EU Statement – UNICEF Executive Board: Plan for Global Evaluations, 2026-29

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Mr. President, Madam Executive Director, distinguished colleagues, 

I am speaking on behalf of the European Union as a donor.

We thank you for the presentation of the Plan for Global Evaluations, which will accompany the new Strategic Plan. We welcome the Office’s commitment to consolidate its evaluation portfolios, and to restructure and revise its business model to achieve greater efficiency and impact.

While we recognise the current financial constraints, we note the significant reduction in the number of planned evaluations compared to the 2022–2025 period, and that 13 out of 23 critically necessary evaluations remain without secured funding. Given the importance of evaluation for accountability, learning and results, we encourage UNICEF to continue mobilising the resources required to ensure that priority evaluations can proceed — notably those related to the prevention and early detection of child wasting, as well as organisational safeguarding, and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. We would appreciate further information on the feasibility of delivering these priority evaluations within the next four years, and what measures are being considered to mitigate potential gaps.

We welcome the strategic priorities guiding the implementation of this evaluation plan, in particular improved coherence in evaluation planning. We encourage UNICEF’s efforts towards more cost-efficient quality assurance and quality assessment mechanisms, notably through the development of shared tools, systems and quality assessment platforms with other UN agencies. We welcome the Plan’s intention to strengthen the tracking and follow-up of evaluations to ensure timely implementation of recommendations.

We continue to encourage UNICEF to enhance its participation in joint and system-wide evaluations, including within the UN 80 agenda, at a time where the UN system is striving for increased efficiency and accountability. In a context of scarce resources, we also welcome efforts to explore strategic linkages with other UN evaluation functions, including for cost-sharing.

Finally, we welcome the Plan’s commitment to continue the crucial development of national evaluation capacity, building on progress initiated during the previous Strategic Plan, and emphasizing South-South cooperation. 

Recognising the current financial constraints and organisational changes, we trust that efforts will continue to ensure that these priority evaluations are properly resourced and implemented in the coming 4 years. We rely on Management’s sustained support to uphold a strong and credible evaluation function within UNICEF.

Thank you.