UNICEF is an intergovernmental organization that does humanitarian work to better the lives of millions of children worldwide. UNICEF focuses on ensuring that every child is protected, included, educated and has an equal chance in the world. They work with their partners across 190 countries to achieve this. Due to the fact that UNICEF is entirely funded by donations, they rely heavily on their partners to achieve their goals. Their most important partners are in the public sector because these specifically help them advocate for and with children to improve their lives. The three types of public sector partners are government partners, multilateral partners and United Nations partners.
These are the top ten donors from 2019 that have aided UNICEF and believe in their mission:
GOVERNMENT PARTNERS
Partnering with governments is crucial for making significant change and improvements in policies for children. UNICEF works with governments in over 190 countries in order for children to have safe, healthy and educated lives. The main focus of working with governments is raising awareness and furthering their understanding in the urgency of this work. On top of this they are fundamental in providing resources and funds to help emergency humanitarian responses. In 2019 the most helpful governments were the USA, the UK and Germany.
MULTILATERAL PARTNERS
Multilateral partners are organizations who obtain funding from governments and spend it on projects in different countries. They require qualified workers in areas like healthcare, economics, business and social behaviour. UNICEF is involved in GPP’s (global programme partnerships) to achieve better results. These are voluntary collaborations that work to achieve global goals and in 2017 UNICEF was a part of 101 GPP’s.
Additionally, they partner with IFI’s (international financial institutions) in order to address the roots of conflicts. IFI's give UNICEF funding, advice and strategic guidance.
In 2019 the main UNICEF multilateral partners were the World Bank Group and the Vaccine Alliance.
UNITED NATIONS PARTNERS
UNICEF works with other organizations that are a part of the UN to help achieve the sustainable development goals. The main organizations include the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. UNICEF has three strategies that were created in 2018 to help achieve overall goals by 2021. The first is to ‘work collaboratively with UN partners to achieve more results and save money’. The second is to ‘increase alignment with national government priorities and plans’, and the third is to ‘work with other UN funds and agencies on signature initiatives in the common chapter of the strategic plan.’
How can you help?
To help out and become a UNICEF partner, you can donate money on their website as well as supporting or joining your IST UNICEF group. This will help UNICEF achieve their goals as well as help millions of children across the world.