Director, Division of Global Communication and Advocacy, (D2), New York, USA

The mission of UNICEF is to promote the survival, well-being and rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. As the custodian of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history, UNICEF has helped transform countless children’s lives around the world. In 1965, the organization won the Nobel Prize for its work in ensuring millions of children survive and thrive and are enabled to reach their full potential. With our multisectoral programs around the world, ranging from education, nutrition, health, water and sanitation, social protection and child protection, and working with partners far and wide, UNICEF has been able to reduce child mortality 50% since 2000.

But in 2026, as the organization celebrates its 80th anniversary, children are living in a world that is increasingly hostile to their rights. Rising poverty and inequality, public health emergencies and the mounting debt burden infringe on children’s ability to reach their full potential. Rising geo-political tensions have led to the highest number of conflicts in the world since UNICEF was established – with 1 in 5 children now either living in a conflict zone or fleeing from it. Globally, more than 1 billion children currently live in countries that are at ‘extremely high-risk’ from the impacts of climate change, posing an existential threat to the health and wellbeing of this and future generations of children. The decline in global ODA compounds the challenge to reach children in need of humanitarian assistance, social services or protection. 

Child rights violations are widespread and increasing, including grave abuses such as recruitment into armed conflict, sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals and denial of humanitarian access, significantly impacting children’s lives globally.  Children now face threats which the international system was never designed to address, such as algorithmic exploitation and AI deployed without safeguards. At no time since the CRC was adopted have children’s rights been in greater jeopardy.

UNICEF brings a unique focus and voice on child rights, for every child. Based on 80 years of hands-on experience, combined with research and evidence, UNICEF knows what needs to be done to turn the tide. UNICEFs comparative advantage lies in accelerating government-led progress on children’s survival and development, learning and skills, freedom from poverty, protection from conflict and violence, and resilience in the face of climate and environmental risks.

That progress is further reinforced through strategic investments in building, nurturing and managing public and private partnerships, including with multilateral banks, international financial institutions, United Nations agencies, foundations, civil society, social movements, private sector partners, media, opinion l...