UNICEF 2022 Annual Report
For every child, every opportunity
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Millions suffered the consequences of floods, storms and droughts linked to climate change, struggled to access essential services amidst violent conflict, or continued to feel the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic.
These were among the factors which led to a global nutrition crisis, with 45 million children under 5 suffering from wasting. Many communities saw the costs of basic food and goods skyrocket, pushing more families into poverty.
For more than 75 years, UNICEF has worked to protect children during such challenging times. And in 2022, with more children in need than at any other time in our organization’s history, we had to be at our best.
Guided by our new 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, UNICEF continued to deliver lifesaving and life-changing results for children with a focus on reaching the most vulnerable. The results presented in this report were achieved through the dedication and courage of our nearly 17,000 staff working across more than 190 countries and territories.
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We made historic advances in preventing and treating childhood wasting.
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We implemented vaccination campaigns in humanitarian emergencies.
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We confronted the global learning crisis and expanded our efforts to prevent and address gender-based violence.
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And we worked with governments to strengthen the systems that children rely on – like health care, water, sanitation and education.
This past year, UNICEF also elevated climate action as a priority across the organization, expanding our support to communities to develop and implement climate mitigation and adaptation strategies.
This progress was made possible thanks to the strength of our partnerships and record-level support from our donors. Throughout the year, UNICEF deepened its engagement with governments, the private sector and other UN agencies.
Yet our most critical partnership remains with children and young people themselves. They have an integral role to play in creating solutions to the challenges and crises we face. The future may be deeply uncertain, but it is theirs. We have a responsibility to ensure it is a future in which the rights of all children everywhere are fully realized.
Our Results
Goal Area 1: Every child, including adolescents, survives and thrives, with access to nutritious diets, quality primary health care, nurturing practices and essential supplies
182.4 million children under 5 benefited from services for the early prevention, detection and treatment of child wasting.
77.9 million children were vaccinated against measles.
UNICEF supported 143 countries to deliver COVID-19 vaccination services.
67 countries have integrated mental health services into primary health care since 2021.
Goal Area 2: Every child, including adolescents, learns and acquires skills for the future
37.9 million out-of-school children and adolescents accessed education in 2022, including 18.6 million in humanitarian settings.
Learning materials reached 28.3 million children, including 3.8 million in humanitarian settings.
Goal Area 3: Every child is protected from violence and exploitation
Across 109 countries, UNICEF supported 4.7 million children who experienced violence to receive health, social work, justice or law enforcement services.
UNICEF reached more than 5 million women and children in 65 countries with gender-based violence risk mitigation interventions.
The number of girls and women receiving prevention and care interventions for child marriage and female genital mutilation doubled since 2021.
Goal Area 4: Every child lives in a safe and clean environment
26 million people gained access to at least basic sanitation services, 30.6 million to basic water that is safe and available when needed and 23.6 million to basic hygiene.
UNICEF direct support resulted in 5.4 million people using climate-resilient water systems and 3.2 million using climate-resilient sanitation facilities.
At COP27, UNICEF advocacy led to the formal recognition of the role of children and youth as agents of change in climate action.
Goal Area 5: Every child has an equitable chance in life
With UNICEF support, governments reached over 129 million children with cash transfer programming.
UNICEF expanded the use of humanitarian cash transfers as part of emergency response reaching over 2.8 million households in 43 countries.
UNICEF supported the strengthening of local governance capacities for poverty reduction in rural and urban settings in 58 countries.
Humanitarian response
In 2022, UNICEF responded to both human-made crises and natural disasters aggravated by climate change. The number of people requiring humanitarian assistance continued to grow in 2022, reaching about 274 million, up from 235 million in 2021.
8.8 million children and women in humanitarian contexts received interventions designed to prevent GBV, mitigate risks and support survivors.
UNICEF direct support in humanitarian emergencies reached over 23 million people with WASH services in 2022, including through major interventions in response to war in Ukraine, flooding in Pakistan and conflict and severe drought in Ethiopia.
Delivering essential supplies
Supplies are essential to fulfil children’s rights. In 2022, UNICEF procured a record $7.4 billion in goods and services for children in 162 countries and areas, representing a 93 per cent increase from pre-COVID-19 figures. Over $863.9 million worth of emergency supplies were procured and delivered to 140 countries and areas.
Engaging with young people
Young people not only provide key input into UNICEF’s priorities, they are also UNICEF’s most crucial partners in achieving results and driving sustainable change.
In 2022, 10.6 million young volunteers played a significant role across sectors including climate action and pandemic and emergency response.
U-Report, UNICEF’s digital platform for youth engagement, registered 8 million new U-Reporters in 2022, bringing the total to 27.5 million in 92 countries.
UNICEF engaged 7.4 million children, adolescents, and youth in advocacy, nearly 6.6 million in communication and 27.1 million in online platforms.
Financial results
Despite 2022’s increasingly challenging fundraising environment due to the war in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions and economic volatility, UNICEF’s revenue reached its highest level to date.
While total UNICEF revenue in 2022 grew by an additional $1.8 billion compared to 2021, Core Resources for Results (RR) decreased by 19 per cent, or $284 million. Our core funding ensures that UNICEF deals with the underlying systemic causes of child deprivation and rights abuses instead of only the symptoms.
Read more about UNICEF’s revenue and contributions received from partners in the full report.
Highlights
This report highlights UNICEF's key achievements across its five goal areas and humanitarian action, engagement with young people and its financial results in 2022.
