United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Board Annual Session 2026

Executive Director,

New Zealand thanks you for your briefing and welcomes your Annual Report. We commend UNICEF's continued leadership in advancing the rights and wellbeing of children, particularly in an increasingly complex and challenging global environment. As the report makes clear, children are facing unprecedented and compounding pressures. Conflict, climate shocks and economic instability are eroding decades of progress, with one in five children affected by conflict and nearly two thirds living in poverty. In this context, UNICEF's mandate, and its ability to deliver at scale, remains more important than ever.

We also welcome the results achieved over the Strategic Plan period, including UNICEF's reach across health, education, protection and social services. We particularly value UNICEF's focus on those furthest behind, including children in fragile and humanitarian contexts, and its emphasis on strengthening national systems and long-term resilience.

New Zealand remains a strong supporter of UNICEF's child-centred, rights-based approach, including its focus on equity and non-discrimination, gender equality, and the protection of children from violence and harmful practices. These priorities remain fundamental to achieving sustainable development outcomes. Sustained in-region technical expertise remains critical to delivering this work and ensuring durable outcomes.

New Zealand places particular importance on UNICEF's engagement in our Pacific region. Children in the Pacific face disproportionate risks from climate change, geographic isolation, and systemic vulnerabilities. We welcome UNICEF's continued work to support climate resilience, child protection, children's health and development, disability inclusion, and locally led approaches across Pacific Island Countries.

Turning to the broader system context, New Zealand strongly supports the Secretary-General's UN80 reform Initiative as an opportunity to take forward meaningful reform. As we have emphasised alongside other Member States, the UN development system must be more focused, more efficient, and better coordinated - particularly at the country level. For UNICEF, engagement in this process will be critical to ensuring that reforms strengthen delivery for children and contribute to a more coherent system overall.

As we consider the reform agenda ahead, New Zealand recognises that a range of options are being advanced to strengthen system-wide effectiveness. It will be important that these are assessed holistically and not in isolation, and within the broader context of UN80 reforms. We also underline the important role of this Board in providing strategic guidance on these questions. As Member States, we have a collective and immediate responsibility not only to consider the options presented, but to drive timely decisions on the way forward. Given the urgency of the challenges we face, we must move beyond extended deliberation toward decisive conclusions and clear direction, so that reforms can be implemented effectively and without delay.

Executive Director, New Zealand remains concerned about the challenging funding environment facing UNICEF. The report highlights the impact of declining official development assistance at a time of growing need. Core, predictable and flexible funding is essential to enable UNICEF to respond rapidly, sustain critical services, and reach those most in need. We encourage all partners to provide flexible support and to ensure resources are directed toward areas of greatest impact.

In closing, New Zealand reaffirms its strong support for UNICEF and its vital role in advancing the rights and wellbeing of every child. We look forward to working with UNICEF and fellow Board members to ensure the organisation remains effective, focused, and able to deliver in an increasingly complex environment.

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