UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. UNICEF was created with the purpose to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path.

IDA has established a very close relationship with UNICEF, in particular following the appointment of a Senior Disability Advisor.

Expert-level meeting convened by UNICEF

UNICEF gathered a number of experts, including IDA, to discuss a new post-2015 global strategy for dealing with child issues such as discrimination, poor education and health services, gender inequities, and environmental catastrophe. The conclusion of the discussion was that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), while not perfect, can serve as a framework for future efforts to help children, as they were able to help bring about more accountability and resources as well as support and awareness. In the future, further progress needs to be made as the MDGs’ simplistic nature did not seek more than mere human survival, leaving out goals of equality, human rights, and helping the most marginalised. New political, economic, and demographic factors will make further progress more difficult for politicians and non-politicians alike. A protective, collaborative, people-centred and child-centred approach is needed across borders and between governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including non-child-focused NGOs. It is possible to align children´s rights as the centrepiece for a new global strategy that affects people of all ages.