(4th plenary meeting) UNICEF Executive Board, 2026 Annual Session

Dear colleagues, can I ask you to take your seats, please? Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I'm pleased to be chairing this afternoon's meetings. Before we begin the plenary discussions, I will share a brief procedural note. Delegations are kindly reminded that the statements should remain within the agreed time limits, 3 minutes for individual delegations speaking in their national capacity and 5 minutes for delegations speaking on behalf of United Nations regional groups or for joint statements of 2 or more member states. Microphones will start blinking to alert speakers 1 minute before the end of their allotted time and speakers will be muted after their time has ended. At either the end of 3 minutes or the end of 5 minutes. We will now turn to the first item of this afternoon's meeting, item 9 of the agenda, the update on implementation efforts on the repositioning of the United Nations Development System. Presented for decision by the Board is an information note, which is accompanied by the United Nations Development System Reform Checklist— as an annex. The information note updates the Board on the implementation of General Assembly Resolution 72/279, provides updates on the implementation of General Assembly Resolution 76/4 on the review of the Resident Coordinator System in the context of General Assembly Resolution 79/226 on the QCPR, and addresses the requests contained in Executive Board Decision 2025/13. The Deputy Executive Director Partnerships, Ms. Kitty van der Heijden, will introduce the agenda item, and she will be followed by the Global Director Public Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Division, Ms. Mandeep O'Brien, who will present the update. Ms. van der Heijden, you have the floor. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and let me first of all congratulate you on the National Day of Iceland. May it be a joyous day for humanity and all of us here at the Board. Today we will be representing two similar but different items. They are very interconnected. This one is the Annual Progress Note on the UNDSR, UNASPS reform, which started since 2018. It is based on our annual survey. After that, we will go into the next agenda item, Item 10, around UN reform and UN at 80, which you have demanded as the Executive Board, so they're very connected, but they're slightly different. We're now 7 years into the repositioning of the UN Development System. And it's an important opportunity, especially as we go to the UN at 80, to reflect on what these reforms have yielded, what they're delivering for countries, and ultimately, what this is delivering for children. Let us not forget that children are one-third of humanity, but 50% of the world's extreme poor. So nothing could be more important. The goal of the UNDS reforms as they started are clear and remain important. That is to build a UN system at country level that's more coordinated, more effective, more responsive, and more cohesive, that can deliver greater impact at country level for vulnerable people through stronger partnerships and through more collaboration. And we have been, as you know well, fully committed to that from the beginning. Today we'll be talking about the six annual survey among our country office representatives, which shows encouraging progress in many, many fields. Our reps are reporting encouraging stronger alignment across the UN system. They report more joint programming, and they report important operational efficiencies that save costs and make us more agile. These are important building blocks for more integrated and effective UN responses and again, looking at the UN at 80. At the same time, we can also not pretend that we have reached UNDS nirvana quite yet. The results of the survey will show you that we will continue to have to push to ensure that the reforms actually lead to stronger, more measurable results for children. [SPEAKING GERMAN] While perceptions of system-wide reform are good, we see that perceptions are improving over time. What we need to do is to make sure that it actually delivers on the ground. We need to go from process to proof on the ground, making a tangible difference for children at country level. And today's briefing really is meant to take stock of the progress that we have achieved, to look at the challenges and how we overcome these together, how we strengthen country-level delivery, and how we improve the collaboration across the system. And I'm very pleased now to give the word to Mandeep O'Brien. Thank you.

Thank you, Kitty. Thank you, Madam President, and distinguished delegates. Apologies, please.

No, no, no.

I have to give it to the President before giving it to you.

You can go ahead.

Okay. Apologies for deviating from the protocol, Madam President. We welcome the opportunity to brief the Executive Board on UNICEF's ongoing efforts on implementing the UN Development System reform as mandated by the General Assembly. My presentation is anchored in the concrete findings from the 6th annual survey of all UNICEF country representatives globally. It thereby offers a bottom-up perspective to reform implementation. I will walk you through 5 key messages driven by the vision of collective action that must deliver results and meaningful results for children. I will not be speaking to this— I will be speaking to the slides, not reading from them. Next, please. The first message: our country program documents are anchored in the UN cooperation frameworks and tailored for children. And two points on this slide. The first, UNICEF has rigorously aligned its country program documents to the UN cooperation frameworks. And this has been confirmed through a robust internal quality review mechanism in UNICEF. 93% of our country representatives actively participated in the common country analysis. 93% of our country representatives— Thank you. Also proactively engaged in co-designing the UN cooperation framework. And I'm very pleased to share that last year, 100% of our country program documents were fully aligned with the cooperation frameworks and national development plans. The important point here is our intent is not just a mechanical, alignment. Rather, it is about meaningful contribution that can lead to tangible results for children. The second point is that CPDs and cooperation frameworks are not duplicative instruments. These are mutually reinforcing, and allow me to explain why. The cooperation framework provides overarching strategic direction to the UN's collective work in a country. And the CPDs translate that into concrete, specific, measurable results for children, which are aligned to national priorities for children and agreed with national governments and partners. And importantly, the results are backed by an allocation of resources. So, this means that CPDs are not administrative tools, but accountability instruments between a programme country, UNICEF, and the Executive Board. Next, please. The second message is partnerships can multiply impact, and 3 points on this slide. First, UNICEF's triple mandate of child rights, development programming, and humanitarian action gives us the unique comparative advantage in our joint work. In fact, I'm pleased to share that in 2025, around 90% of our country offices actively engaged in interagency funding initiatives. Amounting to a total of $300 million, while noting that pooled funds complement bilateral funding. The second point, last year we were able to lead or co-lead around 30 joint programs globally. And let me now make this a bit tangible and real for you with two examples. A, in Honduras, UNDP and UNICEF, with support from the Joint SDG Fund, were able to bring in an additional 80,000 children to schools across over 140 municipalities. B, in Sahel, WFP and UNICEF continue to implement the German-supported joint program on resilient social services, reaching 6 million people last year across the 5 countries of Sahel, 50% being children. In fact, if we pick Niger, 80% of the villages in Niger that were covered under this joint program no longer depend on humanitarian aid during the lean season. Thank you. This is impact at scale. The third is we do face challenges, for example, competition for scarce resources, as well as cumbersome pooled fund processes, and we are working with the rest of the system to find some practical solutions. For example— Maintaining a laser focus and discipline on our respective comparative advantages so that the joint funds are not spread too thinly, but are allocated to strategic outcomes of the collective framework. Next, please. The third message is about turning UN reform into results for children. And two points here. The first, a critical aspect of UNICEF's contribution to UNDS reform is mainstreaming child rights, our critical normative mandate. And here, we work together with OHCHR and the resident coordinators on implementing the SG's guidance on mainstreaming child rights. Second, last year we made considerable progress. Engagement with RCs in this regard increased to 83%. Thank you. That said, 26% of our country representatives believe that this boosted collective action for children, which means it is an area which we continue to improve together with the RCs, making sure there is stronger advocacy on child rights mandate. Next, please. The fourth message: in 2025, We sustained our support to the RC system amidst declining resources. Two points here. First, in 2025, UNICEF remained the second largest UN contributor to funding the RC system, at a time when we ourselves went through substantial cuts— and painful cuts. We contributed around $18 million, comprising of $8.3 million in UN SDG cost sharing, $6.1 million as a result of applying the 1% levy, and $3 million in local-level support. I have to say that going forward, with a projected 20% reduction in UNICEF's income, it is going to be very challenging for us to sustain this level of financial support, and we do call on member states to find predictable and sustainable funding for the RC system. Over and above our financial contribution, I'm also pleased to share some examples of in-kind contribution. 8 UNICEF staffers now serve as full-time Resident Coordinators. 8 UNICEF country representatives are currently serving as RCs ad interim as we speak, and 11 UNICEF staff members are a part of the talent pipeline for the RC system. I am also very pleased to share that our performance appraisal system for all country representatives includes a mandatory assessment area to track the UNICEF country representative's engagement with and contribution to the UN Country Team and the RCs. Second, as a wider point, every efficiency gain gives us savings which can be directed to children. To treat a child suffering from severe acute malnutrition, it costs us around $350 per child. This means that even modest savings can be translated into more vaccines, more RUTF sachets, and more children being reached. This for us is the benchmark for the UNDS reform success. Next, please. This is the final message 5, which is driving efficiency through shared services and common solutions. Two points here. First, since 2019, UNICEF's active participation in the UN-wide business operations strategy has generated savings to the tune of $100 million in system-wide savings. Of this, last year it was around $19 million. In addition, 50% of UNICEF's country offices globally are in common premises, and we are proactively engaged in all the common back office pilots globally. In fact, we are delighted to join up with UNOPS in rolling the most recent Common Back Office in Pakistan. Second, we are also working hard with the rest of the system to find some practical solutions to some of the operational bottlenecks. For example, we are committed to enhancing the Mutual Recognition Policy, simplifying our business processes, as well as balancing the burden sharing among ourselves. In conclusion, Madam President, distinguished delegates, children are at the heartbeat of all efficiency drives. Reform and efficiency matter only if they help us achieve more results for children, better and at scale.

Thank you.

I thank you, Madam President, and return the floor to you.

Thank you to Ms. van der Heijden and to Ms. O'Brien for their updates, introductions, and remarks. I now open the floor for discussion, and first on my list, I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Dominican Republic.

Madam President, Executive Director, distinguished delegates, it's my honor to make this statement on behalf of Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and my own country, the Dominican Republic. As we approach 2030 with just a fraction of the SDGs achieved, the urgency for transformative action is clear. The comprehensive review is a vital framework to assess the progress and to look at the strategy of UNICEF. We recognize that we need a UN system development system that is effective, that is essential to achieve results for children. We encourage UNICEF to continue its participation in joint and pooled projects. This is a need for millions of children around the world. Every efficiency achieved should achieve more space for delivery at a country level. For children, operative ability is supplies— services provided. Better data means that children with disabilities and in situations of conflict or on the move are no longer invisible. We welcome the progress made and the efficiency gains, which means more resources for children. Strengthening the presence and cooperation at the country level remain at the heart of the reforms of the system. UNICEF has shown commitment to the reformed system as an important contributor to to the resident coordinator system. We encourage greater coordination between the UN country systems and we call on the UNICEF country teams to ensure the joint planning and implementation with other organization bodies. Joint programming partnerships in child nutrition and participation in common offices are ways in which this reform can lead to to more effective, consistent support for children. The modernization of data and vital systems is another critical area. We welcome the leadership shown by UNICEF in the UN's Common Data System under UNATI. This is an initiative which will be improving the existing data systems to ensure that the systems are more detectable, interoperable, and— Interoperable. Easy to use. This is not just a technical exercise. This is about making children more visible and definitively this doesn't— this isn't a one-size-fits-all situation. It should be based on need including income level, fragility, and geography. It should— we recognize that this is particularly important for the least developed countries, for small island developing states, and for countries in situations of conflict or post-conflict. Presence there remains vital when mandates cannot solely be implemented through the RC's office. The reform should ensure further accountability. It shouldn't dilute mandates. For this board, the program country document— remain vital. And this should be support— they should be supported by governments. Aligning this with the cooperation framework is necessary, but we need to ensure a pragmatic approach to the country program documents to thus protect continuous service. It also— reform also needs predictable funding. Therefore, pooled and regular funds should be strengthened and in line with the pact for financing. Looking ahead to the future, we welcome the reflections of the directors on how the UNAT can ensure that the operational reforms lead to tangible improvements for children on the ground. In particular, we are interested in understanding how you are measuring the efficiency gains made through the entire system and how they contribute to improving national context. We would be grateful for your view on how you will preserve the governance structures and instruments at the country level, including country program documents throughout the reform processes, ensuring that the distinctive responsibilities and mandates of every entity are fully respected. We'd also like to hear how you will maintain member states— keep member states fully involved in decision-making as the reform proposals evolve. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Dominican Republic and I give the floor to the Permanent Representative of Netherlands.

Thank you, Madam Vice President, Madam Executive Director, Excellencies. I deliver this statement on behalf of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the EU as a donor, and my own country, the Kingdom of the Netherlands. We share the ambition to make the UN development system more coherent, effective, efficient, and impactful at country level. And UNICEF is central to to that ambition. Progress has been made, and yes, the system is still not delivering on its full potential. We need a UN that acts as one UN in country under the leadership of empowered resident coordinators. First, the cooperation framework should be the single, constant, system-wide strategy at country— country level, in line with national priorities. Country program documents must be generally derived from and not loosely aligned with cooperation frameworks. Sequencing the approval of CPDs after finalization of the frameworks should be the standard. We encourage UNICEF to ensure its country-level reporting clearly captures its contribution to cooperation framework results and joint UN outcomes. It is also key that UNICEF ensures live work plans and resource pipelines as— are visible to the RC throughout implementation. So here's my first question. What more could UNICEF do at global, regional, and country level to further elevate the cooperation frameworks as strategic central frameworks? Second, consistently and fully support the Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator frameworks.— leadership, sorry. This includes recognizing the RCHC as the default strategic interlocutor for high-level engagement with government and donors, systematically involving the RC in major strategic decisions, and ensuring that project proposals agreed directly with donors are fully aligned to the cooperation framework and are shared with the RCHC in advance. That brings me to my second Can you share which challenges UNICEF faces that limit your ability to do so? We also support a stronger role for RCs in the selection and performance assessments of country representatives. We welcome the introduction of measures to more systematically incorporate RC input to performance assessments and encourage UNICEF to further its effort in that regard. Third, tailor UNICEF in-country presence to national context, comparative advantage, and the needs identified in the cooperation framework. We encourage UNICEF to draw on the system-wide evaluation on progress toward a new generation of UNCTs and meaningfully contribute to the UN country team reconfiguration. Fourth, advance shared services. We are encouraged by the— system-wide efficiency gains and count on UNICEF to build on this progress, the number of common back offices at country levels remain limited. So our third question is, what in your view are the main obstacles to establishing common back offices, and do you have suggestions on how these obstacles can be overcome? Finally, we acknowledge that as member states, we also have an important role. Thank you. Funding practices must incentivize collaboration rather than fragmentation. The current imbalance between core and earmarked resources and the proliferation of short-term project-based funding undermines strategic planning and joint work. So that brings me to my last and fourth question. Beyond funding, what is the one key change member states can enact that would enable you to reduce competition and better align with cooperation frameworks. Madam Vice President, UNICEF's normative mandate and operational presence make it indispensable for achieving the SDGs and realizing children's rights. By fully embracing the system-wide reforms, UNICEF can enhance its impact and help the UN deliver as one where it matters most, in the lives of children and their communities. I thank you. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of the Republic of Korea. You have the floor, please.

Thank you, Madam President. The Republic of Korea appreciates UNICEF's continued efforts to advance the repositioning of UNDS. While the international community has made important progress towards sustainable development, achievements continue to vary significantly across both goals and regions. In this regard, we would like to highlight the following two points. First, the Republic of Korea is confident that UNICEF's expertise and strength will continue to be fully leveraged throughout the reform process. At the same time, UNDS reform should be guided not simply by the preservation of institutional roles, but by the pursuit of greater collective impact. It is therefore essential that UN agencies double down on efforts to improve coherence and proactively reduce duplication and fragmentation in close collaboration with the RCs. In this context, we also trust that UNICEF will continue to work in a mutually reinforcing manner with the RCs and other UN entities, contributing to stronger collective results in the field. Second, we hope that UNICEF's distinct mandate and focus on children will not be diluted through the reform process. Ultimately, the success of reform should be measured not by improvements in procedures or coordination arrangements alone, but by the concrete difference it makes in the lives of people on the ground. We would thus welcome further information on how the benefits generated through the UN DSD reform are being translated into measurable and tangible result for children at the country level, including the integrated and shared supply chains developed together with WPP. In addition, we would appreciate further clarification on how special attention to the needs of girls will be maintained throughout the reform process. In closing, the Republic of Korea remains committed to supporting a more coherent, efficient, and result-oriented UNDS that delivers for those most in need. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of the Republic of Korea, and I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Nigeria. Please, you have the floor.

Thank you very much, Madam President. Mr. President, Nigeria wishes to thank UNICEF for this update on the implementation of the repositioning of the United Nations Development System and commend the organization for its continued commitment to advancing a more coherent, effective, accountable, and result-oriented United Nations system. We therefore welcome UNICEF's efforts to align its work with broader system-wide reforms while maintaining its unique mandate and comparative advantage in promoting the rights and well-being of all children. Nigeria recognizes that the repositioning of the United Nations Development System represents a significant opportunity to strengthen collective support for member states in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Nigeria appreciates the progress made in strengthening collaboration with United Nations country enhancing joint programming and supporting the resident coordinator system. We believe that greater strategic coordination among UN entities can improve efficiency, reduce duplication, and enable more integrated responses to the complex and interconnected challenges facing children globally, in particular in developing countries. At the same time, It is important that efforts to improve coherence and effectiveness do not come at the expense of mandate delivery, national ownership, or responsiveness to country-specific priorities. The reform process should continue to be guided by the principles of country leadership, national priorities, and the needs of program countries. How would UNICEF ensure that homegrown initiatives are supported and promoted. My delegation also underscores the importance of predictable and sustainable financing for the development system. Adequate resources remain essential to ensuring that these reforms— these reform efforts translate into tangible development outcome at the country level. To address funding gaps while preserving and strengthening the operational capacities of agencies, funds, and programs. As discussions in the broader UN reform continue, including within the context of the UNAID, it is essential that efficiency— efficiency gains are pursued in a manner that strengthens rather than diminishes the capacity of the United Nations to support member states. In this regard, the voices and perspectives of program countries should remain central to the reform deliberations. We look forward to continued collaboration with UNICEF and all development partners in advancing sustainable development and improving the lives of all children everywhere. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Nigeria, and I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of the United States.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The United States notes the update and welcomes UNICEF's steadfast commitment to UN development system reform. We take particular note of the cumulative savings of over $100 million since 2019 in cumulative operational savings through effective collaboration with other agencies on joint operational initiatives. And we welcome the points made earlier in this segment emphasizing that every dollar saved can go go back to saving children's lives. These are critical steps toward UN development system coherence and back-to-basics reforms that we expect to see more of. We emphasize that development is only sustainable when it leads to economic independence, not perpetual dependence on international aid. The goal of the UN development system must be to work itself out of a job as soon as possible. As history has continuously demonstrated, trade, not aid, is the true driver of towards sustained shared progress. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of the United States. I now invite the Secretariat to respond to these comments. Ms. von der Leyen?

Thank you, Madam President, and thank you all our friends, colleagues, representatives for your fantastic questions. I think this shows a level of engagement on a topic that is truly important and that has an impact at country level on how we deliver, what we do, for whom we do it, and how timely we are enabled to do that. I heard a number of questions that are also related to UNEAD 80, so apologies. Perhaps if we don't deal with everything under this agenda item, certain issues may come up again under the next agenda item. That is not to in any way disavow the many relevant questions asked, but I'll try my best across me and Mandip to answer as much as I can. To the colleague of the Dominican Republic, on behalf of group, thank you very much for all your encouragement to continue working more on joint programs and pooled funding. This clearly is also our intention and you will have seen As you have seen in Mandeep's presentation, almost 90% of our country offices are engaged. We lead on this. We want to lean in because this is a way to do better for children. The issue of data that you mentioned is clearly highly important. It is also why colleague Didi Omar— Abdi leads on the data work in the context of UN@80. So, visibility, traceability, transparency, and results monitoring are clearly very much also in our hearts and mind. There were many references to reform that should not lead to a dilution of mandates. For us, it is really important that we should keep our focus on delivering for the people that need us most. And again, children are 50% of the extreme poor in this world. So whatever we do, we have to— maintain a focus on making sure that any reform is measured, mapped against better results, faster results, reaching further, and not just in monetary terms of how much money is saved. That will remain the guiding light of how we would like to see the metric of success. On the funding mix, several questions asked.— and here it is important, and we'll come back to that in the next agenda item— we really need, as UN, not just as UNICEF, as UN as a whole, a mix of funding instruments. We need core, we need earmarked, as per the Funding Compact, earmarked funding for agencies, we need pooled funding, we need a mix of instruments to be able to reach children in time, and I would very much welcome any shared commitments as per the Funding Compact from our members and friends here. A question was asked, how do we reduce funding competition among UN agencies? This obviously is one of the hardest nuts to crack, but this is also where we really, really need you as member states, because we are being asked those questions, but it's extremely important that the representative of all your governments that are participating in the many other boards from ministries of health, ministries of education, ministries of justice, ministries of health, ministries of trade, in the many other boards that are not UNICEF or New York-based, that they hear the same drive for UN reform, for cohesion, for collaborative approaches, and a focus on results. And this type of coherence is not always heard and therefore it is perhaps not always as cohesive as we would like it to see. But I think we can do better with your help. On the issue of cooperation frameworks vis-à-vis CPDs, I think this is a relevant question. I think there remains a level of confusion, if I may, around what these instruments are. They are really very different. They're very complementary, but they're not the same and they serve different purposes. A cooperation framework really is our collective strategic direction how we, as a UN development system at country level, intend to operate. It is very clearly always signed off by a government and our CPDs are always aligned with the cooperation frameworks, but— Thank you. The CPD is a different typology of instrument. It translates those collective priorities into country-owned, government-endorsed, Executive Board-approved programs in a transparent way where we are able to articulate what the results are that we intend to achieve and allocate budget against these results. A cooperation framework does not give that level— of detail, neither that level of transparency and accountability. And that is why they're different. Do we have to align better and can we substantively do better? Absolutely. As we discussed in the previous Board, any CPD that comes to this Board is always verified and checked against a letter from the resident coordinator that it is aligned in terms of the priority it sets. You have asked, and we— give you that letter from the resident coordinator. That has always been a standard operating practice. We simply do not transmit a CPD that isn't signed off by an RC. Can we do better on how we substantively align these? Absolutely, and we're also ready to engage in those conversations. Let me see. —where else I wanted to chime in. Thank you also for the many colleagues that referenced how important reform is, but that it should not distract or dilute in any way our ability to achieve results for children. Very often I am asked, and rightfully so, and you should hold our feet to the fire,— what does UNICEF do to achieve UN reform and to improve and deliver faster? But it is equally important for a normative convention-driven organization such as we are that the question is, what does reform deliver for children? And I think the survey also should give all of us some reason to pause, that that system, including the RC, can and must do better for children.. And so this must be a two-way street, and we are very keen to make it work. Let me, last of all, perhaps say on the country configuration and what we look like at country level, as it was asked. It is very important for us that when we look at the country configuration, that that is driven by evidence, by data on impact, by national priorities., as was referenced by a number of the member states, and it should not be driven by budget pressure to minimize. We shouldn't reduce the ability of the UN, including of UNICEF, to reach children that need this, because then literally, pun intended here, we will throw out the baby with the bathwater, and we simply cannot afford to do that. Madam President, with your permission, I will hand it over Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Kitty, and really deeply appreciate the interventions of the board members and your advice, your feedback, and pertinent questions. I think Kitty has eloquently spoken to a number of points. Allow me to speak to 4 of the questions, and then we could always take it up as a follow-up to this session. I think first is, with huge thanks to Dominican Republic, as well as to Nigeria, I think between the two statements and the questions, we've heard you all loud and clear that what matters most is delivering for children in the frontlines, and I would say all lines. I think you've asked us to preserve the voice of program countries. This is something we take very seriously. As national governments, you own the CPDs. Let's be clear. You are driving the country program documents, and it is in line with national priorities for children. So— and I think as Kitty has highlighted, you endorse the CPDs and they come to the Executive Board then for review and approval. So, just underscoring that point and to Nigeria specifically in terms of the response to national priorities for children, that is a given for us. The second is to the distinguished Permanent Representative from Netherlands. Thank you for the joint statement and for the insightful comments. I think you had a couple of Thank you for the specific questions. I would just try to complement what Kitty has said. You asked if what more could UNICEF do to elevate the cooperation frameworks, and here maybe just a couple of practical things. I think first and foremost to say that we take very seriously the finding from the system-wide independent evaluation of the alignment of CPDs with cooperation framework. I think all those recommendations over the last couple of years, we have— we continue to persevere to implement them. Now, what does this mean in practice? Already you've heard about the alignment. As I said, for us, it is not mechanical. It has to be substantive and strategic. And what does this mean in practice? I would like to give you an example. If we look at the joint program on— global joint program on preventing female genital mutilation, this runs in 18 countries and we are implementing this together with UNFPA and WHO. And there are some very impressive results. If we look at last year, across 5 of the 10 countries, we were able to reach Half a million girls, we were able to protect them from this harmful practice. I'm giving you this example to say that by delivering on this result, it is very tightly in sync with the cooperation frameworks in these 5 countries, which has an overarching result area, which is empowerment and protection of girls and women. So that is the alignment, walking the talk in practice, in action on the ground. And we really feel that is what the conversation needs to be about, and that is where we need to make the improvements as a system. Just to conclude the response to this question, I would also give the practical example. How do we implement all these joint results on the ground. Having served in several UN country teams, I would say that the one thing that is practical on the ground is the result groups. These are the cooperation framework outcome groups. They have different names in different country contexts, and we, for example, as UNICEF, lead or co-lead the key results groups in areas of our comparative advantage. These become very practical vehicles for us to bring together big, medium-sized, and small agencies to rally behind the collective outcomes. Each one is transparently sharing what the agency is doing according to its comparative advantage. We build synergies. We check against duplications and fragmentations and see how all of this is contributing to the cooperation framework results. Thank you. The third question, which again from the joint statement came in, was about the Resident Coordinator System. I just wanted to complement what Kitty said. You know, we do support the RC system. There is no doubt about it. We are also financially contributing to it. And RC has enormous value in facilitating coherence is the coordinator, is the convener, and in some ways is the gateway, but is not the gatekeeper. And I think this is where— because you asked about some of the challenges facing, and this is where we need to be clear in terms of accountability. When it comes to line ministries such as health, education, nutrition, water, this is where the agencies that have their comparative advantage must maintain direct access to the line ministries for the work that we do. I give a concrete example. Most recently in Bangladesh, we were able to directly access the Health Ministry and within 3 days we were able to deploy measles vaccines to contain the measles outbreak. We did not have the luxury of channeling that support through another layer of cooperation— of coordination. So again, just to have a more pragmatic and balanced approach. And in this regard, where we do believe there is room to strengthen and improve, Resident Coordinators must firmly lead on the cooperation frameworks. They need to do that, and all of us in the system have to support, facilitate, and respect that rule. At the same time, the alignment of agency programming instruments, be it CPDs or some other names by which they are called by some of the other agencies, it's the RC that needs to make sure that these instruments across the system are aligned with the cooperation framework. And wherever there are pooled funds, They don't work everywhere, but wherever they do, the RC plays a critical role in facilitating the allocation of the resources, fully guided by transparent parameters that determine the decision-making as to which agencies get the resources in line with their comparative advantages. I think to conclude this point on the RC system, I would just bring up the issue of the mutual accountability framework that is the MAF. We have a MAF 2.0, which is almost like a compact between RCs and UN country teams. And we are all set as a system to develop the 3.0 version, and there we hopefully can tackle some of these practical issues and challenges and make it even better. And this is in response to the Republic of Korea's important point around making sure that it's mutually reinforcing. We already have a compact, we can improve it, get to the next level. A final question around the common back offices, because this is important, and we will speak to this partly in the next session as well, but just to say, since it was posed in the joint statement as well as by Republic of Korea, let me just say a couple of things. The first is— Thank you. Those were cumulative savings that we quoted from our annual survey. They are system-wide savings. We are doing everything we can to push on the implementation of these BOS strategies on the ground. We do face some specific obstacles, as was asked. For example, there are divergent standard operating procedures across— Thank you. Different parts of the system. There is uneven capacity among the operational agencies to deliver this in action. There are also different ERP and IT platforms, as well as some divergent financial and HR rules. I'm just being very candid in terms of what are the operational bottlenecks. But the good news is— Thank you. The High Level Committee on Management, and where our DED Management, Hanan Suleiman, sits, and where we are driving for efficiency initiatives, is looking very closely and finding practical solutions to these particular challenges. I think the bottom line, as the U.S. has rightly reminded us, as have others, that the efficiency is not just about reducing the administrative burden, reducing cost. It is about ultimately saving lives, and that is of children. So, thank you for reiterating that. On that note, Madam President, I hand it back to you.

I thank the Secretary, Ms. van der Heijden and Ms. O'Brien, for their remarks. I don't see any other speakers, so if there are no additional comments, We shall consider the update on the implementation efforts on the repositioning of the United Nations Development System later in the session under Agenda Item 19, the adoption of draft decisions. Distinguished delegates, we will now turn to Item 10 of the agenda, the update on the UN80 Initiative and implementation by UNICEF. The Board will receive an update on UNICEF engagement in the UNEAT initiative pursuant to Decision 2026(1), 2026(1), which was adopted at the first regular session earlier this year. I will once again call upon Ms. van der Heijden, Deputy Executive Director Partnerships, to introduce the agenda item, and will then again call upon Ms. O'Brien, Global Director Public Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Division to present the update. Ms. van der Heijden, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President, and apologies for taking the floor again. I think it doesn't come as a surprise that UNICEF thinks that the UN@80 initiative by the Secretary-General really came at a defining moment. As we turn 80 as a system, the question before all the member states, but also before all of us as UN entities, really is, do we have the collective will to do better? Are we able to reform boldly enough? And will we ensure collectively that the UN system is able to respond effectively, not just to today's challenges, but also to the new and emerging challenges in the world. And in our case, obviously, that is around the wellbeing and survival of children. It is from algorithmic addiction and AI without guardrails, to climate change, to nutrition, to conflict, and everything in between. And our answer as UNICEF is a resounding yes, yes, and yes. Thank you. We are not a passive observer in any of these discussions. In the entire process, we have engaged as a co-architect, as a leader. We're bringing concrete offerings. We are bringing tested models. We are coming in with a clear-eyed focus on what reform should ultimately deliver. For us as UNICEF, the metric of success of this entire endeavor is not a new organizational fork, a new organogram, or a process. It has to be about effectiveness and impact on the ground. It has to be about, are we able, as a UN system, to deliver faster, to deliver better, and to deliver further for vulnerable communities that need us?

Thank you.

In too many meetings, we focus on process and we focus on savings. And these are absolutely essential, but they are not an end in themselves. They are a means to an end, that is allowing the UN system at country level to simply do better because the needs are rising. That's the lens how we have approached and will continue to approach UN reform, including our own internal reforms. And with that, I would like to pass on the word again to, with your permission, Madam President, Mandip O'Brien.

Thank you, Kitty. Thank you, Madam President, distinguished delegates. I'm just trying to check if the presentation is up. Yeah, thank you. We welcome the opportunity to brief the Executive Board on our contributions to the U.N. AT Initiative. Next, please. So, two points on this slide. First, UNICEF continues to maintain a forward-leaning posture by proactively engaging in six specific work packages in line with our comparative advantage while continuing to provide input to several other work packages of the UNAT. Second, just to echo Kitty, we are driven by the vision that UNAT should not be judged by the ambition of its architecture, instead by the UN's collective ability to deliver for children, particularly those hardest to reach. I will now speak to a few top-line updates in some of these work packages, amplifying what is the metrics of success. Next, please. Starting off with Work Package 2, which you heard about yesterday as well to some extent, this is on the new humanitarian compact. And there are two points here that I would make. The first is this compact has three interconnected elements where we are leading or co-leading. A, together with WFP and UNDOS, we have co-created an integrated supply chain which has now embraced several agencies and entities in order to support coordinated procurement, optimize global logistics, and harmonize in-country logistics, which is currently being rolled out in 5 countries as we speak: Afghanistan, Gaza, Haiti, Sudan, and Somalia. So, it's testing the proof of concept. B, on emergency nutrition, we are working hard in the interagency space to clarify roles and responsibilities and have come up with a unified supply offer that helps us to tackle moderate and severe acute malnutrition. See, on humanitarian diplomacy, as you heard yesterday, we continue to work with OCHA, IOM, WFP, and UNHCR —on principled engagement with conflicting parties to secure access in the high-profile crisis, but also in under-recognized crisis such as Afghanistan, South Sudan, as well as DRC. The second point to conclude on this slide—it's not written on the slide—is the metrics of success. Think of this: whether access is secured or denied has real consequences for children. It means whether children survive or die, whether vaccines reach them before an outbreak does, whether supplies move, whether kids are visible in data systems. That is the metrics of success for this work package. Next, please. Work Package 5 on UN country team reconfiguration, which dovetails with some of the issues that we were just speaking about. 3 points here. First is, you've just heard that the country program documents are rigorously aligned with the UN cooperation frameworks. These are mutually reinforcing and we have explained how each has its value add, both are essential. And the CPD is an important accountability instrument between a program country, UNICEF, and the Executive Board. We are very supportive of pragmatic flexibility in the sequencing of these two instruments. Second— As part of our new strategic plan, which you as our Executive Board have approved, UNICEF has already applied a differentiated, context-specific approach to country presence, combining indicators of income and fragility while noting that no one size fits all. Third, What is the metrics of success for this work package? For us, it is about whether the right capabilities are present in the right places where children depend on them. A simplified structural configuration should not look good just on paper, but it must deliver for children in remote communities, those kids who are trapped in protracted crisis and those in middle-income countries that are grappling with high inequalities. Next, please. Work Package 14 on Unified Services Roadmap. 3 points here. The first, standing back from this, this is a two-way street. So, as UNICEF, we offer, shared services through our global shared service center. We're already doing it for some of the agencies, and we are looking at scaling it up, specifically on services such as HR administration, learning, payroll, treasury, common insurance services. As the largest procurement entity in the UN system, UNICEF has also negotiated long-term agreements with global freight forwarders on behalf of more than 30 entities. In the same breath, as a second point, we also receive services. We, for example, the UN Booking Hub, the UN Fleet from WFP and UNHCR in over 200 locations. We are actively engaged, as I mentioned, in all the common back office pilots and are committed to improving these and taking them to scale. And 50% of the country offices are in common premises. Third and final point on this work package is the metrics of success. When administrative processes are streamlined, resources, both human and financial, get freed up. And they can be redirected to children, as was the point in the previous session. But what does this mean in reality? This means faster procurement of life-saving supplies. It also means increasing time of frontline staff to engage with communities. So efficiencies, at the end of the day, is not just about cutting costs, but about saving lives. Next, please. Work Package 16 on UN System Data Commons. Two points here, building on what was said in the previous session. First, we are delighted that UNICEF co-leads this work package, our Executive Director, together with DESA and the USG Guy Ryder's office. Thank you. 26 entities have signed up to this work package, and I want to be clear, the ambition here is not to create a massive, humongous central database. Rather, it is to make sure that the data systems of agencies are easily accessible, interoperable— that is, they speak to each other— and are AI ready. The second point, metrics of success, is that governments are equipped with better quality data to act quickly. Governments cannot plan for children that they cannot see, and for children, better data means being seen, being counted, as well as being involved in decisions that affect their lives. That is the metrics of success. Next, please. Finally, the Work Package 18 on funding mechanisms, and two points here. First, again building on the previous session, UNICEF very much supports a balanced, predictable, multi-year funding ecosystem that includes— Thank you. Earmarked funding, core funding, and pooled funding. It's not a question of either or, and I tell you why. The core resources are not overhead costs. 80% of the core resources for UNICEF go to country programs for children. 60% of that goes to— English. LDCs, and 50% goes to Sub-Saharan Africa. Core Resources help us to direct resources easily and quickly to where they are needed the most. It gives us speed, scale, and support to systems that you have asked us to commit ourselves to. Core Resources also supports global enablers such as global supply chains and clusters, as you heard yesterday. The core is complemented by pooled funds, which helps to support coordinated response, and by earmarked funds, which help to amplify certain targeted programmatic outcomes. Together, This interplay helps us to achieve the impact at scale. The Ebola, which we heard about yesterday, is an excellent example of how the funding mix has been in full play as we speak and have this conversation. Second is metrics of success. For this work package is a healthy mix. Which you have committed to as member states already in the funding compact. Any narrowing of this funding mix risks interrupting services, and children who will be affected the hardest are those who are furthest away from the services.

Last. Next, please.

So in conclusion, Madam President, distinguished delegates, I'd like to end on a personal note. Having served in Sudan before and during the war, having traveled in all 18 states, there is one image that has stuck in my heart and that resonates across multiple country contexts in— on this planet, and that image is of a mother carrying a child to a health clinic. The mother does not see these work packages. She does not see these reformed tracks, but what she does see is if the medicines are available in the health center cabinets, if there is a trained health worker to cater urgently to her child and whether her child gets the support she desperately needs. That is the litmus test of the UNAT. On that note, Madam President, I hand it back to you. Thank you.

Thank you to Ms. van der Heijden for her introduction and to Ms. O'Brien for her remarks. I now open the the floor for discussion. And first on my list is Germany. Distinguished delegate of Germany, please, you have the floor.

Madam President, distinguished members of the Executive Board, I deliver this statement on behalf of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Japan, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, the Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and my own country, Germany. We reiterate our full support for the UN Haiti Initiative and our strong commitment to an accountable transparent and efficient, fit for purpose UN. In line with the QCPR, we support reforms that strengthen system-wide coherence, complementarity, and impact, while reducing fragmentation. It is essential for us that the UN development system deliver as one. Reform must bring tangible benefits for people on the ground and support the implementation of the mandates agreed by member states. We appreciate the efforts of UNICEF to share information on UNAT workstreams and agency-specific work packages, and acknowledge the added pressure on already stretched resources that additional demands entail. At the same time, we reiterate the central governance role of the Executive Boards in considering and recommending within their remit any proposed restructuring. We therefore underline the importance of an inclusive process based on an open, substantive engagement with member states. In this regard, further clarity on how the Future Focus Initiative relates to and is differentiated from the broader UNAT reform agenda, particularly how the two efforts reinforce each other, would help provide a more complete picture of UNICEF's reform trajectory. We look forward to receiving further information on the implementation of UNAT reforms including practical challenges UNICEF encounters. Concrete examples from UNICEF country offices and relevant impact indicators help to demonstrate how reforms are improving outcomes for children and supporting more coherent and responsive UN country teams. As reforms move from design to implementation, understanding operational constraints and opportunities, resource implications, capacity requirements, and potential risks and benefits will be important to ensure that reform ambitions remain aligned with delivery realities. We encourage UNICEF to adopt a clearly solution-oriented approach, not only identifying challenges, but also presenting concrete steps to overcome them. Looking ahead, sharing an information note with the Executive Board well in advance of the session is essential for us to fulfill our oversight role.. We therefore ask UNICEF to do so for the next board session. We acknowledge UNICEF's important role in developing integrated and shared supply chains together with WFP and advancing on common logistics arrangements and pooled back-office functions. We encourage UNICEF to continue these efforts in close collaboration with other UN entities at global, regional, and country level. System-wide elements of the UN80 Initiative will also contribute significantly to strengthening the effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, and accountability of the UN development system. They will enable entities to better deliver on their mandates at country level and to contribute to better coordinated, more coherent UN country teams under the empowerment— under the empowered leadership of resident and humanitarian coordinators. We encourage UNICEF to draw on the system-wide evaluation on progress towards a new generation of UNCTs and to contribute meaningfully to the UN country team reconfiguration. In this context, we recall the recent discussions during the ECOSOC operational activities for development segment. The UN Secretary-General's report emphasized that the cooperation framework should be the single costed system-wide strategy at country level in line with national priorities. Agency-specific country program documents must be sequenced after and generally be derived from the cooperation framework. However, as highlighted by the Secretary-General, in practice, 84% of cooperation framework processes are adjusted to agency timelines. Against this backdrop, we would welcome UNICEF's view on how sequencing could be improved. We are confident that getting the sequencing right while remaining attentive to country contexts, is possible without creating operational gaps in the program delivery. We expect UNICEF to move decisively from commitment to full implementation of the reforms that we are— we already agreed several years ago. The reforms that were endorsed by the UNGA must finally be carried out in a timely, consistent, and comprehensive manner, especially at country level. We look forward to learning more about how the full range of UNAT reforms will support to support UNICEF's mandate, operations, and country-level development, and humanitarian impact. Reform should be assessed not only through the lens of efficiency or institutional configuration in the context of declining resources, but also in terms of whether it strengthens or weakens delivery of UNICEF's mandate. We remain fully committed to engaging constructively in shaping a coherent way forward on UNAT. Thank you.

Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Germany and I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of France. Please, you have the floor.

Madame la Présidente, Madame la Directrice générale.

Madame President, Executive Director, I'd like to thank you, Director, and thank you for the energy to ensure that UNICEF continues to play its role in an increasingly difficult context. France counts on UNICEF to continue to be fully committed to the UNAT initiative and the reform. This is an historic opportunity to reinvent the work of the UN, particularly in the field. France welcomes the efforts already made by UNICEF to implement common services, to harness the use of personnel. These are all essential steps. Steps. It's important to continue them in order to protect children, to respect international humanitarian law and the respective mandates of agencies. The implementation of the integrated supply chain is an opportunity to strengthen the swift nature of the humanitarian supply chain for the direct benefit of the beneficiary communities. We welcome the coordinated purchase and global logistical chain work with UNICEF, we underscore the importance of ensuring that this integrated approach allows us to— allowing us to improve— measure efficiency gains. For France, things are clear. The RCs are the guarantors of the programmatic rollout of the UN on the ground. The consequences the program documents should be a practical reflection of what's happening in the country under the coordination of the RC. We believe that the RC should be able to implement this as is needed. In this reform period, we stand alongside UNICEF and all of its partners to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable.

Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of France, and I next give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Australia, followed by El Salvador. Australia, you have the floor.

Thank you, President. Australia thanks UNICEF for the update and recognizes the important progress achieved. Under the UNAIDI initiative, Australia seeks ambitious system-wide reforms to improve how the UN delivers sustainable development outcomes on the ground. Firstly, we underscore the importance of strong interagency coordination and empowered resident and humanitarian coordinators. With constrained resources and rising needs, the UN development and humanitarian systems must operate coherently and effectively. Strengthening these roles will be critical to addressing fragmentation and better aligning the UN's work with national and regional priorities. We support efforts to strengthen available tools, including funding and accountability arrangements. We call on UNICEF to support the empowerment of resident and humanitarian coordinators, enabling them to drive integrated and coherent country-level responses. We also encourage deeper engagement within UN country teams, including through joint planning and shared service models that reduce duplication and maximize impact? What barriers remain to fully realizing these benefits? Secondly, Australia welcomes UNICEF's work under the Integrated Supply Chain Initiative and commends your leadership. We encourage these efforts to reduce duplication, improve delivery, and increase value for money. As implementation progresses, we urge continued focus on clear performance metrics, robust risk management, and transparency to demonstrate results. Early evidence from pilot contexts will be important to inform scale-up. How is UNICEF coordinating with other UN agencies, including UNFPA and WFP, to harmonize global supply chains? Thirdly, Australia appreciates UNICEF's leadership on data reform. We commend efforts to improve data interoperability and strengthen the evidence base for principled humanitarian action, including through the Humanitarian Data Collaborative. Greater alignment across agencies will be critical to ensuring data is timely, functional, and protective of affected people's privacy. We also look forward to the UN Data Commons as a one-stop shop for development data and statistics, supported by harmonized, reliable, and verified information that is underpinned by strong integrity standards. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Australia, and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of El Salvador, followed by the Russian Federation. El Salvador, you have the floor.

Señora Presidenta, Madam President, we're grateful for the update provided on the UNICEF activities in the context of UNAT Initiative and all of the efforts geared towards generating more efficiencies by UN system entities. In this context, we welcome the UN's— the UNICEF's efforts to— and logistics, and we encourage it to continue to work closely with partners and entities in the system to ensure more expedited progress in transport, logistics, and supply chain. We call for the momentum of these efforts to be maintained as far as possible in the framework of pre-established mechanisms so as to harness the lessons learned over the last few years in relevant areas for the different areas of work. Madam President, the continuity in the incorporation of UNICEF within the UN Haiti Initiative calls for more structured approach. Along these lines, my delegation would like to ask the following questions. Firstly, what is the relationship between the steps taken in the framework of the Humanitarian Reset and the New Humanitarian Compact? Are these independent or complementary initiatives? Second— Is it— Is it expected that UNICEF will in future incorporate other packages of work within the framework of the UNAT Initiative? What is the practical implementation of these efforts for the teams in country offices? And finally, is there a relationship between these UNICEF efforts and the UNAT Initiative and the Future Focus Initiative? To conclude, we highlight that the UNAT Initiative impetus should lead to a long-term approach over the— in making country offices and their teams and ultimately the living conditions of children and adolescents in our countries improved. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of El Salvador. And I now give the floor to distinguished delegate of the Russian Federation, followed by Turkey. Russia, you have the floor.

You have the floor, please.

Madam President, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, we thank you for the explanations you provided about the contribution of UNICEF and the combining of efforts in the context of the UN80 Initiative. As far as we understand, many delegations are still waiting for additional information Specifically about the regional reset, about the provision of information upon requests, about competence centers, etc. We highly appreciate the Fund's explanations and those of other funds and programs about the interim results of these reforms. As we've already emphasized in our statement during the dialogue with the Executive Director of UNICEF, our chief concern is as follows. We want to ensure that the Regional Reset doesn't have an adverse impact on the efficient delivery of projects to assist children at a time when financing is drying up, where there are proliferating crises, and where there are new challenges for children all over the world. It is also important to underscore that the RC system must operate precisely and more efficiently while not overstepping its mandate. The mandate set down in UNGA Resolution 72/179. The UNAID reform must not produce a new bureaucratic superstructure. It must not increase expenses or complicate the access of program countries to project financing or international expertise. CPDs must remain the key tool for strategic planning and accountability in cooperation between the UN and program countries. Here, governments must have a decisive role in creating these documents. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of the Russian Federation, and I now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Türkiye, followed by the United States. Türkiye, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. We thank UNICEF for comprehensive presentation on the implementation of UN Haiti Initiative. We appreciate the useful overview of UNICEF's engagement across the various UNHCR work streams, and its continued focus on ensuring that reform efforts ultimately deliver better outcomes for children. Turkey supports the Secretary-General's UNHCR initiative and the objective of ensuring that United Nations remains fit for purpose, effective, efficient, and responsive to evolving global challenges. We believe that Any reform should ultimately strengthen the UN development system while preserving the mandates and comparative advantages of its entities. In this regard, UNICEF's unique mandate and operational strength should remain at the center of reform efforts. As discussions on the implementation of the UN initiative continue, we encourage UNICEF to remain actively engaged in this process and to continue contributing constructively— to system-wide reforms. At the same time, we reaffirm central governance role of Executive Boards in considering and recommending reform proposals within their respective mandates. We therefore emphasize the importance of an inclusive, transparent, and consultative process with meaningful participation of Member States. Türkiye attaches great importance to UNICEF's contribution to advancing children's rights and supporting national development priorities. It is essential that ongoing reform efforts reinforce UNICEF's ability to deliver effectively at the country level. We emphasize that country program documents should remain aligned with the cooperation frameworks. Maintaining coherence while preserving operational flexibility will be essential in this regard. Furthermore, we underline the importance of close cooperation between United Nations entities and the resident coordinators. Such cooperation, while fully respecting the mandates, remains essential for strengthening coherence, efficiency, and overall effectiveness of UN development system at the country level. Turkey remains committed to engaging constructively throughout this process and looks forward to continued discussions. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Turkey, and I next give the floor to distinguished Next is the delegate of the United States, followed by South Africa. United States, you have the floor, please.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The U.S. reform agenda and the UNEAD initiative is our best opportunity in decades to bring clarity and discipline to the UN, and more specifically to UNICEF's work. Accurate information from UNICEF management on overlapping functions and reports and meetings will continue to help the executive board and donors make informed decisions to simplify UNICEF operations and strengthen results for children. We appreciate UNICEF's work to lead and contribute on many work packages, particularly on global supply chains and common services, and the reporting UNICEF has done on that work. We welcome regular updates and ask what member states and the board can do to support this work. Are there any actions we should be considering at this this board session to advance reform. The United States remains committed to UNICEF's vital mission to protect and serve children worldwide. We believe that embracing reform, increasing efficiency, and strengthening accountability will enable UNICEF to deliver even greater impact for the world's most vulnerable children. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of United States, and then now give the floor I now give the floor to the distinguished delegate of South Africa, followed by the European Union. South Africa, you have the floor, please.

Thank you, Madam Vice President. South Africa thanks UNICEF for the update on the U.N. Haiti Initiative and its implementation. We have taken note of the briefing provided and the insights given. In particular, the variety of work packages in which UNICEF is actively engaged within the U.N. Haiti process is well received.— especially where reforms affect children, humanitarian action, country-level delivery, shared services, data, and financing. We wish to reaffirm the important emphasis that the UNAT should improve system-wide coherence and efficiency while protecting UNICEF's mandate for children, with a view to making the UN system more effective, accountable, country-focused, and results-oriented for children. The particular emphasis on the new humanitarian compact and UNICEF's involvement in key humanitarian reform areas, notably integrated supply chains and common services, is also well received. The model co-conceived by UNICEF with the World Food Programme and the UN Secretariat is a valuable contribution that creates predictable, predictable shared supply chain services where they improve on performance. South Africa is supportive of the emphasis on humanitarian diplomacy, notably the adherence to international law, particularly international humanitarian law, in line with South Africa's active membership of the Global Initiative to Galvanize Political Commitment to International Humanitarian Law. In the context of UNICEF's role as part of broader efforts to protect children and address the cause of humanitarian need, it is well received. Madam President, South Africa has also understood with interest the feedback provided in the context on UNATI with a specific focus on the use of common services country configuration and regional reset. As pertains to the Common Service, we applaud UNICEF in the co-lead it has taken. The importance of global shared services and even common back offices is articulated in the UN Development System reform and UNAT. This signifies congruent aspects between the two processes. Similarly, the goals set out in Work Package 5 of the UNAT process on country configuration has a similar overlap with the UNDS process. We have heard the value of country programmes and their alignment within the UN Cooperation Framework Agreement. This has created efficiencies for UNICEF and the UN's country configuration, whilst maintaining the mandate and focus on children in countries of operation. Essentially, we recognize the value of UNAT as a process to develop and effect system-wide efficiencies and coherence throughout the UN, yet we also recognize that this process is taking place in tandem with UNDS repositioning already mandated. We therefore wish to ask if UNICEF could delineate the areas where UNAT efforts on the repositioning of the United Nations Development System display coherence, as well as those areas where they have separate targets or goals. If there is very little difference, do you think it is possible to combine the updates on the effective implementation of UNAT UNDS repositioning.

I thank the distinguished delegate of South Africa, and I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of the European Union, followed by World Vision. European Union, you have the floor, please.

Thank you, Chair. Speaking on behalf of European Union as a donor, the EU fully supports UNICEF's pivotal role in helping shape the the UNAID reform a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a more coherent, agile, and impactful UN system that delivers for children and communities in an era of polycrisis, fragmentation, and shrinking resources. We welcome the progress outlined in your update today, particularly UNICEF's leadership on Work Package 2 and 5. These efforts align closely with the EU's newly adopted Communication on Humanitarian Action, which underscores 3 priorities: areas where UNICEF's work is indispensable. First, on supply chain reform. UNICEF's co-leadership has already delivered tangible results. Now, as this approach moves into the 5 pilot countries, the EU encourages UNICEF to accelerate harmonized in-country logistics, expand coordinated procurement beyond shelter and operational items to include critical nutrition and health supplies, and ensure that local actors, especially women-led organizations, are integrated in supply chains. Thank you. How can UNICEF help ensure that the integrated supply chain initiative now moves from pilots to scale? Second, on localization and partnerships. The EU's communication commits to directing 30% of humanitarian funding to local national actors by 2027. UNICEF's modular country configuration approach can help ensure that UNCTs are structured to empower local systems, not replace them. We further encourage UNICEF to leverage its centers of excellence to strengthen national capacity in fragile and middle-income countries, with a risk of UN withdrawal could leave critical gaps. How can UNICEF's country configuration approach best support localizations in practice? Third, on climate resilience and anticipatory action, UNICEF's work on data interoperability and regional risk analysis is vital. The UN Data Commons should build on UNICEF's existing systems, including its real-time monitoring tools. Thank you. We also welcome UNICEF's engagement in the regional reset, which can help bridge the humanitarian-development-peace nexus in climate hotspots such as the Sahel and the Horn of Africa. As to a question, how can this work best ensure that early warning leads to early action for children? The EU recognizes the difficult choices UNICEF has made to streamline costs, cut overheads, and reallocate resources. On behalf of the EU, I extend our deep gratitude to UNICEF staff for their dedication and resilience in these— in driving these changes. At the same time, we must guard against false economies that could undermine the UN's normative role or its ability to reach the most vulnerable. As UNAID moves from design to implementation, we call on all parties to preserve core mandates, strengthen accountability, and engage member states and donors early on contentious issues, such as country team reconfigurations or pooled funding models. Thank you. As we approach the implementation phase of UNAID, the EU stands ready to work with UNICEF and all partners. The EU counts on UNICEF to lead by example, championing a child-centered, rights-based approach across all work streams. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of the European Union, and I now give the floor to distinguished delegate of World Vision. You have the floor.

Madam President, Madam Executive Director, Excellencies, distinguished representatives, World Vision welcomes this opportunity to engage with the Executive Board at a moment of profound uncertainty for children and for the multilateral system established to protect and uphold their rights. We commend UNICEF's engagement in the UN80 process and its contributions across 6 work packages aimed at making the United Nations more efficient, inclusive, coherent, and accountable. As institutions adapt to tightening resources and evolving needs, World Vision welcomes UNICEF's clear commitment to keeping children at the center of reforms. For World Vision, child-centered UN reform means children's rights, protection, participation, and well-being must guide decisions on data mandates, financing, and humanitarian action. [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] Reform should not only improve systems, it must improve outcomes for children most at risk of being left behind. In this regard, the UN System Data Commons work package is especially important. Better, safer, collaborative data can help the UN identify where children are facing overlapping crises, ensure that services follow children across borders and systems, and support faster, more child-sensitive decisions. Used responsibly, shared data can strengthen accountability, reduce duplication, and help ensure that reform delivers tangible improvements in children's lives. At the same time, World Vision remains concerned about proposals that could affect the dedicated child protection mandates. We recognize the need to streamline mandates, reduce duplication, and strengthen government— governance. We encourage —changes to be assessed not only against potential financial savings, but against their consequences for children. We therefore encourage member states and UN leadership to ensure that UNAID reform protects and strengthens rather than diminishes the mechanisms children rely on for safety, protection, and accountability. Efficiency must be pursued in ways that reinforce the UN's capacity to deliver for children, especially the those affected by conflict, displacement, violence, and humanitarian crises. Finally, World Vision wishes UNICEF every success in taking forward its role in the UNAID process. We remain committed to strong partnerships with UNICEF member state civil society and faith-based partners to uphold and advance the rights, well-being, and protection of every child. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of World Vision. And for the final speaker, I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Eritrea. You have the floor, sir.

Thank you, Madam Vice President. I would like to thank the Deputy Executive Director and the Global Director for the update on the UN Haiti Initiative in line with Board Decision 2026/1. We fully recognize the steps taken by UNICEF, which we strongly believe contribute to the system-wide reforms under the UN Haiti Initiative, with the aim to make the UN more integrated, efficient, and impactful, while aligning its programs and operations with broader humanitarian and development priorities of program countries. And affected countries. My delegation believes any institutional adjustment should not impact delivery for children or weaken the Board's ability to guide, monitor, and hold the system accountable for country-level results. I thank you, Madam President.

I thank the distinguished delegates of Eritrea. And that was our final speaker. I want to thank all delegates for their very diligent time management here. And in light of— to continue with that tradition, I want to invite the Secretariat to respond to these comments, and maybe just starting with Mrs. O'Brien and moving the baton to the other side as needed, please.

Thank you, Madam President. If I may, I would like to very briefly take the floor. I think— first of all, I think it's really important with the questions that all of you have asked, and many have referred to issues on data, on efficiency, on shared services, on the integrated supply chain and the humanitarian reset. All of these issues pertain to the full DED leadership. This is the DED for programmes on data. It's the DED for humanitarian and supply chain on the reset and on the integrated supply chain. It is the DED management on efficiency, common back-office structures, shared services, and of course, under the leadership of our Executive Director. What you see here and someone referred to, 'We don't just want you to commit, we want you to see it doing.' Well, this is doing in action. This requires all hands on deck, and you have all these hands on deck, and I'll ask my colleagues, particularly with the many questions on the integrated supply chain and the reset, I'll ask Ted also to come in. And when I say this is the commitment of the entire higher leadership in action. Don't take my word for it, but I'll ask you to reflect on what the USG Guy Ryder said when we had the previous board, and he sat on this podium, and he actually said it: 'UNICEF doesn't just lean in, UNICEF leads on reform,' because we know that if UN reform works, all of us can deliver better for children. And that is why we are here. On the issue— I'll take a few issues, if I may, on where FFI is related or different from UN@80. Our colleague from Germany asked the question, as well as our colleague from El Salvador. They are different, but they're very aligned. FFI is our internal transformation process. It is how we are more efficient, how we do faster, largely, but not exclusively, in response to funding shortfalls. But it's a business transformation for UNICEF. UN at 80 is a whole-of-system approach, how the entire system can deliver more effectively and efficiently. Now, very clearly, these are aligned, but they're not 100% the same, not in their governance,, and not in their metrics of success. The work on the FFI is not mandated, for example, by UN@80 and actually preceded UN@80, but very clearly the idea that we need to be more effective, more efficient, and more coherent, both internally and as UNICEF with the wider UN system, that is what guides both processes, even if they are different. I'd like to recognize also the reference that was made in one of the interventions to Resolution 72/279 on the mandates of the different entities, including the Resident Coordinator. And this is a really important one. We are fully committed to the Resident Coordinator. We know that we have to do better, including as UNICEF, in terms of how we coordinate and how we synergize. It's not just coordination, it's how we synergize across the system. At the same time, we do not need additional bureaucratic layers. We cannot be slowed down in urgent times for children. We will have to retain direct access to ministries that we work with, whether it is on child rights, for example, with the Ministry of Labour, with Health, with Education, with Child Protection, but also with Finance. Because we also have a normative mandate, not just a programmatic mandate. The value of the RC really is the strategic coordination. And let me then perhaps look at my own experience, having done this work hands-on in 2005 to 2009 at country level in Vietnam, where the issue really was that we had about 8 agencies working on HIV/AIDS without them knowing it from each other in the same province, from UNICEF to UNFPA to UNAIDS to UNDP to FAO weaving HIV/AIDS prevention messages in agricultural extension. The issue is not per se that we all do it. The issue is that we're not informed, that we're burdening our local counterparts in the government and that we don't synergize across the system. That is what UN@80 should absolutely do. That's what we are fully committed to realize. For that, we will, however, have to look at how we do that, and there is— the CPD remains a key role. There is no competition between the cooperation framework and a CPD. A CPD is our accountability to you here in this forum as member states, from donors to recipient governments, in terms of how we allocate, what we allocate for, and how we measure results. If we break that by not having that, you will miss more than I think we can account for in monetary terms. Thank you. On information notes, we're very happy, of course, to provide the member states with additional informals or information notes. That is never a problem. And I would also perhaps in the spirit, if I may, of UN reform, very much appreciate the proposal from South Africa to see if we can perhaps combine the two agenda items. As said, they are very aligned. And so warm support to combine the items of UN OES reform and UN@80 in the future should the member states so decide. I'll keep it brief in the interest of time. Over to Mandip.

Okay, thank you, Kitty. So just to complement, I think, three things, and before I get to that, on the information note, because this issue was also tabled at our informal a couple of weeks ago. I think we were very clear-eyed about this. We didn't want to and we don't want to get ahead of the Secretary-General's-led UNAT initiative, so we were refraining from circulating reports from— and information notes from our end. But that being said, I mean, I think we are open to consideration and in and hope that this is coherent with your ask of other sister agencies as well, and that the Secretariat is in full awareness of this. I also want to acknowledge, if I may, our Global Directors in the room that are leading as well the shared services, Mark Petty, as well as Leila Pakala on the supply chain, and I'm sure they would join me in being very happy to have any follow-up specific discussions since there was a lot of interest on these issues, specific issues. I just— the first point I wanted to make is to Franz, and actually it was also highlighted by a couple of other board members around the important but difficult questions around country configuration, how do we streamline, how do we rationalize the presence, etc. And in this regard, we were forward-leaning by sharing some global parameters that could pragmatically help us to steer the process. And again, we are open to discussing these together with the rest of the system and the Secretariat so that we can advance in very practical terms. On France, we are absolutely with you in terms of support to the RC system, as you've heard both from DED, Kitty and me. I do want to just make one clarification. The RC's value is the strategic coordination, but it's not program delivery, because you had mentioned about guarantor of programmatic implementation, and this is where we need a lot of clarity and complementarity of roles and accountability. I think that— Thank you. This is already happening to a large extent in most contexts. We do it in a complementary way where the coordinator sticks to coordination. The operational agencies mandated by you as member states are in charge of program delivery. Again, happy to discuss this as a follow-on. The second point is on the sequencing, which was tabled by Germany on behalf— in your joint statement. Thank you for bringing up this important issue. Issue. I mean, on this one, maybe two things to say. First is, just to get practical about it, if we look at the whole universe of UN cooperation frameworks and CPDs from the agencies, funds, and programs lens, or from UNICEF lens, I would say that roughly around 5 to 10%, we find exceptional situations where the ideal sequencing is not happening in practice. So I do want to bring this reality check that in majority of the cases, we sequence it. We make sure that the cooperation frameworks are green-lighted at the country level, signed off, because that is the collective strategic direction of the UN system's work. And then the CPDs or equivalent programming instruments come to the governance bodies. Thank you. But in that, in those exceptional 5 to 10% cases where there is a war, a sudden onset of war, where there's a major crisis, a hurricane, and delays are caused in the signing off of the cooperation framework, and in a situation where the CPDs have already, which have been green-lighted by the national government as well as by the RCs, have made it to the board, In these situations, we are really counting on your support for pragmatic flexibility because the bottom line is that— is that of the substantive meaningful alignment which we spoke about in the earlier session. And in this regard, I mean, for the sequencing and aligning, we are paying very careful attention to some practical steps in terms of how we are engaging in the common country assessment, which is the evidence base that then allows us to determine what the priorities are in line with the national priorities. And similarly, in that regard, the strategic prioritization exercise that happens at the country level, we all actively engage in that for the cooperation framework, and based on that, we derive the country program documents. So again, Happy to engage further, and I thank Türkiye, El Salvador, as well as Eritrea for emphasizing the importance of program country ownership, but also operational flexibility in this regard. The third and final point, I think, on the regional reset, it was posed by the Russian Federation. I think this is probably one of the work packages where work The work is in progress. It's in the works, if you will. We don't have the clarity on all the aspects and the specific questions you have asked. That being said, two things from our side. The first is the regional reset should really help country teams to access specialized expertise that may not be available locally in country. For example, around the political economy analysis, foresight, climate data, and digital transformation, as well as looking at some of the cross-border specific initiatives or sub-regional challenges. And we are very keen to engage in, in what this would look like. And the second point is just building on some of the good practices and some of the not so good practices around instruments of channeling this assistance. There is talk about the Regional Collaborative Platform to upgrade it, to promote more cross-pillar synergy and coherence. In this regard, we have our Centers of Excellence and a very practical TA Hub tool, which we hope can also be leveraged in this. The bottom line is we do need clarity on governance arrangements, and to make sure that we are not duplicating the agency mechanisms and harnessing the comparative advantages at the regional level to the fullest. Thank you very much, and Madam President, it's back to you— actually, to Dede Ted.

Thank you very much, Madam President. Thank you for the different questions and comments. Let me quickly go through a few of the issues that related to the humanitarian supply function. Firstly, I think El Salvador asked about how all the different reform efforts relate to each other, and just in terms of the Humanitarian Reset and how it relates to UNHCR Humanitarian Cluster, the Humanitarian Reset predated also the UNHCR initiative, but they inform each other. Humanitarian Reset includes all of the IASC members, so it includes all of the major NGO networks, and what we're also striving to do on the UN80 side is make sure that as initiatives grow and they go to scale— to the EU's question— they are available, can be made available to some of our NGO partners as well, even though they've started as UN initiatives. So again, the idea is for them to inform each other and build on each other. Both France and Australia asked questions about how we're going to measure progress when it comes to the integrated supply chain initiative. And there will be a number of indicators that will be developed. They're not yet finalized, but it's issues like global delivery time reduced, lower prices for commodities, global transport and shipments, reduced fragmentation for in-country— —logistics. Logistics, and again, last mile delivery times that are more effective and faster, and then faster customs clearances, reducing demurrage costs, as well as lower costs in warehousing. So these are among the metrics that will be worked on and finalized and available and against which the initiative can be measured. Australia asked how we're working with with different agencies, in particular mentioned WFP and UNFPA. WFP is obviously a core co-sponsor of the initiative with us and UNDOS. In the case of UNFPA, we've had detailed discussions about how to divide labor and ensure complementarity on the procurement and distribution of maternal, newborn, and child health commodities and worked through 68 of the 84 categories of procurement and we'll get to the finish line on the remaining. The EU asked about going to scale and there, let me perhaps speak to the three components of the initiative, the Integrated Demand and Supply Chain Initiative. By definition, when we look at categories of supplies and when we reach agreement, which in some cases we're far along in reaching agreement on which agency will procure what category of supply, that will become an asset and an efficiency that's available beyond the pilot countries and indeed beyond humanitarian environment, because if, let's say, HCR and IOM are procuring relief supplies for the system as a whole, and UNICEF is procuring most categories of health supplies for the system as a whole, then those procurement contracts will become available not just for humanitarian settings, but beyond humanitarian settings. Similarly, for the kind of piggybacking that's taking place when it comes to global logistics and freight and shipping. So the global freight contracts, for example, that UNICEF and WFP have helped pull together are now being used by 33 agencies. The insurance services that UNICEF brokered are being used by 7 other agencies, and the more agencies use those services, the more the impact is at scale and global. For in-country logistics, it starts with the 5 countries mentioned, but the commitment is to move beyond the 5 countries before the end of the year. And then let me segue to a question also by the EU about localization, and there's many aspects of the reform that will promote localization, but I think a very important— and again, it's part of a more thoughtful, expanded definition of localization— will be a focus on local procurement and local manufacturing. And this is something that goes beyond the UN80 integrated supply chain proposal, but nonetheless is in that spirit. And part of what we're making the case for in the context of both the humanitarian reform, but also in in the context of UN80, is for much more procurement steps and manufacturing steps that benefit local economies rather than procurement that is done internationally. So as local as possible again when it comes to procurement. Finally, in the same vein as as what Mandeep offered. In the room today, we've got Leila Pakala, the Director of Supply Division, and we also have Mandeep— sorry, we have Lucia Almi, the Director of our Emergency Division, and they both would be more than happy to provide informal briefings on these issues. I think these are critical points where we could get into more detail and have more of an interactive exchange. Thank you.

Thank you. Are there further comments on this side? No? If not, I sincerely thank the Secretariat for their remarks. This is an extensive issue, and if there are no additional comments from the room, we shall consider the update on the UNAT initiative and implementation by UNICEF later later in the session under agenda item 19, the adoption of draft decisions. Now time has run out for us today and we will continue other items on our agenda next— in our next meeting tomorrow morning. Before we adjourn for the day, I believe that the Secretary of the Executive Board, Mr. Andrés Franco, would like to make an announcement.

Yes, thank you, Madame Chair. We will have the informal consultations of the informal draft decisions starting in 15 minutes in the Maurice Pate Room of the UNICEF House. And one of the reasons is you'll notice that one of the screens is not working, so they need to fix it, so we might as well just move there and get some work done. And 15 minutes should be pretty reasonable for I invite everybody to be there. I'm just checking with Ghete if that's okay. So, good. So, see you very soon at the UNICEF house.

I thank the Secretary for this announcement. Meeting is adjourned.