Oral Statement – Annual session 2021 of the Executive Board on behalf of the NGO Committee on UNICEF

Distinguished President, I am Alex Vazquez from the International Federation for Family Development and I represent today the NGO Committee on Unicef and on behalf of its members and organizations the recommendations for the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan in order to fulfill our task of advising you, the Executive Board members, with a civil society perspective.

We are aware of and appreciate all the efforts that have been put into the Strategic Plan drafting process, despite the added pressure posed by the pandemic. We celebrate the development of a small set of systemic outcome-level change indicators that cut across all five Goal Areas of the Strategic Plan and connect them to the Sustainable Development Goals’ targets.

In this regard, we are ready to contribute with our members’ recommendations to (the how), those change strategies necessary for the achievement of results, in the following specific areas:

1. Continue your strong emphasis on and support for early childhood development.

2. Support and emphasize your efforts on education, which has met severe rollbacks for gains achieved in recent years.

3. Take into account the civil society contribution on the number of mothers, fathers and caregivers participating in parenting programmes and the number of countries where integrated parenting support programmes are fortifying parents’ relation and mental health for optimal and holistic development of children.

4. Appreciate the strong call for investment in digital infrastructure not only during this period of remote instruction but as a key strategy to leave no one behind.

And finally, it is our joint responsibility to reach children from a wide range of backgrounds and reflect as the 75th anniversary of UNICEF is coming up, they are the reason for changing the world for the better.

Thank you, Mr. President.