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Chair, Madam Executive Director 

I am speaking on behalf of the European Union as a donor.

At a time when the aid community as a whole is going through a profound and difficult reorganisation, I would like to reiterate our support to UNICEF and our appreciation for the professionalism and commitment of its staff and partners in the field, who are working in increasingly complex and dangerous situations. While funding has been rapidly shrinking, conflicts continue to multiply, marked by unprecedented violence against children and violations of International Humanitarian Law. In this context, it is crucial that UNICEF can continue protecting children and ensuring that their basic needs and rights are met. 

We are concerned by UNICEF’s growing funding gap, notably in humanitarian financing. We note that the total projected income for 2026–2029 is 27 per cent lower than the projected income presented in the midterm review of the previous UNICEF Strategic Plan. While these projections are in line with the current financial outlook, we do encourage UNICEF to continue striving to increase its income through strengthened outreach and mobilisation of new public and private donors, while increasing as much as possible its cost efficiency. 

In this respect, we welcome UNICEF’s bold organizational changes and we look forward to seeing the outcomes of the current process, which will hopefully make UNICEF more agile and allow it to continue fulfilling its unique mandate despite current and future funding constraints. 

We have heard reports that UNICEF has decided to cut key PSEA posts at headquarters and in country as part of the Future Focus Initiative. We would like to know whether this is confirmed, and if so how UNICEF plans to manage SEAH risks and continue to contribute to wider UN and global work on protection from SEAH, including the effective implementation of the recommendations of the JIU Review. UNICEF has been very active on PSEA and it would be regrettable to step back on this crucial topic. 

We welcome UNICEF’s active role in the current UN reform processes, including the Humanitarian Reset and the UN80 Initiative. These efforts represent an opportunity to re-centre humanitarian action around principles, needs-based delivery, and field effectiveness, and they are key openings to join up capacities, remove duplications and achieve economies of scale. UNICEF’s contribution is essential to the success of these reforms and we encourage you to ensure alignment with broader UN efforts, without compromising your distinct mandate. 

In this regard [and if there is time for questions], how does UNICEF plan to link its ongoing efforts with the broader UN reform initiatives, such as the Humanitarian Reset and UN80, while ensuring that the protection of children and the prevention of SEAH remain central to its work despite potential funding and staffing constraints?

We look forward to the next Strategic Plan and its ambitious objectives for children. The EU has been and will continue to be a major donor to UNICEF and we encourage UNICEF to continue strengthening coordination across its humanitarian, development and peacebuilding work. 

Thank you.