Widespread reductions in international aid are putting children’s lives at risk at a time when they need our support the most. In Humanitarian Action for Children 2025, UNICEF’s annual plan for children in emergencies, launched late last year, we estimated that 213 million children in 146 countries and territories would need humanitarian support this year alone.
These cuts mean millions of children not having access to critical health care, not having enough nutritious food to eat and, missing out on their learning. At a time of increased global insecurity and instability, the cuts in aid are undoubtedly risking lives.
To reach these children, we need flexible, timely, and consistent funding. This type of funding allows UNICEF’s experts to decide where the funding is best spent, and to plan for the future, which is especially important for children living in underfunded regions that may not benefit from the widespread media attention, and subsequent public fundraising, that high profile emergencies receive.
UNICEF’s responses for children in Sudan and South Sudan are testament to the power of flexible funding sources in the face of an emergency that has received limited media coverage in comparison to the scale of the crisis. Following the outbreak of conflict in 2023, the Sudan emergency has become the world’s biggest child displacement crisis. In South Sudan, hundreds of thousands of women and children have come into the country, all requiring immediate assistance.
Through flexible funding, UNICEF’s teams in South Sudan have been able to quickly scale up their response and deploy personnel to deliver immediate, life-saving assistance to the many women and children crossing the border. This has included providing social workers and setting up child-friendly spaces at remote border locations.
UNICEF/Ahmed Elfatih Mohamdeem
Asha Adam, a mother of two tends to her 11-months old son Khattab who is severely malnourished. At the hospital, Khattab is receiving treatment for medical complications as well as ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) provided by UNICEF. RUTF is a nutritious paste rich in minerals and vitamins that helps children suffering from malnutrition recover and get back to life.
Without flexible funding, children facing emergencies that do not receive attention would not get even their most basic needs met.
What makes Unicef unique in its work and why is helping children so important to the world’s future?
There are five key areas where UNICEF is focusing, and flexible funding is pivotal in enabling the organisation to maximise its impact for children and communities worldwide.
- Firstly, expertise is bolstered through flexible funding, which ensures the presence of key staff in country offices. This facilitates proficiency in program areas, policy formulation, evaluation, and research, underscored by strong senior management and coordination with the UN system, particularly vital during conflicts and emergencies.
- Secondly, UNICEF’s commitment to comprehensive support for children from early childhood through adolescence is made possible by flexible funding. This ensures consistent health, nutrition, protection, and education services, especially crucial in times of crisis.
- Thirdly, UNICEF’s global presence in over 190 countries, with direct programs in 149, is sustained through flexible funding. This extensive reach allows for the scaling of innovations and best practices tailored to local needs, significantly contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Fourthly, in terms of leadership and innovation, UNICEF leverages its global presence and relationships with diverse stakeholders to invest in long-term change. Flexible funding provides the flexibility needed to take risks and develop transformative solutions for children.
- Lastly, crisis response is a critical area where flexible funding proves indispensable. It enables UNICEF to establish systems and relationships that ensure preparedness and facilitate immediate and long term support for children affected by emergencies. Together, these advantages underscore the essential role of flexible funding in empowering UNICEF to deliver impactful and sustainable outcomes for children and young people globally.
UNICEF is actively addressing several major global challenges that significantly impact children, particularly in low-income and conflict-affected regions.
Climate change and environmental degradation are leading to more frequent and severe weather events, posing health risks and causing displacement. These challenges disproportionately affect children, increasing their vulnerability to dehydration, disease, and malnutrition. UNICEF is advocating for integrated health and climate solutions to mitigate these effects.
Digital inequality and technological risks present another challenge, with unequal access to digital technology and resources, especially in low-income regions, limiting children’s opportunities to acquire essential digital skills. UNICEF is working to promote digital equality by providing access to technology and engaging children in digital policy development.
Geopolitical conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe, exacerbate instability and violence, exposing children to increased risks of violence and displacement. UNICEF is expanding humanitarian aid and strengthening monitoring mechanisms to protect affected children.
Socio-political factors play a pivotal role in UNICEF’s operational effectiveness. In regions with unstable governments or authoritarian regimes, access to affected populations can be restricted, and humanitarian efforts politicised.
Moreover, global economic shifts and donor fatigue threaten funding, impacting UNICEF’s ability to sustain long-term programs.
Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach, leveraging partnerships with governments, NGOs, and the private sector to enhance resilience and adaptability in its mission to protect and empower children worldwide.
Economic fragmentation further complicates these issues, as disparities in income and resources lead to rising child poverty and limited access to essential services in low-income and developing countries. UNICEF advocates for equitable budgeting and strategic investments to improve youth employment prospects and access to education.
Lastly, acute food insecurity remains a critical concern, with high levels of malnutrition prevalent in conflict-affected areas like Darfur, Sudan, and Gaza, State of Palestine. Children under five are particularly vulnerable, facing severe malnutrition and stunting. UNICEF is implementing initiatives to strengthen systems for identifying and treating malnourished children and integrating peace and development actions to address the root causes of food insecurity.
Through these efforts, UNICEF demonstrates a comprehensive approach to tackling the multifaceted challenges that threaten children’s wellbeing worldwide.
How flexible funding helps deliver against interconnected sustainable development goals.
The need for reliable sources of funding that support agility, interconnectedness, and long-term results for children is the greatest it’s ever been. Our projection is that at the current rate, only a fourth of all children will live in countries where 70% of the SDGs’ (Sustainable Development Goals) child-related targets will have been met by 2030.
We look at flexible funding to restore hope that the SDGs can be within reach, particularly in LDCs (Least Developed Countries), which highly rely on it, and to seize every opportunity we can to promote shared progress while safeguarding our hard-won development gains for every child, everywhere. Consistent investment of flexible funding has been a proven driver of long-term impact, including in LDCs, as with halving the global under-5 mortality rates since 2000.
We also look at flexible funding to remain agile in the face of increasingly complex crises and growing humanitarian needs but also to prevent so-called “forgotten crises”. The flexible funding we spent on humanitarian programming has increased by 8% in the last two years, reaching 30% in 2023. This not only highlights flexible funding’s critical importance in UNICEF’s response to emergencies but also how central flexible funding is to the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.
Restoring the balance between flexible and earmarked funding through a trend of increased and sustained growth of voluntary flexible contributions is critical for a renewed chance to shape the future for children and the SDGs.
Why are philanthropic donations so vital?
Collaboration is essential to make meaningful progress towards the SDGs, which is why UNICEF works with partners to drive macro-systems-level change. We cannot do this alone, even with our extensive reach and expertise. UNICEF builds partnerships with organisations that complement our technical expertise, global footprint, and relationships at all levels – from government ministries to community partners – and we co-create the ways that the private sector can contribute to driving sustainable economic development globally.
Everyone has a role to play as we work towards achieving the SDGs by 2030. No matter who you are or where you live, and no matter what kind of business you are in, we have a better chance of reaching the goals if we work together and, perhaps more importantly, if we play to our strengths and use our unique propositions to create a multiplier effect and help shape a better world.
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The importance of flexible funding to protect and improve the lives of children
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