns itself with the statement delivered by Germany on the global assessment and the 2026 plan. Our appreciation for UNICEF's proactive engagement with UN evaluation group partners to explore joint evaluations on shared priorities such as gender. Equality, humanitarian climate action and social protection. This collaboration can help harmonize methods, share. Costs and deepen learning, strengthening system wide accountability and unis contribution to collective evidence.

We would appreciate updates on any concrete opportunities and priority themes as they emerge. And underscore that joint evaluations should complement. Not replace, UNICEF's already planned critical evaluations. Lastly, Canada welcomes UNICEF's proactive exploration of. Opportunities through the 2026 Moped Assessment, recognizing.

The value of aligning both processes so they reinforce one another in a constrained funding environment. Pursuing efficiencies across mechanism is increasingly important. While Maintaining a clear commitment to sustaining. Core investments in monitoring and evaluating, evaluation and technical expertise to protect results and accountability. We look forward to learning what concrete.

Synergies and efficiencies can be realized through this approach. Thank you.


President [1:35:11]:

I thank a distinguished representative of Canada. Next speaker on my list is European union.


EU · EU [1:35:18]:

Thank you, Mr. President, Madam Executive Director, distinguished colleagues. I'm speaking on behalf of the European Union as a donor. Thank you, Deputy Director, for the presentation of the Plan for Global Evaluations which will accompany the Strategic Plan. We welcome the Office's commitment to consolidate its evaluation portfolios and to restructure and revise its business model to achieve great efficiency and impact. While we recognize the current financial constraints, we note the significant reduction in number of planned evaluations compared to the 2022-2025 period and that 13 out of 23 critically necessary evaluations remain without secured funding.

Given the importance of evaluation for accountability, learning and results, we we encourage UNICEF to continue mobilizing the resources required to ensure that priority evaluations can proceed, notably those related to the prevention and early detection of child wasting, as well as organizational safeguarding and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. We would appreciate further information on the feasibility of delivering these priority evaluations within the next four years and what measures are being considered to mitigate potential gaps. We welcome the strategic priorities guiding the implementation of this plan. In particular, improved coherence in evaluation planning. We encourage UNICEF's efforts towards most cost efficient quality assurance and quality assessment mechanisms, notably through the development of shared tool systems and quality assessment platforms with other UN agencies.

We welcome the PG's intention to strengthen the tracking and follow up evaluations to ensure timely implementation of recommendations. We continue to encourage UNICEF to enhance its participation in joint and system wide evaluations, including within the UNAD agenda. At a time where the UN system is striving for increased efficiency and accountability in a context of scarce resources. We also welcome efforts to explore strategic linkages with other UN evaluation functions, including for cost sharing. Finally, we welcome the PGE's commitments to continue the crucial development of national evaluation capacity, building on progress initiated during the previous Strategic Plan and emphasizing south south cooperation.

Recognizing the current financial constraints and organizational changes, we trust that efforts will continue to ensure that these priority evaluations are properly resourced and implementation in the coming four years and implemented in the coming four years. We rely on the management's sustained support to uphold a strong and credible evaluation function within unicef. Thank you.


Speaker 85 [1:37:38]:

I thank a distinguished representative of the European Union. Next speaker is Netherlands.


Netherlands (Kingdom of the) [1:37:48]:

Mr. President, Executive Director, Excellencies. We align Ourselves with the joint statement as delivered by Germany. We also have a few additional comments in our national capacity. First of all, the Kingdom of the Netherlands would like to commend the UNICEF Evaluation Office for the thorough analysis and extensive consultation process that have led to the Plan for global evaluations 2026, 2029. We appreciate the clear prioritization in the plan and we value that UNICEF will continue to explore strategic linkages with other UN agencies, the continued commitment to impact evaluations and the focus on national evaluation capacity development.

We also want to emphasize that consistent follow up on the management responses to evaluation recommendations is key. We appreciate that a more systemic approach to monitoring the implementation of management responses is being developed. The Kingdom of the Netherlands would like to reiterate the importance of the independent evaluation function. This function is key to ensure UNICEF remains a learning organization where open communication is possible about what works and what doesn't work and where timely course corrections can be made. Especially in times when the organization is going through substantive changes and when funding is becoming more scarce, it's crucial to be able to demonstrate impact and results for children.

UNICEF's Future Focus Initiative is meant to enhance efficiency, strengthen technical expertise and optimize resource utilization to better support program delivery at country and regional levels. However, if you don't have the capacity to measure the impact, this presents a considerable risk. We understand UNICEF is currently operating in a constrained resource environment, but we are concerned that the evaluation function seems to have been disproportionately affected. We appreciate that the evaluation function is trying to think out of the box to acquire resources for priority evaluations. However, like for other oversight functions, we would like to avoid that specialized functions use their valuable time for resource mobilization.

So how does UNICEF management plan to support the evaluation function so this important work can still be carried out? We thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [1:40:10]:

I thank a distinguished representative of Netherlands. Next speaker on my list is Sweden.


Sweden [1:40:17]:

Thank you, Mr. President.

Sweden is aligned with the joint statement by Germany and would like to say a few words in national capacity. Thank you for the clear presentation of the evaluation plan. In times when resources are constrained, evidence based approaches are key and UNICEF's evaluation as an oversight function is vital. In this regard, we would like to express our appreciation of joint evaluation with other UN agencies in a spirit of UN 80 like other member states have already expressed in order to ensure that evaluation are utilized and informing programming in country context. We would like particularly to congratulate UNICEF for its continued use of global evaluation report oversight system, an external review of quality and content of evaluation reports.

In this regard, UNESCO Sweden has a question. With available funding resources, are you planning to adjust evaluation methodologies for further gains of efficiency, including using experimental evaluation design? Thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [1:41:43]:

I thank distinguished representative of Sweden. And I don't see any other delegation willing to take a floor. So I now invite Mr. Kanmi to respond to the comments we have heard.

I'm sorry, Ms. Suleiman, you have a floor.


UNICEF · Ms. Suleiman [1:42:05]:

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Distinguished delegates, allow me to come in on a few points that were directed to management. But firstly, let me speak about governance and accountability overall, even beyond the evaluation function.

This is an area that we take extremely seriously in unicef. And as we went through the structural changes, because of the financial situation, we made sure to preserve the independent office's ability to function. In the case of the Office of Independent Audit Investigations, we made an exception that would allow the office to retain more resources than we did for other headquarters and regional offices, because we feel that we needed that capacity in OIAI to be commensurate to the degree of risk that we're facing in our programming. So in fact, they got an increase, so to speak, compared to other offices. In the case of the evaluation office, they were also not disproportionately affected.

They did get a 25% reduction, as did other offices. However, they also have the evaluation pooled fund, which is a strategic core enabler. And in the pooled fund, in fact, for the last quadrennium for 2022-2025, as per the board approved allocation, the amount was set at 21.5 million. For that period of time halfway through at the MTR, we give them an additional injection of $9 million, because we believe this is a core function for the organization and the independence is critical. Unfortunately, this time we're not in a position to give core additional injection of funds because of the financial situation.

However, we have provided the pooled fund 27.6 million, which is higher than the previous quadrennium. So we have protected that and that has enabled us not only to conduct evaluations, but also to retain staffing capacity. So, in sum, they got the standard cut that other offices received, which is the 25% for headquarters and regional offices, which allowed us to reduce the cuts at the country level and to preserve the core funding that goes for country operations. Like other offices, all the offices had to go through relocations for those that are in expensive duty stations to lower cost duty stations to allow us to preserve funding for activities. Now, with all of that, we recognize that the office is unable to do as many evaluations as planned and that there are critical things that may be missed out.

And here we are of course, very prepared to work with the evaluation office to see what are some of the cost saving approaches that could be applied. Doing more interagency evaluations would reserve more financial savings as well as human resource savings. Using artificial intelligence and technology, more can also help with savings. So even though the comment about the degree of cut in the evaluations compared to the last cycle in terms of numbers, it's not directly comparable because now we have more tools on hand to be able to perhaps do more, depending on how things evolve. Now we would like to encourage the evaluation office to explore more opportunities, as mentioned by some of the distinguished delegates, on doing more with other organizations and having more joint evaluation so we can all benefit collectively and at the same time use the resources more efficiently.

We will keep a close eye on this. It's incredibly important that we're able to meet the accountabilities through strong independent offices. Now. It's also important to make sure that as management, the non independent side of the work that we do on monitoring reviews, peer reviews, assessments, complements what we get from independent offices and our investment in monitoring remains firm. So that is also another element that comes into this and that commitment remains.

I'll stop there. Thank you very much, Mr. President.


Speaker 91 [1:46:29]:

I thank Ms. Suleiman for her remarks. If no delegation wishes to take. Sorry. Okay, okay.


UNICEF · Deputy Director of Evaluation (a.i.) · Wilfred Segun Oyankanmi [1:46:39]:

Thank you very much, Excellency, Mr. President and distinguished delegates.

Just a few remarks to some of the statements we heard just now at first to Germany. Thank you very much for the questions there on the way. We're looking at enhanced strategy communications, basically in this case, you know, it's quite challenging when you're fully immersed in evaluation and the methods and communicating that, particularly to those who have not really been involved in that particular process. It takes a bit of some exercise to do that. And this is one area we're trying to emphasize in the new cycle to ensure that we are able to communicate complex evolution findings in a very clear and decision oriented manner.

And then one other way we're trying to do this to produce shorter sentences, right, that are tailored for country programming and ensure that they are actually being taken into consideration as they design these programs and implement them. We want to also improve the way we engage with stakeholders, particularly in transform, to ensure that there's high uptake of evaluation recommendations as they come true. So these are some of the key priorities we have under the strategy communications element. We want to focus much more on actionable recommendations and not just on the analysis alone and then strengthen our internal communication, communication capacity development as well within the evaluation function. To Canada.

Thank you for that, the conversation there. We appreciate the suggestions and the feedback to harmonize with other UN agencies, to engage with them. And this is one of the key areas because we're one of the first UN agencies to develop our plan for the next four years. Basically we've been engaging with other partners and seeking ways to, you know, harmonize even further. And we're seeking alignment to ensure that we reduce duplication across accountability mechanisms.

We're trying to ensure that we harmonize data collection even much more where we work on the field and then reinforce our findings and processes around that as well. If I may turn to the European Union, thank you very much for the, the feedback there, particularly around cost efficient ways of working, particularly in the area of quality assurance of evaluation reports. Yes, we're exploring opportunities to engage with other UN agencies. This seems to be one area that we all are looking at. How can we leverage technology?

How do we bring in quality assurance criteria together? How do we move from quality assessment to quality assurance particularly and quality at the source in that sense? And we're working in that space. Just this week we engage in some EP conversations on how to harmonize our efforts around quality assurance within the function across UN agencies and this is actually gaining traction. So we commit of course to continue to work jointly with other UN agencies in terms of interagency evaluations and ensure that there's cost sharing around that particular area.

On turning to Netherlands, thank you very much for that feedback. Also in terms of the workaround impact evaluations and the nacd, the work work we're doing in there, we pretty much will continue to do this. We'll continue to support. Impact evaluation is one key area of priority for us in this new cycle as we approach it. Your conversation on the way we were taken funding, of course some ideas are there.

We exploring opportunities of plugging the gap we experience at the moment and including working with management to be able to see how we can do this. And some ideas are actually emerging basically which we will continue to work with management. And back to Sweden, thank you for your input there as well. The, the discussion around evidence based approach to evolution that's important for us as well as the methods that you did mention. We will continue to use these efficient methods, alternative data sources and geospatial data actually to improve the way we work going forward.

I just want to say that we appreciate all your support for this global plan evaluation and we look forward to engaging with you even further going forward. Thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [1:51:54]:

I thank you, Mr. Nkami, for his statement. If no other delegation wishes to take the floor at this time, we shall consider the plan for global evaluations 2026, 2029 later on the agenda. Item 16, the adoption of of draft decisions. Distinguished delegates, we will now turn to the final agenda item this afternoon. Item 11, progress on the consideration of a review of governance and oversight of executive board of UNDP, UNFPA, UNOPS, UNICEF and YuanWoman by the Joint Inspection Unit.

Mr. Deng Caixiao, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of People's Republic of China to the United nations, is here with us this afternoon and will kindly provide the update. Mr. Deng, you have a floor.


China · Second Secretary · Deng Caixiao [1:53:17]:

Thank you, Mr. President. Distinguished members of the Executive Board, allow me to begin by recording. Next slide, please.

Allow me to begin by recalling that the Joint Working Group was mandated to study and report on the recommendations contained in the Joint Inspection Unit Report and to develop actionable strategies for their implementation where appropriate and necessary, with a view to strengthening governance and oversight across the participating Executive boards. At the second regular session of 2025, the executive boards further requested the Joint Working Group to deliver on its mandate in accordance with the approved roadmap and without delay, and to present timely and concrete proposals for the consideration of the Boards as appropriate. The Boards also encouraged the Working Group to take into account the developments and reform proposals emanating from the UN18 initiative, with a view to inferring synergies. Next, please. Since the previous update, the Joint Working Group has entered an active and substantive phase of its work.

During this period, the Group has continued its analysis of both the formal and informal recommendations contained in the GRU Report. In particular, with regard to Recommendation four on Standing Committees, the Group conducted desk research on existing practices in multilateral organizations with a specific focus on the UN system where the establishment of subcommittees was explicitly referred or referenced in the JIU report. Based on this analytical work, the Joint Working Group concirculated two batches of questions questionnaires to the agencies. The first batch focused specifically on the recommendations related to Standing Committees, while the second batch covered the remaining recommendations. Next, please.

With regard to the first questionnaire, the Joint Working Group received responses from 12 units across UNDP, UNFPA, UN OPS, UNICEF and UN Women. The responses were detailed, thoughtful and substantive, and the Group would like to express its appreciation to the agencies for their constructive engagement. The Group has begun analyzing these responses to inform its further deliberations. While the analysis is ongoing, the preliminary assessment indicates a number of common themes emerging from the agency inputs. In general, agencies acknowledge that in principle, the establishment of subcommittees could allow for a more expert, detailed and thorough examination of audit, risk, finance and budget matters at Board level.

At the same time, agencies consistently underlying important concerns and constraints, including the risk of duplication with existing oversight mechanisms, the need for clear mandates and appropriate sequencing, as well as resource and servicing implications. The potential added value of any such arrangement is therefore widely seen as contingent on careful design and alignment with existing frameworks. To further inform its work, the Joint Working Group intends to hold targeted interviews with specific units within the agencies as well as with the WFP Executive Board, which operates with Standing Committee arrangements. These exchanges will aim to explore practical ways to address concerns and bottlenecks identified in the responses before the Group formulates any proposals for the consideration of the Executive Boards. Next, please Turning to the second batch of questionnaires, this was addressed to the Secretariats of the Executive Boards and circulated on 12th December 2025 within an initial deadline of 15th January 2026.

The Secretariat subsequently informed the Group that they would be unable to meet this timeline due to their intensive engagement in the unity process as well as preparations for the first regular sessions of the Boards. In this context, the Joint Working Group agreed to the proposal that responses to the second batch of questionnaires be submitted by 28th, February 2026. The group noted the importance of strict adherence to this revised deadline in order to allow the Work Plan to proceed as scheduled. Next.

Sorry, still the previous one.

As regards the work plan for 2026, the joint working Group intends to present initial preliminary observations and possible directions at the annual session of 2026 for consultations and feedback from the Executive Boards. The Group then aims to then aims to submit its report at the second regular session of 2026 for the board's consideration and any subsequent action as deemed appropriate. Should any adjustment to this timeline become necessary, the Joint Working Group will inform the Boards accordingly and in a timely manner. Next, please. Mr. President.

Distinguished members, the Joint Working Group remains fully committed to delivering on its mandate in a transparent, inclusive and timely manner and looks forward to continued engagement with the Executive Boards as the work progresses. Thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [1:59:49]:

I thank Mr. Denk for his remarks and now open the floor for discussion. I give the floor to United Kingdom.


United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland · Joint statement (multiple states) [2:00:05]:

President, Distinguished members of the Executive Board. I present this statement on behalf of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. We thank the Joint Working Group for the update and would like to express our appreciation to all its members for the time and commitment they continue to invest in advancing this important process on behalf of the Executive Boards. The implementation of the JIU recommendations remains a critical endeavor to strengthen governance and oversight across our Executive Boards and in so doing, enhance the effectiveness and credibility of our work. Our shared objective is to make board processes and working methods as efficient and harmonized as possible while fully preserving robust oversight and accountability mechanisms.

Over the past year, much of the Working Group's efforts focused on establishment establish in itself defining its working methods as well as other supporting documents. Against this background, we particularly welcome the progress made since the second regular session, 2025, notably the preparation and circulation of questionnaires to all five funds and programs which marked the start of the implementation phase. We recognize that the Working Group undertaking a thorough assessment of the relevance and feasibility of the JIU's individual recommendations is an essential intermediate step to improve the future functioning of the Executive Boards. This process is especially important as it complements the unhealthy initiative with processes guided by common objectives such as increased efficiency, more clearly defined responsibilities and strengthened governance structures. As outlined in the Roadmap.

We subscribe to an approach that allows for the early implementation of those recommendations that can be realized with limited effort or only require minor adjustments. This approach would create the necessary necessary space and time to engage more deeply with recommendations that warrant further discussion and analysis in order to identify the best way forward. In our view, it is important that the Executive Boards see clear outcomes emerging in a timely manner, ideally already by the annual session in 2026. We therefore implore the Working Group to move decisively towards delivering first concrete results. This indeed would help maintain momentum and bring confidence that the process is translating into practical improvements in our governance and oversight functions.

We remain committed to supporting this process in a constructive and forward looking spirit and look forward to continued engagement with the Joint Working Group as it advances its work. I thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [2:03:29]:

I thank the distinguished representative of the United Kingdom, Mr. Deng. You have floor to respond to the comments, please.


China · Second Secretary · Deng Caixiao [2:03:45]:

Thank you, Mr. President.

And I thank the remarks by UK I think our Joint Working Group is fully aware of your remarks and I believe we will take your opinions into our consideration in our next step work. And I also believe that our work we will continue to work according to the mandate of the Executive Board, including the fourth decision on our roadmap and our timeline for working and our Working Group will continue to engage with the Boards in the coming work. Thank you.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [2:04:32]:

I thank Mr. Denk for his remarks as no additional delegations have signaled their wish to comment. We shall consider this matter later on agenda. Under Agenda Item 16, the adoption of draft decisions. Before we adjourn for the day, I believe that the Secretary of executive board, Mr. Andreas Franco, would like to make an announcement. Mr. Secretary, have a floor.


UNICEF Executive Board · Secretary · Andreas Franco [2:04:57]:

Thank you, Mr. President. As always, to remind the delegations that the informal consultations will resume on the draft decisions in this room immediately after this meeting. Thank you. I thank the Secretary for his announcement. This brings us to the end of this afternoon's meeting.


UNICEF Executive Board · President [2:05:15]:

The meeting is adjourned. Many thanks.