Global

Drawing from the priorities of young people across the world for promoting adolescent girls’ rights, this brief sets out five solutions rooted in partnerships that provide a clear pathway to transforming girls’ lives and safeguarding their futures. They include programmes to promote adolescent girls’ health, nutrition, learning, and skills-…

GenderTech Toolkit Digital technology has become critical to our lives. Online experiences and opportunities are also important for children’s and young people’s development across a wide range of areas, including: online education, access to formal and informal learning; access to information and support relating to health and well-being; being…, Download the tools, Two young girls using a mobile device Two young girls using mobile devices A girl on her mobile device A girl on her mobile device Image How to improve digital inclusion and accessibility for girls with disabilities

This report highlights the voices of nearly 590,000 girls, boys, young women and men around the world who participated in UNICEF’s poll on policy priorities for advancing adolescent girls’ rights. They made their voices heard loud and clear on advancing girls’ well-being and leadership, with five salient, evidence-based and strategic policy…

UNICEF’s Sustainability and Climate Change Action Plan 2023-2030 guides communities, governments and global leaders to work together to prioritize children’s needs. By 2030, UNICEF with partners, aspires to reach 500 million children in 100 countries with integrated climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction solutions, including 30…, Our commitments, UNICEF endorses the COP28 Relief, Recovery and Peace Declaration and has pledged the following commitments, Climate and disaster financing for children, To address the ever-widening finance gap for climate resilience and disaster risk reduction, UNICEF launched the Today & Tomorrow Initiative, the world’s first integrated climate and disaster risk finance solution for children. Today & Tomorrow combines climate resilience and risk prevention programmes “today” with an innovative use of…, Early warning systems and child-responsive preparedness, Child-responsive early warning systems are essential for protecting the most vulnerable members of society when disasters strike. Yet, half of countries globally are not protected by early warning systems, with the lowest coverage in Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries.   The Secretary General’s Early Warnings for All…, Child-focused climate and disaster risk analysis, Risk information is required to develop strategies and programmes that help build climate-resilient services for children, including preparedness, response and national and subnational recovery efforts. In many countries, there is a lack of disaggregated, timely, geo-referenced, subnational data at high resolution vital for targeted action (…, Conflict-sensitive and peacebuilding programming, Many of the most climate vulnerable countries are also affected by conflict, which undermines state capacity to prevent, mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. It is essential that we ensure support to countries to address conflict and climate risks. UNICEF’s Strategic Plan (2022-2025) elevates peacebuilding as a priority and aims to…, About the Declaration, The Climate Relief, Recovery, and Peace Declaration is a voluntary commitment to increase climate adaptation efforts and access to finance for communities and countries threatened or affected by fragility or conflict, or facing high humanitarian needs and insecurity; to strengthen knowledge and programmatic solutions for climate action in such…

Digital technology has become critical to our lives. Online experiences and opportunities are also important for children’s and young people’s development across a wide range of areas, including: online education, access to formal and informal learning; access to information and support relating to health and well-being; engagement with creative…, Download the evidence briefs, A young girl using a mobile device What we know about the gender digital divide for girls A young girl using a mobile device How big data can help us understand the gender digital divide for girls . Cover - A literature review and recommendations Accessible and inclusive digital solutions for girls with disabilities Cover of peer-to-peer…

This evidence brief explores the opportunity for using peer-to-peer approaches to reach girls with limited or no access to mobile phones with an educational digital platform. The primary objective was to determine whether these approaches could be employed with the Oky menstruation education app to improve the knowledge and skills of unconnected…

UNICEF is proud to share the concept note ( English , Arabic , French and Spanish ) and key messages  (English) for 2022's International Day of the Girl. Girls are ready for a decade of acceleration forward. It is time for us all to stand accountable – with and for girls – and to invest in a future that believes in their agency, leadership and…

The following guides have been developed in line with UNICEF’s commitment to support Ministries of Education and education decision-makers to effectively monitor the status and implementation of education delivery and learning, including in emergency situations: Conceptual Framework for Monitoring Hybrid Learning Delivery Toward Long-term System…

The commitment of UNICEF to an equal future for all girls and boys recognizes that promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  The Gender Action Plan, 2018–2021 (GAP) is UNICEF’s road map for promoting gender equality throughout its work, guiding its…, This is the final year in the implementation of the Gender Action Plan 2018-2021, UNICEF’s roadmap for promoting gender equality throughout its work. Over the last four years, UNICEF has substantially increased investment in resources, leadership, capacity and accountability to achieve meaningful results for women and girls. And while progress has…, girl-with-tablet UNICEF approach to integrated gender results, GARR2021-Gender-infographic-1 UNICEF focuses on levelling the playing field for girls and boys by addressing gender inequality in key life outcomes; promoting gender equality in how children are supported and cared for, including in households and childcare-related fields; and promoting adolescent girls’ well-being and empowerment.  In 2021,…, mother-and-daughter Equality in health systems and workforce, 80 per cent of live births were attended by skilled personnel in 2021, surpassing the overall target of 79 per cent 40.4 million adolescent girls benefited from services and support for the prevention of anaemia and other forms of malnutrition 57.5 million  caregivers of children under the age of 2 years received infant and young child feeding…, girl-in-classroom Equality in education, 21 million out-of-school girls accessed early learning, primary or secondary education through UNICEF-supported programmes versus 8.4 million in 2019 48 countries had gender-responsive education systems, increasing from 15 countries in 2017 31 countries had systems that institutionalized gender-equitable skills for learning, personal empowerment,…, girl-technician Addressing gender-based violence, 4.4 million children experiencing violence were reached with health, justice and social welfare services in 129 countries, versus 2.5 million children in 2017 3.6 million families across 97 countries benefited from support on positive, nurturing care, almost four times more than in 2017 10 million people participated in community activities to…, school-girl-holding-textbooks Gender-responsive water, sanitation and hygiene systems, 20 million more people had access to basic sanitation services (10.2 million women and girls) 16.7 million girls and women benefited from UNICEF-supported water programmes in humanitarian settings 6.5 million girls were reached with WASH-in-schools services (including gender-segregated, child-friendly and accessible WASH facilities) To address…, woman-walk-past-mural Promoting positive gender norms and socialization, including through social protection, 94 UNICEF country programmes carried out interventions to challenge harmful norms and promote positive gender socialization In 56 countries UNICEF assisted governments to support families to better care for their children, including through family-friendly policies like parental leave; quality childcare; and child benefits. 100 countries were…, girls-carrying-dignity-kits Gender in emergencies, When disasters and emergencies happen, including public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic, people not only are impacted differently, but they are unlikely to have equal opportunities to overcome the crisis. Women and girls are disproportionately affected. Pre-existing discriminatory norms tend to restrict them from life-saving…, girl-in-classroom Adolescent girls’ well-being and empowerment, 81 countries had an inclusive, gender-responsive national plan for adolescent health and well-being, increasing from 50 countries in 2018 7.6 million adolescent girls across 47 countries benefited from child marriage-related interventions, nearly four times more than in 2017 16.8 million girls participated in skills development programmes,…, female-drivers-unicef.jpg Making UNICEF a more gender-responsive organization, UNICEF met 88 per cent of all benchmarks in the UN-SWAP – the United Nations gender equality scorecard – compared to 76 per cent in 2018 98 UNICEF offices met institutional gender results benchmarks compared with 63 in 2018 UNICEF  reached virtual gender parity in staffing in line with UN-system wide standards Over the last four years, UNICEF has…, portrait-girl Looking forward, In 2022, UNICEF is embarking on a new GAP cycle with renewed commitment to promote gender equality and scale up transformative results for girls and women. To do this, UNICEF, with its partners, will apply bolder, gender-transformative approaches that seek to change the discriminatory social norms, stereotypes and structures that hold girls and…, Read more and support our work, June 2022, Global Annual Results Report 2021 Gender Equality Cover image: UNICEF/UN0570461 14-year-old Camila Doutang, who fled the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela with her parents, lives in the Villa del Rosario municipality in North Santander, Colombia. Here, she attends a UNICEF-supported Alternative Care and Shelter Space for Children and Adolescents (…

Children are the most vulnerable during and after any disaster. Approximately one billion children worldwide are at extremely high risk due to climate impacts, including climate-related disasters. When disaster strikes, children get cut off from schooling, nutrition and health care. They can lose critical social services and protection, while…, Every child resilient, Children and young people are more than victims of disasters. They have an active role to play in reducing risk, in collaboration with governments and humanitarians. They bring critical skills, individual experiences and ideas for solutions.  Integrating child-specific interventions into disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change policies –…, UNICEF’s response, The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030 ) outlines clear targets and priorities to prevent and reduce disaster risks. Building the resilience of children and young people is vital to meet these targets and those of other global agreements. UNICEF's DRR approach is part of the https://www.unicef.org/documents/liveable-planet-…, Ensuring child-critical services are more inclusive, and resilient to and prepared for disasters, UNICEF integrates disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation activities into essential services for children. We do so by bringing resources, advocacy and technical expertise into our collaborations with governments and other partners – and most importantly, with children and young people themselves.   We are a leading agency in…, Engaging children through education, preparedness and resilience programmes, Children are already playing an active role in reducing disaster and climate risk by developing risk assessments, early warning systems, community-based actions, school evacuation protocols and recovery plans. They also stand as advocates, raising awareness through social media and in-person campaigns. UNICEF supports children and young people to…, Committing funds and resources to prepare and protect all children from disasters and climate impacts, UNICEF builds government and partner capacities, provides technical expertise for safe schools and health-care facilities, and secures investments for the rapid recovery of child-critical services after a disaster. We invest in specific, localized data collection and share our technical expertise to shape and influence policies for children.…, Resources, Publisher Title UNICEF Every child prepared, engaged, safe and resilient UNICEF UNICEF DRR in Action: Every country protected; every child resilient UNICEF UNICEF environment and climate change efforts UNICEF Strengthening shock responsive social protection systems UNICEF Guidance for risk-informed programming (GRIP) UNICEF Risk-informed education…

One of the first things I wanted to do as Executive Director is to see for myself how we work on the ground to help children and to meet some of the teams working day and night to do that.   Deciding on which country to visit first felt a bit like choosing a favourite child. I wanted to see how we respond to humanitarian crises and how we help…

In the 30 years since girls’ education was first raised as an international policy priority, tremendous progress has been made in getting girls into school. UNESCO (2020) reports that since 1995, an additional 180 million girls have been enrolled in school. Yet hundreds of millions remain out of school - and of the children who are completely…