Joint statement delivered by DPR of Denmark Marie-Louise Koch Wegter at UNICEF Annual Session 2022

Mr. President, Madam Executive Director,

Thank you for giving me the floor. I have the honor of delivering this statement on behalf of (…) and my own country Denmark.

Firstly, we would like to congratulate UNICEF on the progress achieved the past year. We would also like to express our sincere appreciation for the work of UNICEF staff and implementing partners, who have delivered impressive results despite difficult circumstances.

At the same time, despite the results, this is no time for complacency. While we see progress on some fronts, we also note that some results continue to be negatively affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and re-prioritization of resources. This poses a very real risk to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

We in particular note that results regarding routine immunization are off track. We would like to encourage continued and increased investment in routine immunization, which we know is fundamental for childrens’ health and development.

We also note with concern the lost learning due to the impact of COVID-19, which has disproportionately affected the most marginalized children. We however, also note that UNICEF was able to reach many of the children who were out of school even before COVID-19, with remote learning and welcome this achievement.

We would like to encourage continued focus on getting children back to school, including the children that were out of school before Covid-19. In this regard, we encourage UNICEF to continue to put girls and marginalized children at the center of your efforts. We look forward to working together with UNICEF and other relevant partners at the upcoming Transforming Education Summit to achieve real transformative actions on the global education agenda to the benefit of not just every child, but societies at a large.

As we embark on the first year of implementation of the new Strategic Plan the dire need for the work that UNICEF performs for children globally is more clear than ever.

The many multifaceted challenges that the world currently faces, including COVID-19, underscore the paramount importance of collaborative efforts and multilateral responses. A more integrated, coherent, efficient and results-driven UN presence on the ground, led by the empowered UN Resident Coordinators, plays an important part in ensuring that countries recover better, greener and more equal from the current pandemic.  We encourage UNICEF to show leadership at country level and to continue to work closely with sister agencies, NGOs and local partners, to strengthen efforts towards achieving the SDGs.

2021 was a record-breaking year for UNICEF in terms of revenue and for the first time UNICEF reached more than 8 billion USD in annual revenue. We welcome the increased private sector revenue and commend UNICEF on your fundraising efforts. However, the declining proportion of regular resources as part of UNICEF’s total income continues to be a matter of concern. As committed partners, we know that sufficient, predictable and quality funding, in line with the commitments in the Funding Compact, is key both to the implementation of the Strategic Plan, and in allowing for the flexibility that has proved invaluable in these last few years.

It is also crucial to ensure that UNICEF continues to have the appropriate systems in place to manage this funding effectively, including for the prevention of, and response to, fraud and other forms of mismanagement.

Madam Executive Director, you mentioned it yourself. Climate change is a major risk to children and we must all do what we can to mitigate climate change and global warming. We therefore encourage UNICEF to continue to improve its work on environmental sustainability and climate change, including by reducing the carbon footprint of the organisation and its programmatic activities. The new Strategic Plan commits to environmental sustainability and climate change, but we note that implementation is inconsistent across country programmes and often focus on WASH programmes. We also encourage UNICEF to include assessments of environmental sustainability and climate change in future evaluations.

Mr. President let me conclude by reiterating that you can count on our continued support to UNICEF to do what they do best - deliver on results for every child.

Thank you.