2024 UNICEF-NGO Consultations

In 2020, UNICEF and ICVA co-convened the UNICEF-NGO Partnership in Humanitarian Action Consultations on ‘Working Together to Address Emerging Challenges’. The virtual consultations aimed to take stock of progress made on recommendations from the 2019 UNICEF-NGO Consultations and discuss emerging challenges, including the impact of COVID-19 on partnerships, UNICEF simplified partnership procedures and their impact on NGO work on the ground, funding flexibility for NGOs, antiracism and anti-discrimination efforts and challenges in the sector, as well as decolonisation of aid and progress on the localisation agenda.

In May 2023, a virtual consultation was organized on the impact of nutrition insecurity on the rights of children living in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa regions, with a focus on strengthening UNICEF-NGO partnerships to address the needs of children and their communities. In the same year, a UNICEF dialogue with partners responding to the emergency in Ukraine and in refugee-hosting countries took place virtually, providing a space for exchange on how to jointly strengthen partnership to further contribute to addressing the needs of children in Ukraine and neighboring refugee receiving countries.

Objectives:

The primary objective of the 2024 Global Consultations is to gather diverse perspectives on key issues related to the delivery of humanitarian and development aid to children and safeguarding their rights. It aims to identify existing challenges and opportunities, develop recommendations for effective policies and programmes, strengthen partnerships, and promote accountability and transparency in aid delivery.

Expected Outcomes:

The main expected outcome is to identify actions that will help enhance the partnership between UNICEF and its partner NGOs in order to further contribute to the delivery of better results for children in humanitarian and development settings. Recommendations with clear roles, timelines, and progress tracking will guide future actions for both parties.

Agenda and Concept Note:

• Agenda: 2024 UNICEF-NGO Consultations
• Concept Note – 2024 UNICEF-NGO Consultations ‘Partnering for Children in the Climate Crisis’

Participation

The UNICEF-NGO Consultations targets:

• UNICEF NGO partners, including international, national, and local NGOs, and community-based organizations, etc. having worked in partnership with UNICEF over the last 5 years;
• ICVA members; and
• Relevant UNICEF staff at Country Office, Regional Office, and HQ levels.

Report from the April 2024 UNICEF-NGO Consultations held in Geneva under the overarching theme of ‘Partnering for Children in the Climate Crisis.’

• Report.

The report was jointly written by ICVA and UNICEF. It outlines seven priority follow-up actions, key recommendations, and summarises key points from the six sessions of the 2-day event. This event gathered 145 participants, including representatives from 36 international NGOs, 21 national NGOs, 4 NGO networks, 4 United Nations agencies, along with UNICEF and ICVA colleagues.

Speaker and Moderator Biographies:

• Speakers and Moderators

Participating Organizations:

• List of Participating Organizations

This session will set the stage by assessing the needs of children impacted by climate change and highlighting the humanitarian policies and programs related to climate change that UNICEF and its partners are currently executing.

Session objective:

A panel discussion featuring speakers from UNICEF and NGOs will address the effects of climate change on children, provide updates on current initiatives combating these impacts, discuss challenges and opportunities, and identify areas requiring further collaborative investment and advocacy efforts.

Building on session 1, this session prompts participants to engage in breakout discussions on enhancing collaboration between UNICEF and NGOs to create and execute effective policies and programs supporting children and communities in addressing climate change. Discussions will focus on strengthening preparedness, response, and anticipatory action, reviewing partnership processes, sharing concerns, proposing joint approaches, and suggesting recommendations for tackling climate change collaboratively.

Session objective:

The session will begin with an opening presentation to guide breakout groups, followed by group discussions. Groups will then reconvene to share key points and present 2-3 recommendations for UNICEF, NGOs, and the wider sector.

This session aims to assess existing challenges, showcase successful approaches, and propose solutions on how UNICEF and NGO partners can enhance collaboration within the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus. The focus will be on Disaster Risk Reduction, prioritizing children, communities, and local actors in climate crisis response efforts.

Session objective:

The session will discuss the collaborative efforts of UNICEF and NGOs in prioritizing children and women in climate crisis response, address challenges and opportunities, and conclude with key recommendations for UNICEF, NGOs, and the broader sector.

The session will discuss the collaborative efforts of UNICEF and NGOs in prioritizing children and women in climate crisis response, address challenges and opportunities, and conclude with key recommendations for UNICEF, NGOs, and the broader sector.

Session objective:

This session will discuss the engagement between UNICEF, NGOs, and affected communities and explore potential joint investment and advocacy efforts related to AAP.

This session will discuss how local actors and organizations can work together to address the impacts of climate change, with a focus on capacity-sharing, working with marginalized groups, and enhancing each other’s abilities.

Session objective:

This session will explore the importance of partnering with local actors, recognizing their knowledge and utilizing their assistance in reaching children and communities.

To enhance support for climate-affected children, quality funding and equitable partnerships are crucial. This session aims to address challenges and capitalize on opportunities in partnerships. A study by ICVA with over 700 UNICEF partners revealed enthusiasm for collaboration on key issues like funding, advocacy, and alignment. Improving areas such as funding flexibility, communication, and implementation consistency is vital. Join us to discuss best practices, identify obstacles, and generate recommendations for advancing quality funding and equitable partnerships.

Session objective:

This session will start with brief talks by UNICEF and NGO representatives, followed by a Q&A session. Participants will then discuss key challenges, opportunities, and solutions related to quality funding and equitable partnerships in breakout groups.