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2025-12-31-accounts

Youssef, eight, is learning to read and write for the first time, using a braille typewriter, and dreams of becoming a teacher. He is one of 9,000 children in Syria supported by UNICEF's inclusive education programmes.

THE UNITED KINGDOM COMMITTEE FOR UNICEF

~~2025 ANNUAL REPORT~~

ABOUT US

UNICEF exists to build a better world for every child

As the world’s leading children’s organisation, UNICEF delivers life-saving essentials and long-term solutions that transform futures. From clean water, nutritious food and vaccines to education and protection from violence, we reach more children than any other organisation.

Our work is powered by collaboration — with families, communities, partners and governments in over 190 countries — because real change happens when we act together. Every initiative, whether immediate relief or system strengthening, is guided by one principle: putting children first.

With nearly 80 years of proven expertise, a global network, and a commitment to innovation, UNICEF combines urgency with sustainability. We act fast in emergencies and invest in lasting progress, ensuring every penny counts. Impartial and nonpolitical, we are unwavering in defending children’s rights and safeguarding their futures.

Together, we are building a better world for every child.

About UNICEF UK

The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) is a registered charity dedicated to raising vital funds for UNICEF’s emergency response and long-term development work worldwide, while championing lasting change for children everywhere.

Our mission brings together the raising of critical income and advocating for children’s rights. As one of 32 UNICEF national committees, we bring global expertise to local impact.

In the UK, we work where childhood begins and grows — in hospitals where babies are born and in schools and communities where children learn and thrive. Every effort is focused on one goal: making childhood unstoppable.

CONTENTS

Message from the Youth Advisory Board 2
Introduction from Shatish Dasani, Chair 4
Introduction from Philip Goodwin, Chief Executive 5
Making Childhood Unstoppable 6
2025 strategic goals and key achievements
and our strategy for 2026 10
INCOME 16
IMPACT 20
International impact 20
UK impact 38
INFLUENCE 42
OUR ORGANISATION 46
Structure, governance and management 46
People and environment 51
Fundraising 54
Financial review 55
Risk management 58
Thank you 62
Auditor’s report 64
Financial statements 68

2025 Trustees’ Report and Consolidated Financial Statements

The UNICEF UK Board of Trustees (herein referred to as the ‘Trustees’) are pleased to present the annual report, strategic report and audited consolidated financial statements of UNICEF UK and its trading subsidiary, UNICEF Enterprises Limited.

“I didn’t realise just how committed UNICEF UK was to amplifying young people’s voices.”

Kaius, a member of UNICEF UK’s Youth Advisory Board 2024/25.

A message from Kaius, a member of our Youth Advisory Board 2024/25

In a year full of uncertainty and change, 2025 made clear to me what genuine youth influence looks like. As I sat on the main stage at Spotify’s headquarters, taking part in UNICEF UK’s Global Coalition for Youth Mental Health event, I was struck by just how seriously my perspectives and experiences were taken.

When I joined the Youth Advisory Board, I expected to share opinions. I didn’t realise just how committed UNICEF UK was to amplifying young people’s voices.

Mental health continues to be a taboo subject that silences many in our generation. Being given the space to address it so candidly reminded me that progress towards a safer childhood starts with an open conversation – with no judgement or barriers.

Another standout experience last year was filming conversations for social media at UNICEF UK’s headquarters. As a group, the Youth Advisory Board spoke directly to camera about issues that mattered to us, including the cost-ofliving crisis and gender inequality. Being given the trust to speak freely, with no script or censoring, felt empowering in a way I hadn’t experienced before.

Our conversations were designed to reach far beyond the room we were in, helping countless young people across the globe to feel seen and inspire them to raise their own voices. It confirmed for me yet again that UNICEF UK doesn’t include the youth voice for appearance, but because they genuinely want to listen to and champion young people.

Give us meaningful support and a seat at the table, and we will shape change and help build the future we’ll inherit.

2

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© UNICEF/Horsley
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Youth Advisory Board handover day at UNICEF UK offices in London in November 2025. Left to right, top to bottom, our new Youth Advisory Board for 2026/27: Shakir, Moatasem, Timi, Emma, Prusha, Irum, Ebba and Valerie.

OUR YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD

Throughout 2025, our Youth Advisory Board worked with us to co-create and advise the organisation. Externally, they used their platform to discuss youth mental health on a global stage, promote our work at Soccer Aid for UNICEF, share their passion for changemaking with supporters, and to speak with parliamentarians about global health.

They led the work to recruit their successors and targeted young people who had never heard of the board with a particular focus on ensuring they upheld our commitments to equity, diversity and inclusion in all the decisions they made.

They received twice as many applications as in previous years, from young people with a much more diverse range of life experiences. They interviewed 19 applicants before confirming Ebba, Emma, Irum, Moatasem, Prusha, Shakir, Timi and Valerie as the new board for 2026/27.

3

INTRODUCTIONS

Shatish Dasani, Chair

Across the world in 2025, children faced multiple crises caused by conflict, climate change, displacement, economic uncertainty and deepening inequality. Democratic institutions were under strain and international cooperation was increasingly fragile. Amid these challenges, UNICEF UK mobilised significant funding and influence to support children in the UK and worldwide.

We have raised more than £442 million over the three years since the start of our strategic period in 2023, and continued our growth strategy in income last year, establishing the UK as one of UNICEF’s most significant National Committees. This also reflects the continued generosity and trust of our supporters and partners.

We worked with partners including international bodies, national governments and local communities to improve the systems that support children and provide urgent life-saving support to families and communities in crisis due to conflict, climate crises and displacement.

During 2026, we will develop our strategy for the next strategic period from 2027 to 2029 to build on the ambitious foundations we have already laid to improve our income, influence and the impact we make for children around the world.

I am pleased to report that the Board of Trustees continued to operate effectively during the year with an emphasis on strategic oversight and good governance. In line with our succession plans, we had a number of board changes as trustees came to the end of their term. I would like to thank Alex Connock who stepped down after nearly nine years of dedicated service, including as Vice Chair. Alex’s insights and contributions have been invaluable.

I would also like to thank Sean Carney, Richard Hawkes and Matt Ferguson for their dedicated service to UNICEF UK.

During the year, we welcomed five new trustees bringing fresh perspectives, renewed energy and diverse expertise to the Board: Heather Francis, who will act as Treasurer, Chris Merry, Meryl Bagguley, Sheena Amin and Sophie Pender. I would like to thank the Board, and our executive team members for their support and dedication. I look forward to working with them to deliver on our ambitious plans for the coming years.

The Board completed a thorough review of the membership model of the charity and decided to move to a foundation model with updated Articles of Association described further under the governance section. I would like to acknowledge the contribution and dedication of the many non-Trustee members over the years, and thank them for their support.

We operate in a challenging environment, but it is important to recognise how far we have come. Our work is increasingly shaped by a simple but ambitious proposition - making childhood unstoppable. It reflects our shared ambition and sustained commitment to removing barriers so that children everywhere can survive, learn and thrive.

On behalf of the Board, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to our supporters, partners and colleagues. Their collective efforts ensure that UNICEF UK continues to create a better world for every child.

4

Philip Goodwin, Chief Executive

2025 was a year that asked a great deal of us – of our organisation, our partners, and of children around the world. We operate in a time of great uncertainty and in these challenging moments, our purpose became even clearer: to stand firmly for children, no matter the circumstances.

Together, we rose to that moment. We raised more than £146 million to support children here in the UK and across the globe. This is an extraordinary achievement, and one that reflects the dedication, compassion, and sheer hard work of our teams. Every conversation, every partnership, every hour invested made a difference - and I remain deeply inspired by what we achieved.

Soccer Aid for UNICEF reached new heights, raising a record £15.3 million. We renewed major partnerships with AstraZeneca and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and established important new collaborations with Standard Chartered, Wellcome Trust, Sainsbury’s, Arup and many others. These relationships are more than financial contributions – they represent a shared belief in a world where every child has the chance to thrive.

This support meant UNICEF could respond to 443 emergencies in 146 countries. From Gaza and Sudan to Afghanistan and Lebanon, children and their families received vital assistance at moments of unimaginable hardship. We strengthened health and education systems in countries such as Malawi, Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, ensuring children have access not just to immediate relief, but to long-term hope and opportunity.

Here at home, our work reached over 3.25 million children. The Baby Friendly Initiative supported 600,000 newborns and their families with compassionate, evidence-based feeding support and celebrated its

10-year anniversary working in neonatal units. Rights Respecting Schools continued to grow, reaching 1.75 million children in more than 5,000 schools. And through Child Friendly Cities and Communities, we helped embed children’s rights at the heart of local decision-making.

One of the most significant moments of the year was UNICEF UK’s role in advocating for the abolition of the two-child benefit cap. This change will lift half a million children out of poverty in the UK, and I want to express my deepest thanks to everyone involved. Your persistence and conviction have helped secure a fairer future for the children and families who need it most.

Last year, I witnessed our impact firsthand. Sitting with young people at a Rights Respecting School, I saw how seriously they take their responsibility to care for one another. In India, I met children whose determination to learn was a powerful reminder that education can change a life. And in Ukraine, I spent time with foster parents caring for children who had lost so much – an experience that was profoundly moving and a clear reminder of why our work matters.

At the centre of everything we did in 2025 was a belief that every child, everywhere, should grow up seeing possibility rather than barriers.

With our partners, supporters, and the communities we serve, we are building a future where no child’s potential is limited by circumstance. Together, we will continue to make childhood unstoppable.

5

Childhood is a remarkable force. Every child is born ready to learn, play, wonder and thrive - but too often, the world around them is not supporting them to do so. In 2025, UNICEF UK, introduced Making Childhood Unstoppable: a bold, unifying brand platform that articulates who we are, what we stand for, and how we work alongside children and communities to ensure childhood is protected for every child.

Making Childhood Unstoppable represents a shift in how we speak about our work and how we position ourselves in the world. It centres UNICEF’s longterm role in building the conditions that allow childhood to be unstoppable – even in the most challenging contexts.

At its heart is a clear strategic truth, grounded in research and audience insight: people care deeply about children, yet today’s constant crises often leave them feeling paralysed rather than empowered to act. To break through this ‘hope paralysis’, we have sharpened our focus on the long-term, systemic work UNICEF does every day - supporting families and communities and strengthening essential services so that children can thrive no matter the challenges surrounding them.

A central pillar of Making Childhood Unstoppable is our commitment to inclusive and anti-racist narrative practice. We are embedding inclusive storytelling that reflects children as agents of their own change. This shift speaks directly to our responsibility to portray children, their families, and their communities with respect, dignity, and complexity. It also echoes our organisation-wide commitments to remove bias, challenge old habits, and widen the voices and experiences we amplify.

UNICEF’s work is, and has always been, a collective effort. Childhood can only be unstoppable if we act together - UNICEF, partners, families, supporters and children themselves. This collective framing moves us towards a shared, ongoing responsibility to protect and sustain childhood, in every context.

Making Childhood Unstoppable has set a clear foundation for the years ahead - strengthening our distinctiveness while reaffirming UNICEF UK’s role as a long-term partner for children, before, during and beyond moments of crisis. It is a lasting commitment to stand with children, remove the obstacles in their way, and help create a better world for every child.

6

Youssef from Homs, pictured here with his mother, is in school and unstoppable.

7

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Youssef raises his
hand in class.
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8

THERE’S A NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

“Knowledge is what lights our way. When you stop learning, life becomes silent.”

Youssef, age 8, from Homs, Syria.

When Youssef walked into a classroom for the first time, he wasn’t just starting school, he was stepping into a world of possibility.

“My first day at school was beautiful. I learned about education and how others study. And I discovered there’s something called a school break!” Youssef said.

Youssef was born with a visual impairment. For years, his world was shaped by the love and determination of his parents, who refused to let barriers define their son’s future. But something was missing, school. A place to learn alongside peers, to make friends, to discover life beyond the walls of home.

For many children in Syria, school is out of reach. Years of conflict have left one in three schools unusable. More than 2.4 million children remain out of school and children with disabilities are among the most likely to be excluded.

UNICEF works with families, communities, and partners to train teachers, build accessible classrooms, and provide essential equipment like Braille machines. In 2024 alone, 9,000 children with disabilities gained access to quality education, including Youssef.

There he discovered the joy of raising his hand, joining class discussions, and making friends — like Zain, his best friend. “We really love and support each other” Youssef said

Youssef is unstoppable. He wants to become an English teacher. And he recently became Syria’s Champion in the Arabic Reading Challenge.

Youssef’s story is the story of thousands of children across Syria whose futures are being rewritten through inclusive education. Because when children learn, childhoods are unstoppable.

9

2025 STRATEGIC GOALS, KEY ACHIEVEMENTS AND OUR STRATEGY FOR 2026

We made great progress against our goals in 2025.

The start of 2025 marked the mid-point of our four-year strategic period (2023–26), and an important moment to reflect and review the progress we had made against the strategic goals we set in 2022.

We identified areas that needed a greater focus for improvement and used that data, alongside changes in our external environment, to reassess our original assumptions and goals to align with current priorities.

We found that while our strategic goals were still relevant, the framework, targets and measures needed revision. We have reworded our four goals to make them more realistic and measurable, while remaining true to our ambition.

10

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INCOME

Our income to support UNICEF’s work, globally and in the UK

OUR GOAL FOR 2025

Raise £145 million of income

to help build a better world for every child.

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

We raised £146 million.

This funding allowed us to be there for children living through conflicts and disasters, support children and their communities to adapt to climate change, help children and their families access healthcare and education and advocate for children’s rights both here in the UK and around the world.

OUR GOAL FOR 2026

Raise £156 million in 2026

working towards a sustainable 80 pence in the pound for all children. Focus our efforts on raising unrestricted funds for children to allow us to respond immediately and effectively to support children wherever we are needed.

UNICEF UK supporter and TV and radio presenter, Sam Thompson visits Magda and her daughter Dany, aged 3, at an Early Learning and Development Centre in Solola, Guatemala in April 2025. At the centre UNICEF-trained ‘mother volunteers’ from the community run sessions for children under four, and their parents, to support their development in motor and language skills.

11

IMPACT

OUR GOAL FOR 2025

To continue to work towards our goal to reach 5 million children through UNICEF UK programmes by 2026.

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

Since the start of this strategic period in 2023, we have cumulatively reached 5.2 million children through our UK-wide programmes to improve the lives of children in the UK. This is a year earlier than the goal we set ourselves – an achievement that demonstrates the generosity and dedication of our supporters, and the hard work and tenacity of our teams.

OUR GOAL FOR 2026

Transform the systems and services across health, education, sport and local communities that will directly improve the outcomes and life chances of 5.75 million children in the UK by 2026.

~~Children take part in UNICEF's Child Friendly Cities Programme in Sandwell~~ 12

Dr. Chris van Tulleken, along with UNICEF UK staff and campaigners who supported the Early Moments Matter campaign.

INFLUENCE

OUR GOAL FOR 2025

Infuence the UK Government to ensure children’s rights are realised and protected in the UK and around the world, through our international and UK campaigns.

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

We were instrumental in the advocacy work that led the UK Government to announce the abolishment of the two-child beneft cap, and we ensured children’s rights were central in decisions on aid investment and decision making. We continue to support the delivery and implementation of the UNCRC (2024) Act in Scotland and continue to advocate to keep children in the Government’s international agenda following the announcement of aid cuts.

OUR GOAL FOR 2026

Influence the UK Government and the Governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to secure stronger commitments to child rights both in the UK and internationally, including progress towards UNCRC incorporation, investment in early childhood (including ensuring the removal of the two-child benefit cap), and protecting the quantity and quality of aid that supports children – with an ambition of a 25% allocation.

13

OUR ORGANISATION

OUR GOAL FOR 2025

Meet or exceed our targets for an effective, engaged, inclusive and high-performing workforce.

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

We progressed our plans to become a more equitable and inclusive organisation. Our annual culture survey demonstrated that representation, inter-colleague fairness and respect, and employee voice are now embedded within our culture.

We report on more than the statutory minimum pay gaps as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability. All our pay gaps are falling, with gender now at a median of –0.6% (in favour of women), our ethnicity pay gap is down for the fourth year in a row and our socioeconomic pay gap stands at 0.5% in the first year of reporting.

OUR GOAL FOR 2026

Four-year strategy

In 2026, we will develop our next four-year strategy. This will position us to respond effectively to emerging challenges during a time of rapid global change and maximise our impact for children. We will carry forward the commitments we reaffirmed last year – to effectiveness, sustainability, and adaptability, and ensure we remain resilient, relevant, fit for the future, and capable of delivering lasting results for children.

14

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UNICEF UK staff in our
London office.
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15

8-year-olds Karen, Vilma and Rosita stand outside the bathroom doors in the Quebrada Nacimiento Carojá Rural Mixed School in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala during the Clean Hands Festival, supported by UNICEF. Through fun and educational activities, children learned about the importance of hygiene, handwashing, and staying healthy.

16

INCOME

Thanks to our supporters, partners and ambassadors we raised more than £146 million in 2025 to support children in the UK and around the world. These funds from UNICEF UK contribute directly to our work in the UK and help fund UNICEF’s work to support children around the world.

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Total income: How your £1
is spent by
UNICEF UK:
Programmes
and advocacy
(77p)
Governance
(1p)
Work to raise
the next £1
(22p)
£1
£180m
£160m
£146m
£142m
£135m
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
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INCOME

17

THE IMPORTANCE OF FLEXIBLE FUNDING

Unrestricted funds are the cornerstone of UNICEF’s commitment to build a better world for every child.

Flexible funding provides UNICEF with three key tools:

  1. Predictability to plan and implement long-term programmes for children.

  2. Flexibility to address challenging and often rapidly changing contexts to achieve real, lasting results.

  3. Efficiency that comes from reducing transaction costs and thereby maximising the resources that can go directly to children.

Around 80% of the unrestricted funds received by UNICEF go directly to programmes around the world, equitably and precisely allocated based on where the need is greatest. The allocation of the remaining 20% is directed to strategic and innovative activities, advocacy and global and regional programmes, and UNICEF’S emergency programme fund.

This is the most valuable source of funding for UNICEF. We are laying the foundations to increase the amount of unrestricted funding we can raise to deliver better results for children.

Naomie, 13, in class at AIMOG Primary School in Goma, North Kivu, DR Congo. Since early 2025, conflict has shut more than 2,500 schools across North and South Kivu provinces. With support from the European Union, UNICEF has provided recreational, hygiene, and school kits to students and teachers at AIMOG, to support the safe reopening of classrooms.

In partnership with Congolese NGP GRACE, the school has run awareness sessions for students on the dangers of explosive remnants of war and on preventing and reporting sexual violence. “What we learned about landmines and protecting ourselves from sexual abuse is really important. It helps us stay safe,” says Naomie.

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18
©UNICEF/Ushindi
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Soccer Aid World XI players lift the
Soccer Aid for UNICEF winning shield
during Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2025.
©UNICEF/SoccerAidProductions/StellaPictures
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We also successfully launched our first celebrity challenge – an epic endurance run and cycle by Sam Thompson to transport the Soccer Aid for UNICEF match ball more than 260 miles from 2024’s stadium, Stamford Bridge in London, to the home of the 2025 match, Old Trafford in Manchester. The ‘Matchball Mission’ raised more than £2 million and the documentary was watched live on ITV and STV by 1.1 million people.

SOCCER AID FOR UNICEF

Soccer Aid for UNICEF is the world’s biggest celebrity football match.

Every year, England take on Soccer Aid World XI FC. Supported by passionate fans in an iconic stadium and broadcast live on ITV1, ITVX and STV, the event harnesses the power of football to raise money for our vital work for children.

The Gates Foundation donated $4.3 million to the Soccer Aid for UNICEF campaign in 2025, to support the vital importance of children’s health in effective, equitable and inclusive development globally.

Our 2025 match was our most successful to date raising over £15 million and reaching more than 10.1 million people including 3.5 million people watching on peak-time ITV channels and 71,500 spectators at a sold out Old Trafford stadium. The Soccer Aid for UNICEF campaign really resonated with people – we received more than 516 million social media impressions, 20,600 pieces of media coverage, and 3.4 million views of our Soccer Aid for UNICEF website.

And the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation provided match funding of £5 million to UNICEF’s Child Nutrition Fund, to support children to get the nutrition they need to grow up healthy, strong and able to play.

INCOME 19

Maysaa, pictured with one of her five children, had to flee her home in Gaza and leave everything behind.

She says: "We lost all our clothes before the ceasefire when our home was threatened, and we had only ten minutes to flee. We took nothing. At night, with the strong winds and the beginning of the rain, the tent collapsed on me and my children. Water poured inside. My daughter Sidra has only two pieces of clothing, both are soaked so now she’s wearing shorts in this cold. I have only two mattresses and two blankets for six children inside this torn tent by the sea."

20 IMPACT

INTERNATIONAL IMPACT

Last year, millions of children were caught up in crises around the world, impacting their safety, education, health and sense of community.

UNICEF UK helps raise awareness and critical funding for UNICEF’s life-saving work to support children and their families before, during, and after an emergency.

In 2025 UNICEF responded to approximately 443 crises in 146 countries.

IMPACT 21

GAZA

After more than two years of relentless bombardment and attacks by Israeli forces on civilian infrastructure, Gaza lies in ruins. Homes, schools, hospitals, and water systems have been destroyed.

Most of the population has been forced to flee their homes multiple times, and many families have now returned to homes that no longer exist, streets that are unrecognisable, and entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble.

Essential services have been destroyed, leaving 3.3 million people

– including 1.7 million children – without adequate shelter, clean water, or healthcare.

From October 2025, UNICEF’s response plan focused on urgent life-saving support while laying the foundations for recovery. UNICEF UK funds supported UNICEF’s work with local partners – distributing high-energy biscuits to 8,454 people, 73,263 winter kits, 102,400 blankets, 97,896 diapers and 10,800 hygiene kits to families in Gaza.

UNICEF continues to call for safe, unimpeded humanitarian access at scale.

Winter clothes for children are distributed in Deir Al Balah, Gaza in November 2025, as temperatures started to drop. UNICEF provides winter clothing kits to children across the Gaza Strip.

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22 IMPACT
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Hanan and her son Moataz.

“Despite everything we are going through, seeing my baby smiling and playing again means everything to me. I am so relieved.”

Hanan, from Gaza

Collaborating with our partners to treat malnutrition in the State of Palestine

Hanan and her one-year-old son Moataz were displaced from the north to the south of Gaza. Hanan had been worried about Moataz before they left as he was sick and exhausted. She took him to a UNICEF-supported nutrition point on their arrival in October, where he was diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition and enrolled for treatment.

In December, Moataz finally passed the recovery threshold for malnutrition screening, after eight weeks of treatment.

Hanan said: “He was always sick, so tired… he hardly moved. He was so fatigued, he wasn’t making sounds like he normally would or sitting upright. It broke my heart to see my little boy like that.”

“At the beginning, we depended entirely on the food kitchen – it was the only food we had. Normally one bowl of rice for the whole day and we had to wait hours in line to get it. I had malnutrition too while I was pregnant with him and after he was born. I also took the treatment to get well.”

“Now my husband repairs small cooking stoves and earns a little money. With that money, I buy a few bananas for Moataz and one meal for the day for the family. I just want him to have strength again. And I want my daughters to be strong too.”

“Winter is so harsh. We are living in a tiny tent my cousin gave us as a temporary solution.”

“I used to cry every day. It is a very difficult feeling for a mother – I watched him laying on a mattress, not moving, no expression, like he was dying. No mother should experience this. Today, after treatment, he is active again. I am so happy.”

IMPACT 23

Zuhair, 12, in the compound of his home in Khartoum, Sudan. Zuhair’s life changed when a bomb struck his home, and a piece of shrapnel tore through his body. When asked what happened, he lowers his voice. “I don’t like talking about it... It brings back memories I’m afraid to relive,” he says. With the support from a local volunteer teacher, Zuhair continues learning through UNICEF’s Learning Passport.

SUDAN

The situation in Sudan has become the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Almost three years of civil war, displacement, food insecurity, disease outbreaks and collapsing services have pushed millions to the brink. Two thirds of the population – 33.7 million people, including 17.3 million children – are in urgent need. Children’s lives have been shattered and families torn apart.

Funds raised by UNICEF UK are supporting UNICEF to work with local communities and partners to deliver a coordinated, child-focused response. UNICEF is providing millions of vaccines, medical supplies, and support for local mobile health teams. And local nutrition centres are being equipped to combat the rise in severe acute malnutrition.

Much of Sudan’s water and sanitation infrastructure has been damaged. UNICEF is working with local partners to repair infrastructure and provide safe water and sanitation, as well as supply personal hygiene kits for adolescent girls and women.

By the end of November, UNICEF had worked alongside our partners and local communities to provide safe water access to 13.4 million people and admitted 1.3 million children for treatment for severe acute malnutrition.

Last year, UNICEF reunified and/or provided alternative care to more than 18,100 unaccompanied and separated children. We provided 633,400 children with landmine or other explosive weapons prevention and/or survivor assistance interventions. We also secured the release of 71 children who were held by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). We ensured 614 child survivors of grave violations – the six most serious violations committed against children, including killing, maiming, sexual abuse and using children as soldiers – were able to access vital services including legal aid, shelter and medical support.

The ELEVA Foundation is a key supporter of our work to respond to the needs of children affected by armed conflict, including our role as the designated UN agency to identify and report on grave violations against children in Sudan.

24 IMPACT

10-year-old Khalid and a facilitator at a UNICEFsupported safe space for children in Atbara town, Sudan.

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“I am drawing a new house and flowers today because I miss my home and I wish to go back there.”

Khalid, from Khartoum, Sudan

Working with our partners to support children to heal from trauma in Sudan

Two years ago, Khalid fled Khartoum with his uncle. The reality of separating from his parents continues to weigh him down. He is finding a way to heal from trauma and distress through the simple act of drawing.

When he first came to the Makanna, Khalid was withdrawn - sitting alone, speaking very little, showing clear signs of distress. Now, armed with paper, pencils, and colours provided by UNICEF, Khalid draws houses, cars, and flowers.

Pointing to one of his sketches, he explained: “This is our house in Khartoum. And this is my father’s car. When I draw our house, I think about how I will fix it when I return.”

The trained facilitators at the Makanna help children cope with fear and anxiety as they navigate through the challenges posed by the continued conflict and displacement.

Menad, a facilitator at the Makanna said: “Before, he drew armoured vehicles filled with soldiers and blood. Seeing him draw flowers and hearts today is great progress.”

IMPACT 25

UNICEF UK’S EMERGENCY ALLIANCE

UNICEF’s Children’s Emergency Fund provides flexible funding to support our life-saving humanitarian work. It enables us to allocate funding quickly, reaching children and communities the moment a crisis hits. And it allows us to support children in emergencies that don’t make the headlines and launch responses that would otherwise be under-funded.

It also means we can invest in longterm interventions, build the capacity of communities to respond to future shocks and advocate for lasting solutions by engaging directly with governments, local partners, and other UN agencies.

Clyde & Co is one of the founding members of UNICEF UK’s Emergency Alliance. The Alliance launched in 2024 to convene private sector partners to provide investment into UNICEF’s life-saving work in emergency settings.

As well as contributing vital funding to the Emergency Alliance, Clyde & Co raised awareness and funds for our work in Myanmar and our response to Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica through their professional networks. They also hosting their own Soccer Aid for UNICEF tournament last year, bringing colleagues, clients and partners together to compete, while raising funds for our work.

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Kyaw Zin Phyo, 9, plays with his younger brother in their
temporary tent in Thawta Pan Ward, Sagaing Township,
with toys from a UN inter-agency joint distribution.
He said: “We didn’t have any toys or things to play with
because we have had to move from place to place so often that
everything was left behind. But now, I am really happy to
receive the toys and drawing books. I can play with my little
brother again, like we used to before everything changed.”
26 IMPACT
© UNICEF/Htet
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Four-year-old Lý Gia Hân and her grandmother, Trần Thị Dung, from Dân Tiến Commune, Thái Nguyên Province.

During the recent floods, Hân’s family was cut off for two days as the water submerged their fields and reached their yard, destroying their crops and leaving them without access to clean water. Hân, who was already a picky eater, ate even less during the flood, as her grandmother could no longer take her out for walks to encourage her to eat.

After a rapid assessment by UNICEF and government partners at the Bình Long Commune Health Station, Hân was diagnosed with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). UNICEF and our partners provided ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) to treat severe acute malnutrition, and the team visited Hân’s home to guide her grandmother and mother, Trần Thị Thuỳ, on proper usage - helping Hân recover and grow stronger.

IMPACT

27

CHILDREN IN CLIMATE-CRISIS

Teaching teenagers sustainable skills in Malawi

Last year, funds raised by UNICEF UK helped support UNICEF to team up with the Green Girls Initiative in Malawi that supports girls and young women to help their communities adapt to climate change. With floods, droughts and cyclones already increasing in Malawi, Green Girl members like Msangalatsi (17) have a vital role to play.

Msangalatsi said: “Green Girls is a female-led organisation which works with girls and young women to empower them. It teaches girls what they can do in order to overcome climate change.

“Tackling climate changes issues is really important to me. If I don’t tackle climate change, then I will be the one suffering. We have learnt how to compost manure, how to plant trees and how to make briquettes – so many things.

“Climate change has affected the community here. Where I live, it was flooded. A lot of people had to move from their respective homes.

“The people of power, they have to take action. They should know that climate change is bad and it’s ruining our environment and it’s ruining our whole world. “I’m just a normal person but I can just try my best.”

UNICEF UK Ambassador Gemma Chan visited the Green Girls Initiative in Malawi last year and met with Msangalatsi. She said: “The girls were really inspiring – they spoke passionately about the Green Girls programme and how it means they stay in school, and they can take income for themselves and to support their families. It helps them buy sanitary pads and mitigates food insecurity. “It was sobering to hear how some girls never come back [following flooding] and highlights the difficulty of these girls completing their education with the changing climate.

“From what the girls were telling me, Green Girls is giving them a voice and agency. It’s important to them, it helps keep them in school and supplements their families’ income, giving them skills to take back to their communities. It’s essential for them as the effects of climate change are already here, so they need to adapt and it’s giving them the knowledge.”

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UNICEF UK Ambassador Gemma Chan met with (left to right); Msangalatsi Jameson, Conness Mpata, Jacqueline Jafali, Prisca Emmanuel, Victoria Nakulenda, Doreen Masanza and Tadala Phiri.

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Bàn Thị Say and her two-year-old child,
Mã Việt Cường, whose home was
flooded for 22 consecutive days during
Typhoon No. 11.
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“Now that I can build a brand new toilet, I feel it will be much cleaner than the temporary one. I’m very happy to receive this support.”

Bàn Thị Say, from Thái Nguyên province, Viet Nam

Helping families through flooding in Viet Nam

The home of two-year-old Mã Việt Cườn and her mother Bàn Thị Say in Thái Nguyên province, Viet Nam. was flooded for three days during Typhoon No. 10 and for 22 consecutive days during Typhoon No. 11, in 2025.

After 22 days submerged in floodwater, nearly everything in their house was destroyed, including their dry-latrine.

ECHO (the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations), and UNICEF, working with local partners provided the family with a water tank, cash assistance, access to clean water and a temporary toilet.

Our emergency response aims to restore access to clean water and sanitation and promote sustainable recovery and community resilience.

IMPACT 29

EDUCATION

Supporting children to learn in East and Southern Africa

We have supported children in 21 countries across East and Southern Africa affected by conflict and climate crisis, to access their right to quality education in emergencies.

Working alongside local communities, partners and governments, UNICEF is building climate resilient education systems, advocating for increased investment at country and regional level and sharing knowledge and innovations that keep children learning.

Major initiatives include a research project on climate loss and damage, a flagship study on effective approaches to improving foundational literacy and numeracy at scale, and the development of a gender-responsive climate curriculum framework, which will be implemented in Tanzania in 2026.

Last year, UNICEF also continued to implement the innovative Bete - My Home - initiative in Ethiopia, which enabled over 21,000 children to continue to learn in safe, inclusive spaces where internally displaced, refugee, and host-community children can access education, mental health and psychosocial support, and child protection services under one roof.

UNICEF also began work in five countries in South Asia to improve the quality and use of learning assessments. Better data will strengthen planning, increase inclusion and ultimately improve learning outcomes for children.

This work is supported by the Postcode Education Trust with funding from the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery as part of

the Trust’s commitment to support children caught in some of the world’s most urgent crises.

Re-imagining education in India through self-esteem and body confidence

Last year, UNICEF UK’s partnership with the Dove Self-Esteem Project supported more than 6 million children, educators and child protection leads across eight states in India to co-create self-esteem education resources for children. This included physical and digital comic books on topics such as appearance-based prejudice and social media influence.

The programme is supported by the Dove Self-Esteem Project to advance the critical role of selfesteem and body confidence. It improves the self-esteem of both boys and girls by helping to ensure that appearance-related concerns never stand in the way of a child’s potential.

Beyond the classroom and recognising the important influence parents and community members have on young people’s body confidence behaviours, UNICEF and Dove launched a social behaviour change campaign across five Hindi-speaking states. The campaign aimed to break false perceptions among parents and the wider community and encourage them to actively support boys and girls in becoming body-confidence champions. In 2025, the campaign reached more than 800,000 parents and community members.

Since 2019, our partnership with Dove has empowered more than 21 million young people across eight states in India with self-esteem and body confidence education.

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Sixteen-year-old Nikita steps boldly into the centre
of a ring formed by her classmates.
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“I realised that everyone carries a different story in their physique and personality. Why should I apologise for mine?” Nikita, from Jharkhand, India

Nikita’s self-esteem grows in Jharkhand

Sixteen-year-old Nikita steps boldly into the centre of a ring formed by her classmates (above). Only a year before, tall, athletic Nikita might have shrunk from the spotlight, but today she delivers her lines with a confidence that draws cheers from her classmates and parents alike.

When Nikita first began performing, she was cast as a monster.

“I didn’t mind it at first,” she recalls. “But when some girls teased me about my height and said that it was the perfect role for me, I was hurt. Their words made me wish I had been shorter or thinner.”

This experience could have silenced Nikita - instead, it set the stage for change. Soon after, she was chosen to play Adhrak, a spirited protagonist in a stage adaptation of Aadha Full, a UNICEF-supported comic series. The difference was transformative.

“The play changed everything for me,” Nikita says. “The narrative really spoke to me – and somewhere between rehearsals, I realised that everyone carries a different story in their physique and personality. Why should I apologise for mine?”

This initiative is part of the Dove Self-Esteem Project , implemented in partnership with UNICEF, which aims to help young people build confidence and challenge appearance-based stereotypes.

IMPACT 31

Hanan, 22, founder of Creovate, an AI-powered marketing platform that helps startups and small businesses grow. Hanan, from Beirut and now living in Bekaa, received mentorship and guidance for her business through UNICEF's Generation of Innovation Leaders (GIL) programme.

“We learned to stay strong and never give up, because what we’re building can make a real impact in our community.”

Hanan, Lebanon

Supporting Hanan’s entrepreneurial goals

Hanan, from Lebanon, has developed an AI-powered platform Creovate. She spotted a clear gap in her community, with local businesses struggling to find the right marketing tools to reach their audiences.

UNICEF provided Hanan with the mentorship and guidance to transform her concept into a real product.

“We started from scratch and faced many difficulties,” she says. “But we learned to stay strong and never give up, because what we’re building can make a real impact in our community.”

32 IMPACT

Supporting young entrepreneurs in Lebanon and Jordan

During 2025 funds raised by UNICEF UK helped UNICEF to provide training and mentorship programmes to 255 children and young people in Lebanon and 3,122 in Jordan to support them to develop the skills they will need to get ahead in emerging sectors and turn their creativity and commitment into initiatives that benefit their communities.

have contributed to meaningful progress towards eliminating vertical transmission and reducing treatment gaps among children.

By elevating community leadership and embedding child-centred priorities into national policies and ways of working, the partnership is contributing to more sustainable and equitable systems of care. This collective effort – grounded in national ownership and supported by community-led organisations – is helping to protect the health and rights of the most vulnerable children.

HEALTH

Tackling HIV/AIDS in Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Cameroon and Uganda

In 2025, UNICEF worked across Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Cameroon and Uganda to support governments to strengthen national policies and improve their health systems by expanding access to HIV testing and treatment for children and adolescents. Through this collaboration, countries advanced efforts to diagnose children earlier, ensure they are connected to appropriate medical services, and improve long-term treatment outcomes.

This work is supported through ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action

programme as part of the multi-year Breakthrough Partnership, which aims to accelerate progress towards ending HIV/AIDS in children by 2030. Across all five countries, strengthened national strategies and increased investment

Stopping the spread of measles

In 2025 UNICEF started one of its largest vaccination campaigns to protect around 106 million children in Nigeria against measles, rubella and polio. For the first time, measles and rubella vaccines were introduced nationwide alongside integrated health services – making it easier for children to get the care they need in a single visit.

Funds raised by UNICEF UK supported UNICEF’s work to help countries plan and supply vaccines, build trust with communities, stimulate demand and safely deliver them to children in every community. Each year, UNICEF delivers around 250 million doses of measles vaccines and provides support to ensure services reach children wherever they are, even in the most remote or conflictaffected areas.

IMPACT 33

Chucrani holds oneyear-old Akuzwe to receive his ration of ready-to-use therapeutic food in Goma, DRC.

“The doctors weighed my son, ran some tests, and gave us a special ration for him. I’ve been receiving it for two weeks now — at last, I can see a small improvement.”

Chucrani, from Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Tackling malnutrition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Chucrani says: “Akuzwe was born perfectly healthy, but he fell ill when he was 10 months old. After he was hospitalised, he stopped eating, even refusing breast milk. My oncethriving baby started wasting away. I watched him grow weaker.”

Chucrani wasn’t able to take her son to the health centre for treatment for malnutrition due to the fighting. She says: “After the war, I finally made it to the health centre. The doctors weighed my son, ran some tests, and gave us a special ration

for him. I’ve been receiving it for two weeks now. The last time I went to the hospital, he had gained 200 grams. At last, I can see a small improvement.”

UNICEF supported a nutrition screening campaign to check at least 10,000 children under five in the Goma and Karisimbi health zones. 200 community outreach workers have been trained and are going door-to-door to screen children. With support from UK Aid, UNICEF has also provided health centres with essential supplies for the free treatment of children suffering from malnutrition.

34 IMPACT

Napisa,Hadiza, Idan Aliyu and Amant with their mother Salamatu Aliyu and father Aliyu Ibrahim at their home after receiving the measlesrubella integrated vaccine in Nasarawa state, Nigeria.

“That was when I understood that vaccines protect children from sickness. Once I heard that, I knew I could not wait. I was very happy.

Aliyu, from Doma, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Working with partners to vaccinate children in Nigeria

Community mobilisers from the local health centre, Stella David and Sani Rebecca, stopped at the home of Aliyu Ibrahim and his wife, Salamatu, in Doma, Nasarawa State, last year. For years, sickness had been a constant visitor in their home. Their children, Napisa, nine, Hadiza, five, Idan, three, and Amant, 19 months, had taken turns battling fevers and infections. The clinic trips cost money the family barely had and left them exhausted, worried, and unsure of what would come next.

Stella and Sani explained the Measles– Rubella Integrated Vaccination Campaign which brings together multiple child health services, including vaccinations against measles, rubella, polio, and HPV, screening and treatment for common

childhood diseases and more. It is led by the Federal Government with support from UNICEF, WHO, Gavi, CDC and other partners, and ensures that even the most remote communities have access to lifesaving protection.

Aliyu knew how to treat illness when it arrived, but not how to prevent it. That morning, the mobilisers changed that. They took their time, answered his questions, and explained how vaccines protect children from dangerous diseases that often take hold before parents even know what is happening.

Speaking to UNICEF in December, Aliyu said: “That was when I understood that vaccines protect children from sickness. Once I heard that, I knew I could not wait. I was very happy. Now I believe my children will not fall sick the way they used to.”

IMPACT 35

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CHILD PROTECTION
“Farima and her siblings were left in the care of her sister-in-law, and due
to poverty, they had considered marrying Farima off from a young age.”
Latifa, a UNICEF-supported social worker in Herat province, Afghanistan
Helping families out of poverty Rehabilitation Association for
in Afghanistan Afghanistan (RRAA), at a child-
friendly space she was attending.
Farima’s father died and her mother Latifa worked with Farima’s sister-in-
abandoned her and remarried. Farima law and the community elders to stop
and her siblings were left in the care the marriage.
of her sister-in-law, who - due to
poverty - was considering forcing Latifa has managed hundreds of child
Farima into marriage. protection cases, many of which
involve halting forced marriages,
Poverty and the lack of social safety or reuniting unaccompanied and
nets remain the root causes of separated children with their families.
violence against and exploitation of
children in Afghanistan. The collapse She works closely with facilitators
of Afghanistan’s child protection for child-friendly spaces to identify
system following the political potential protection cases or
transition in August 2021 depleted vulnerable children.
the human resources available for
providing child protection and gender- UNICEF aims to build a qualified social
based violence services. service workforce in Afghanistan to
provide specialised child protection
Farima met Latifa, a caseworker and gender-based violence services
with UNICEF partner the Rural for children in need and their families.
12-year-old Farima plays
with her cousin Hanifa at
their home in Herat province,
Afghanistan, last year.
36 IMPACT
© UNICEF/Azizi
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25-year-old Teyiba Hassen is raising three children in Ethiopia’s Oromia region.

“I want my children to be educated and self-sufficient. I don’t want my daughter to marry as early as I did. I want her to finish school.”

Teyiba, from Oromia region, Ethiopia

Supporting families in Ethiopia

25-year-old Teyiba Hassen is raising three children in Ethiopia’s Oromia region. She was just 12 when her life changed. Still in fifth grade, dreaming of finishing school, she was pressured into marriage. “I didn’t want to get married. I wanted to study,” she said, her voice heavy with lost childhood. By 13, she was cradling her first baby, unprepared and already struggling to meet her child’s needs.

Her first pregnancy nearly cost her life. Her body swelled, and malnutrition led to congestive heart failure. She recalls walking to the health post, weak and afraid, receiving only Oral Rehydration Solution and water treatment; relief for the swelling but not the hunger. Often, she ate just once a day, saving what little she had for her unborn child. “I was always tired… I could feel my body giving up,” she said.

Her first child also struggled to survive. Severely malnourished, he was admitted for treatment and given medication and Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, a turning point that saved her baby’s life.

When her family began receiving cash support from the Child Grant, it was more than financial help, it was a lifeline. “Before, we ate once a day. Now we eat twice. I learned that during pregnancy I must eat three times and include different foods,” she said.

The Child Grant programme supported by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), supports households for 12 months with bi-monthly cash support of 8,000 ETB (about USD 52), to help families meet essential needs.

The programme did not just help Teyiba’s family buy food. It offered hygiene sessions, health guidance, and opened doors she never imagined. She attended antenatal and postnatal care appointments, and learnt how to protect her health. Then came a moment that made her child feel seen, an official birth certificate.

For Teyiba, it was more than a document. It was a symbol of dignity, belonging, and hope. “I felt proud, like my child was finally recognised. It gave me peace,” she said.

IMPACT 37

UK IMPACT

Last year, we worked across the UK, and reached over 3.25 million children through our three key UK initiatives: Baby Friendly Initiative, Rights Respecting Schools and Child Friendly Cities and Communities.

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Children take part in UNICEF UK's Child Friendly Cities Programme in Sandwell.

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IMPACT 39
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Our Baby Friendly Initiative neonatal programme celebrated its 10-year anniversary last year. Established in the UK in 1994, the wider Baby Friendly Initiative supported 600,000 newborn babies in 2025. The programme empowers parents with infant feeding support and helps families build close and loving relationships, giving every child the best possible start in life.

One mother of five said: ‘This was my first breastfed baby... I’d never had information about the benefits of breastfeeding before and it really opened my eyes…I had mental health issues since I was 15 (I’m 31 now) – PTSD, anxiety, depression. I had no self-confidence and no body confidence and would be too shy to go out in public and to show any part of my body, but breastfeeding has changed all that… I can be in the middle of town on the busiest day and sit on a wall and feed him and not care what anyone thinks. I just smile knowing my son is getting the benefits and it’s doing me the world of good… I’m not anxious that the whole world is watching me. I was skinny but I’ve put on healthy weight and I’m now so confident. Breastfeeding did that.’

99% of maternity services and 90% of health visiting services in the UK are working towards Baby Friendly accreditation. In 2025, 73 services were fully accredited or reaccredited, and 48 services achieved gold or were revalidated at gold, honouring their sustained commitment to implementing Baby Friendly standards at every level.

Our Rights Respecting Schools

work reached 1.75 million children in more than 5,000 schools in the UK and Channel Islands. This child rights approach supports school leadership and transformation. There were a record number of school accreditations in 2025 – 413 silver and 353 gold.

Three years of funding from the Scottish Government to support

this work ended in March 2025. The partnership saw our Rights Respecting Schools engagement grow from 54% to 83% of Scotland’s state schools.

Barnsley Academy, a Gold Rights Respecting School, created a powerful video showcasing their strong culture of mutual respect and the deep sense of agency and empowerment in the young people, resulting from their child’s rights approach.

Our Child Friendly Cities and Communities programme saw Derry and Strabane achieve recognition in 2025. The programme embeds children’s rights informed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into policy development, decision-making, and service delivery throughout the community. Nearly one million children now live in areas taking part in Child Friendly Cities and Communities.

Over the last four years these three UK programmes have cumulatively reached more than five million children.

OUR UK SPORTS INITIATIVES

Embedding child rights at Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club

We continued our three-year partnership with Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club during 2025 to embed children’s rights into the heart of the club. Last year, we worked with staff, players and supporters to develop a worldfirst action plan – One Goal. This will see young fans’ views represented at board level, support for young players to co-design a wellbeing hub at the youth academies, a commitment to player voice and listening to children, and mandating staff to receive training on children’s rights.

40 IMPACT

~~Children at a Rights Respecting School in the UK.~~

INFLUENCE

OUR SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE TWO-CHILD BENEFIT CAP

experiment which has harmed children’s lives, life chances and the economy of our country.” Office of the Prime Minister

More than 1.6 million children in the UK will be better off thanks to UNICEF UK’s work with our partners to influence the UK Government to abolish the damaging two-child benefit cap. The change was announced in the autumn budget last year and will come into effect in April 2026. It will lift approximately 450,000 children out of poverty.

The decision follows years of relentless campaigning and UNICEF UK was a leading voice throughout. Our persistent, evidence-based advocacy, highlighting the devastating impacts of the policy on families and children, was instrumental in achieving this victory.

“Thank you to all the supporters who have campaigned tirelessly to scrap the two-child limit. Your voices have been crucial in shining a light on the harm caused by this policy, a failed social

The two-child limit, introduced by the then Government in 2017, restricted parents from claiming Universal Credit or child tax credits for third or subsequent children born after April 6, 2017. The policy affected approximately one in every nine children in the UK and disproportionately impacted working families, with around 59% of affected households having at least one parent in employment. A staggering 1.1 million of the children affected were under the age of five, a critical period for development.

UNICEF UK identified the policy as a grave threat to children’s rights and a direct violation of the core principle of ensuring the rights and wellbeing of every child. We launched a multi-faceted advocacy approach and a public-facing ‘Early Moments Matter’ campaign, to emphasise the critical importance of investing in a child’s early years.

42 INFLUENCE

Dr. Chris van Tulleken, along with UNICEF UK staff and campaigners handed in a box of over 105,000 signatures, supporting the UNICEF UK Early Moments Matter campaign, calling for more support for families during the early stages of a child's life.

INFLUENCE 43

We delivered a petition of more than 105,000 signatures to the Government, mobilised campaigners to send over 8,000 messages to MPs, and ran a stunt at the Labour Party’s national conference in September, with a van touring the conference’s host city of Liverpool, carrying digital screens highlighting the numbers of children impacted by the two-child benefit cap, alongside hard-hitting quotes from campaigning members of the public.

When the new Government established a Child Poverty Taskforce in July 2024, we called for the abolition of the two-child benefit cap to be its first step.

Liz Kendall, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and co-chair of the Child Poverty Taskforce, stated: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank you, UNICEF UK and your supporters for your tireless work and support to help us develop an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy. We are particularly grateful for the insight you have provided to both Ministers and officials through roundtables and discussions…”

In December 2024, the Government announced its ambition to increase the number of children who start school at a ‘good level of development’. We identified this as a key opportunity to make the case against the limit. We released data that demonstrated that young children living in areas with higher levels of deprivation and child poverty have poorer outcomes. The report achieved significant national media coverage and led to a meeting with over 30 officials from various Government departments and the Prime Minister’s office.

The victory is a testament to the power of persistent, evidence-based advocacy. It demonstrates that by clearly and consistently highlighting the real-world impact on children, change is possible.

UK GOVERNMENT ACTION ON UK CHILD POVERTY

Last year saw the UK Government bring national attention and whole-ofGovernment resource to early childhood and action on child poverty. This joinedup, high-profile approach has long been a key advocacy ask of UNICEF UK.

In 2025, the UK Government launched two key initiatives: the Child Poverty Strategy and the roll out of Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority in England.

The Best Start Family Hubs will connect more than 500,000 children and their families to integrated local support hubs offering stay and play, housing support, welfare advice, perinatal mental healthcare, parent infant relationship advice, and infant feeding support. This will have a long-lasting positive impact for families throughout the UK.

The UK Government’s Child Poverty Strategy aims to lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030 with welfare, housing, education, and health reforms.

UNICEF UK’s Scotland office also worked with the UK Government’s Child Poverty Unit within the Cabinet Office and over 40 organisations to deliver a submission on child poverty in Scotland to the UK Government to ensure that the unique challenges of children living in poverty in Scotland were represented in the final Child Poverty Strategy.

FUTURES AT RISK

We worked hard last year to keep investment in essential services for children on the Government’s international agenda after the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget for overseas aid was cut.

We were encouraged when the Prime Minister set out his development priorities in Parliament as health, climate,

44 INFLUENCE

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UNICEF UK partnered with two Rights Respecting Schools in the UK to create a set of images relating to rights. These images were co-created with students at the schools, meaning that the subjects, composition and aesthetics of the images were all driven by the students themselves.

and humanitarian aid. We were also pleased when the Government pledged £1.25 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to vaccinate 500 million children and £850 million to the Global Fund.

OUR OUTRIGHT CAMPAIGN ON INTERNATIONAL AID

We applied our inclusive storytelling principles to create a campaign to help youth workers, teachers, children and young people learn about the vital importance of international aid. 1,600 settings registered to be part of the campaign representing 60,000 children – with 300 settings participating in our online workshop on World Children’s Day.

With cuts being made to aid budgets, this campaign proved to be a timely example of how UNICEF can raise awareness of a core issue while also helping children and adults learn about

their rights, and how they relate to the ongoing debates about international aid. The campaign reframes how aid is spoken about and addresses the power dynamics involved. Last year we prepared more resources than ever before, to support nuanced, accessible conversations.

OutRight is an opportunity to showcase the UK’s public support for aid and to support children to campaign with us against cuts to aid. This is aligned with our international campaign and calls on the UK Government to protect 25% of the aid budget for child focused services.

We encouraged children and young people to complete two campaign actions – highlighting the importance of protecting international aid – that we intend to deliver to the UK Government to demonstrate that children and young people understand and value their rights and that their voices matter.

INFLUENCE 45

OUR ORGANISATION

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

UNICEF and UNICEF UK

UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) is an international intergovernmental organisation established in 1946 by the General Assembly of the United Nations as a subsidiary organ of the United Nations. Today, UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories and in the world’s toughest places to reach the children and young people in greatest need.

UNICEF’s work is funded entirely through the voluntary support of millions of people around the world and our partners in government, civil society, and the private sector. A significant proportion of UNICEF’s fundraising and impact is supported by its 32 National Committees – one of which is the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK). A Co-operation Agreement sets out how UNICEF and its National Committees work together.

UNICEF UK is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated

under the name The United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF and a charity registered in England, Wales and Scotland. In line with UNICEF UK’s Articles of Association (available on our website), the business of the charity is governed by a Board of Trustees. The Trustees, who are all volunteers, are also Directors for the purposes of company law. The Board is responsible for overseeing the management of all the affairs of UNICEF UK. It delegates day-to-day management to the Chief Executive and the Executive Team.

Statement of compliance with section 172(1) of the Companies Act 2006

The Board of Trustees have acted in the way they consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the charitable company for the benefit of the organisation as a whole. In doing so, the Trustees have had regard to the matters set out in section 172(1) (a–f) of the Companies Act 2006, as detailed below; page references have been provided for information to support the Trustees’ compliance to their duties in these areas:

46 OUR ORGANISATION

a) The likely consequences of any decision in the long term: pages 10–13 (2025 strategic goals, achievements and 2026 strategy) and pages 55–59, (Finance and risk management).

b) The interests of the company’s employees: pages 51–53 (People and environment).

c) The need to foster the company’s business relationships with suppliers, customers and others: page 49 (Structure, governance and management) and pages 54–55 (Fundraising).

d) The impact of the company’s operations on the community and the environment: pages 51–53 (People and environment).

e) The desirability of the company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct: page 49 (Structure, governance and management).

f) The need to act fairly as between members of the company: pages 47-50 (Structure, governance and management).

Public benefit

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit, ‘Charities and Public Benefit’. This guidance addresses the need for all charities’ aims to be, demonstrably, for the public benefit

prepare financial statements for each financial year that give a true and fair view of the situation of the charitable company and the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Trustees’ responsibilities

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report, including the Strategic Report, and the Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to

OUR ORGANISATION 47

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of the financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

The Trustees are members of the charity. Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees from members on 31 December 2025 was 10 (2024 – 33). The Trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity or the group.

The Board of Trustees and its committees

The Board is responsible for ensuring that UNICEF UK has a clear vision, mission and strategic direction, and is focused on achieving these. This involves monitoring and acting to ensure that performance and impact are achieved, as well as being the guardians of our fundamental values and ethos. It is responsible for ensuring that all UNICEF UK’s charitable objectives and activities are within UK law.

The Board acts on the advice and information from its regular meetings with the Chief Executive and Executive Team. In 2025, the Board held five formal meetings with the Executives to review performance against the four-year strategy, to assess the charity’s financial health, and to consider policies and procedures in areas such as risk management and legal and regulatory compliance.

The Board has delegated specific responsibilities to four committees whose membership is appointed by the Board.

the Board of planning rigour and financial propriety. It oversees assets and significant investments, reviews financial policy and procedure, and assesses major proposals.

Remuneration statement

Remuneration arrangements for all colleagues at UNICEF UK are aligned

48 OUR ORGANISATION

with the principles of Our Shared Commitment (which sets out our values). Pay and benefits are reviewed annually to support the recruitment and retention of talent and promote equality, diversity and inclusion while balancing the responsibility to deliver the best possible results for children.

We benchmark salaries against similar roles in comparable organisations in the voluntary sector to support fairness. Pay and benefits for the Chief Executive and the Executive team are determined by the Remuneration Committee. When deciding pay and benefits for the Executive team, the Remuneration Committee considers salary survey data, increases provided across UNICEF UK, and affordability.

Individual Executive team member salaries and employee costs are set out in note 13 (pages 81–82) of the accounts. In April 2025, eligible colleagues and Executive Team members received a 2% across-theboard increase.

Trustees do not receive any remuneration for their role, and no Trustee received any payment or benefit from UNICEF UK during the year. Trustees are reimbursed only for reasonable expenses incurred in fulfilling their duties, in line with Charity Commission guidance.

Maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct

In addition to a strong set of values and behaviours as set out in Our Shared Commitment, which we use to recruit and manage performance, we have a comprehensive suite of policies. This includes a Code of Conduct for both employees and suppliers that sets out how we protect children’s rights, respect the rights of others, promote and protect UNICEF UK, stay safe and ensure that others are safe and speak up to raise concerns.

Governance development

In 2025, the Board of Trustees completed an in-depth review of UNICEF UK’s membership model, accompanied by an extensive consultation process with nonTrustee Members. Reflecting sector best practice, the Board of Trustees approved a transition from an ‘Association’ model to a ‘Foundation’ model – under which only serving Trustees are members. The Board of Trustees remains firmly committed to maintaining strong and robust governance and accountability as UNICEF UK transitions to the new membership model. The Articles of Association have been updated to reflect this change subsequently. The Board of Trustees would like to express its sincere thanks to all non-Trustee Members for their years of valued contribution and engagement.

Trustees’ succession and development

In 2025, the Board continued to strengthen its approach to succession planning to ensure continuity, stability, and the right balance of skills and experience to support UNICEF UK’s strategic direction. During the year, the Board welcomed five new Trustees: Heather Francis, appointed as Treasurer, Chris Merry, Meryl Bagguley, Sheena Amin, and Sophie Pender, each bringing valuable expertise and fresh perspectives to the Board.

All newly appointed Trustees take part in a comprehensive induction programme, which includes meetings with the Chair, fellow Trustees, and Executive Team to discuss organisation, strategy and key issues; governance training; a buddy system pairing new Trustees with experienced colleagues; and access to a full suite of resources covering UNICEF’s work, governance responsibilities, and Charity Commission guidance. Trustees also participate in programme visits in the UK and internationally to deepen their understanding of UNICEF’s impact and strengthen their ability to provide effective oversight. Professional advice

OUR ORGANISATION 49

is sought by the Board if it is necessary to do so to exercise good governance. The professional advice may be required to give an independent perspective on a specific matter, or if the required skills or experience are of a specialist nature.

The Board extends its sincere thanks to Alex Connock, Matt Ferguson, Richard Hawkes and Sean Carney, who stepped down in 2025, for their significant and dedicated contributions over their years of service. In particular, we would like to note the nine years of service of Alex Connock, most of which was as Vice Chair, and the six years of service as Treasurer by Sean Carney.

governance, supporting informed decisionmaking, and ensuring the Board continues to operate to the highest standards.

Engaging with our stakeholders

We believe that to have the greatest impact for children we must understand what is important to our stakeholders. We proactively engage each of our key stakeholders in a way best suited to them and consider their needs and concerns, in accordance with s172 of the Companies Act 2006. By understanding our stakeholders, we can factor the potential impact of our decisions on each stakeholder group into Board discussions.

Management

External audit

The Executive Team has delegated responsibility from the Board of Trustees for the day-to-day operational management of UNICEF UK. It comprises the Chief Executive supported by the Executive Team with responsibilities across income generation, communications, advocacy, operations and programme work.

Charity Governance Code

The Board of Trustees aspires to best practice in governance, particularly as set out in the Charity Governance Code. To ensure the Board maintains the right balance of skills, experience and perspectives, a refreshed skills and diversity audit will be conducted in the first quarter of 2026, enabling the Board to ensure it maintains the right mix of expertise, experience and perspectives to support UNICEF UK’s strategic direction and future needs. Building on this and reflecting recommended best practice for charities of our scale, the Board will commission an independent external Board effectiveness review in 2026 to provide an objective assessment of its performance, leadership, and governance arrangements. These steps form part of our ongoing commitment to strengthening

A resolution that Crowe U.K. LLP will continue as the group and charity auditors for the next financial year will be proposed at the forthcoming annual general meeting.

Related parties and connected organisations

UNICEF UK raises funds for UNICEF international programmes, and as such, UNICEF is a related party.

UNICEF UK has a wholly owned trading subsidiary, UNICEF UK Enterprises Limited, which carries out commercial activities for the charity. The results of UNICEF UK Enterprises Limited are added to those of UNICEF UK to produce the consolidated financial statements.

UNICEF UK owns 50% of the share capital of Soccer Aid Productions Limited, a company whose business is the development, production and marketing of the Soccer Aid for UNICEF campaigns. UNICEF UK’s shares attract 100% of the income and expenditure of this joint venture company that is incorporated into the group accounts of UNICEF UK (refer to accounting policies on pages 71–74).

50 OUR ORGANISATION

PEOPLE AND ENVIRONMENT

(EDI) into our culture, systems and everyday ways of working.

Employee engagement

To ensure we listen to our colleagues’ views we survey our workforce four times a year, track engagement levels and act on the findings.

In addition to regular team meetings, all colleagues are invited to monthly organisation-wide briefings to keep them informed, achieve common awareness of the factors affecting UNICEF UK’s performance, and to give them an opportunity to ask questions. In September 2025, we saw record attendance at our annual in-person all colleague away day, providing an important opportunity for connection between colleagues.

Equity, diversity and inclusion

We have taken important steps to embed equality, diversity and inclusion

We made significant progress during 2025 to strengthen governance and grow an organisational culture of inclusion.

Our annual culture survey highlights that representation, inter-colleague fairness and respect, and employee voice are positive aspects of our culture.

Our April 2025 pay gaps reduced across all characteristics. We report on more than the statutory minimum gender pay gap as part of an ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability. Our median gender pay gap now stands at –0.6% (in favour of women), our ethnicity pay gap has decreased for the fourth year in a row and fallen 3.5% since 2024, our disability pay gap has reduced to 5.8%, and our LGBTQIA+ pay gap has also fallen. We looked at socio-economic background for the first time last year, and our pay gap stands at 0.5%.

----- Start of picture text -----
2025 progress update
Representative Building Embedding Understanding
of diversity trust inclusion power
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Wellbeing

We undertook a detailed wellbeing review and survey in 2025 to further enhance our holistic approach. The overall wellbeing score of our colleagues was 73%, just above the external benchmark, with particular strengths identified in areas related to primary relationships, values, meaning and purpose and comfort in speaking up.

Environmental reporting

We are committed to reducing our carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 (against a 2023 baseline). In 2025 we launched our first Climate Action Plan which builds on our carbon footprint analysis from 2024. It sets out a proactive, five-year roadmap to significantly reduce our emissions, so we can reach net zero by 2050.

Over 75% of our carbon footprint comes from purchased goods and

----- Start of picture text -----
Total energy
consumption
(224,411 kWh)
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services. In 2025 we analysed our supplier base against key sustainability criteria, giving us a strong foundation to make reductions in this area. With these insights, we are now positioned to engage suppliers strategically and implement targeted improvements across our supply chain.

In line with the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) requirements, UNICEF UK has disclosed its energy usage and emissions for 2025, as detailed in the table below. Beyond the mandatory SECR reporting, we have also voluntarily included emissions data for business travel, waste disposal, upstream emissions from purchased energy and colleague commuting.

Our reporting methodology adheres to the 2019 HM Government Environmental Reporting Guidelines and the GHG Reporting Protocol – Corporate Standard. Calculations are based on the 2025 UK Government Conversion Factors for Company Reporting.

Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting 2025 (kWh)

Electricity (43,864) Heat and steam – district heating (155,470) Transport fuel (25,077)

52 OUR ORGANISATION

Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR)

2025 2024 2023

Energy consumption (kWh)
Electricity 43,864 45,550 62,407
Heat and steam – district heating 155,470 136,320 167,710
Transport fuel 25,077 21,666 23,616
Total energy consumption in kWh 224,411 203,536 253,733
Emissions (tCO2e)
Scope 1 & 2
Electricity (location-based) 7.764 9.431 12.923
Heat and steam – district heating (location-based) 27.252 24.490 30.129
Scope 3
Transport fuel 5.995 5.228 5.726
Total gross emissions for mandatory reporting 41.011 39.149 48.778
(location-based)
Intensity factor (location-based) tCO2e per FTE 0.120 0.109 0.141
Other emissions – voluntary reporting (tCO2e)
Category 3: Upstream emissions from purchased 9.94 9.180 12.646
fuel and energy
Category 5: Waste generated in operations 18.769 34.566 71.407
Category 6: Business travel - air 105.602 136.013 138.207
Category 7: Employee commuting 102.794 91.394 91.394
Total gross emissions including voluntary reporting 278.116 310.302 362.432
(location-based) (tCO2e)
Total intensity factor including voluntary reporting 0.812 0.861 1.047
(location-based) (tCO2e per FTE)
Carbon emissions per million pound raised 1.905 2.299 2.556
(location-based) (tCO2e per £million raised)

In 2025 we continued our energy saving efforts by adjusting our office heating and cooling schedule to reflect less busy periods in the office. Whilst electricity consumption and heating have decreased compared to 2024, cooling has increased. We have attributed this to warmer weather in 2025. There is also a small increase in emissions from transport fuel. This is due to a higher mileage travelled in 2025 and also

greater accuracy in our reporting which now accounts for different engine sizes.

We are pleased to report an overall reduction in our measured greenhouse gas emissions for 2025. This is a result of reduced emissions from air travel and office waste. Our carbon emissions per million pound raised have fallen yearon-year as we fundraise more efficiently and sustainably.

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FUNDRAISING

Income generation

Throughout 2025, we continued with our diversified approach to raising critical funding to maximise the amount of income raised for children worldwide in a sustainable manner.

In 2025, our main income generating activities were as follows:

We regularly review our return on investment for these activities to ensure we are investing in the fundraising that delivers the strongest performance. By remaining flexible and reacting to changes, we maximise the return on our spend and in turn, the funds available for children.

While much of our work is done by our teams, there are occasions where it is more efficient and effective to work with third party suppliers and commercial organisations.

All contracts and partnerships are subject to a proportionate level of due diligence and management and are expected to adhere to our supplier code of conduct.

in the campaigns we deliver and any fundraising conducted on our behalf by third party fundraising partners. We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and adhere to the Code of Fundraising Practice. We follow best practice guidance from the Charity Commission and other bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, the Advertising Standards Association, the Data and Marketing Association, Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office. Colleagues have access to a suite of training and guidance materials to support continued high standards and knowledge sharing across the fundraising teams.

Safeguarding

In line with requirements of domestic legislation and charity commission regulation, UNICEF UK has a Child Safeguarding Policy and an Adult Safeguarding policy with clear reporting pathways and risk mitigation mechanisms.

Supporter experience

We are committed to placing supporters at the centre of our fundraising and ensuring they have the best possible experience. As a registered member of the Fundraising Regulator, we follow the Code of Fundraising Practice and investigate all complaints in line with our Complaints Policy to support continuous improvement.

In 2025, UNICEF UK received 698 complaints out of 39,479 supporter contacts, representing approximately 1.77% of total contacts. The vast majority of these related to materials received as part of a subscriptions product. This was an isolated issue that was subsequently resolved. Others related to an in-person event.

Fundraising quality and compliance

UNICEF UK is committed to ensuring the highest standards of fundraising

As members of the Fundraising Regulator, we took every complaint seriously and ensured that they were

54 OUR ORGANISATION

fully investigated and resolved. In 2025 colleagues received additional training on the Fundraising Regulator’s updated Code of Fundraising Practice to ensure that we continue to deliver effective and compliant fundraising activities.

We follow the Charity Commission’s Serious Incident Reporting process to ensure full compliance with governance requirements. No complaints were received during 2025 that reached this level of concern. Our Trustees maintain accountability for the organisation’s legal, compliance and operational standards.

Treating supporters fairly

Our commitment to provide all our supporters with an experience that meets the highest standards is underpinned by a robust and continually reviewed policy framework that guides every aspect of our fundraising and supporter interactions.

Our Complaints Policy and Privacy Policy, both available on our website, set out the principles and expectations that shape our engagement with supporters. These outline the standards we uphold across transparency, responsiveness, data protection and respectful communication. Alongside these, our Adults in Vulnerable Circumstances Policy and our Accepting, Refusing and Returning Donations Policy ensure that our fundraising practices are always ethical, safe, and aligned with our organisational values.

During 2025, we continued to embed the comprehensive updates made to our Adults in Vulnerable Circumstances Policy following the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s guidance.

Training remains integral to our approach. All employees and fundraisers receive dedicated training on recognising indicators of potential vulnerability and on applying best practice when engaging with individuals who may require additional care.

Should a concern arise regarding a supporter’s capacity to make an informed decision, the case is escalated to our Supporter Care Team for a detailed assessment. This process reflects our commitment to protect supporters while maintaining trust and transparency in every interaction.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Income

We raised an incredible £147 million of income in 2025, thanks to the generosity of our donors and supporters. This is an 8% increase compared to the £135 million raised in 2024. The key driver for this increase was income from our philanthropy teams and foundation partners which together saw over a £13 million increase compared to 2024, largely driven by growth in both new and existing major partnerships.

2025 continued to be a challenging fundraising environment, with the continuation of high costs of living and political and economic uncertainty impacting our donors and supporters, particularly our corporate partners, where we saw a year-on-year decrease.

Despite the challenges, performance across our core activities remains strong, with solid pipelines to build on in the coming years across our partnership functions and investment in our individual giving work providing strong results. Over 25,000 new regular supporters signed up to give to UNICEF UK in 2025, a year-on year increase of 25%.

In 2025 our income profile was as follows:

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foundations and Government grants as per Note 2).

The diversity within our income portfolio provides financial resilience, which is particularly important at the current time of significant uncertainty in the world.

Emergency responses were dominated by the Gaza crisis, with £8 million of funds remitted to support UNICEF’s response to the unfolding tragedy. Overall, we remitted £19 million for emergency responses in 2025, a £2 million increase on 2024, largely relating to our Gaza response.

Costs of raising funds

Charities must spend money to raise money. Over the past five years, excluding fundraising development funds provided by UNICEF, UNICEF UK has spent an average of 23 pence to raise the next pound. This covers the costs of raising funds through mail campaigns, supporting our existing donors and recruiting new donors. By aiming to maximise the return on our fundraising investment, we ensure each pound raised goes further to support children around the world.

Over the past few years, we have invested in key systems to support the efficient functioning of the organisation and enable more effective ways of working. This included the implementation of a new finance system, which went live at the beginning of 2025. As a result of this and other capability building projects, expenditure

was higher in 2024, followed by a reduction in 2025 as the new systems and processes were embedded.

Ongoing investment in our platforms, digital capability, and data practices will remain essential to support the organisation’s growth and evolution, enabling the adoption of new technologies, and embedding of efficient, scalable processes. We have planned for these investments through the prudent and effective use of reserves.

Spending money today to secure the future ensures that we can continue to maximise the impact we have for children around the world.

It is our ambition to continue to reduce the cost of fundraising without sacrificing innovation and transforming to be more digital and data led.

Charitable expenditure

Of the total income raised in 2025, £106 million was spent on activities to benefit children. This was up £12 million (13%) compared to 2024, largely due to growth in income from existing partnerships, as well as reduced year-on-year costs. Of the total available, £73 million was for specific overseas programmes or countries chosen by our donors, £23 million for UNICEF core programmes funded through unrestricted donations, and £10 million for UNICEF UK’s advocacy and programmes in the UK, such as our Baby Friendly Initiative and Rights Respecting Schools Award.

Funds available for children

Excluding fundraising development costs provided by UNICEF, on average, over the past five years, 77 pence in every pound of UNICEF UK’s gross income was available for programmes, after the removal of the costs of fundraising and administration.

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Governance costs

On average over the past five years, governance costs have amounted to 1% of total income. It was 1% in 2025.

Under the Statement of Recommended Practice on Accounting and Reporting by Charities (Charities SORP FRS102), management and administration costs are allocated between the charity’s functional activities as support costs and governance costs. Governance costs provide the governance infrastructure for the charity to operate, generate the information for public accountability, and include the costs of strategic planning for the future development of the charity.

UNICEF UK Enterprises Limited

The charity’s wholly owned trading subsidiary carries out commercial trading activities for the charity. During the year, income of £123,000 (2024: £66,000) was raised, with the majority relating to sales of cards and gifts through our eCommerce shop. The shop was launched in October 2024 and activity in 2025 remained at a low level, while we tested the market. After taking account of relevant costs, UNICEF UK Enterprises has not made a surplus in 2025, in line with our expectations and financial plans. We expect to start making surpluses from 2026.

The net position of the company is consistent with the expectations of UNICEF UK and is not considered to be cause for concern. Activities in UNICEF UK Enterprises Ltd provide a route for individuals to become regular givers, benefiting the overall charitable group, with related income recorded in UNICEF UK financial statements.

Financial position and reserves

The results for 2025 produced a surplus of £0.9 million. This follows 2024, a year where our expenditure exceeded income

as we utilised restricted funds and designated funds which were being held to fund planned technology infrastructure projects. Effective use of reserves enabled this essential investment in previous years and in 2025, we are continuing to plan for future strategic investment requirements.

At 31 December 2025, total funds at the year-end amounted to £8.8 million (£5.6 million unrestricted, £2.4 million designated for specific purposes, and £0.8 million restricted).

UNICEF UK’s policy on reserves is to maintain a general fund at a level that ensures UNICEF UK can meet its financial commitments and obligations as they fall due, fund unexpected expenditure when unplanned events occur, and safeguard the charity from uncertainty over future income. In determining the value of reserves to be held, income has been categorised and assessed based on its proportion of total income, the expected growth or decline in each income stream, the number of donors in each income stream as a measure of the degree of reliance, and the level of certainty of each income stream.

Expenditure is categorised and assessed based on its proportion of total expenditure, its operational significance, the number of people affected if the expenditure was cut and the source of funding for that expenditure. The appropriate level of reserves is set at an amount sufficient to cover unfunded expenditure from unrestricted funds for a period of four months in the event of a significant fall in income. General funds at the balance sheet date amounted to £5.6 million, covering the net book value of our fixed assets and four months of unfunded expenditure from our unrestricted funds in the event of a 40% fall in income, which is consistent with the reserves policy.

To drive even better outcomes for children, a designated reserve of £2.4

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million is being held for investment in information and technology, including improved data and digital capabilities (£0.5 million), investment in strategic innovation projects (£1.0 million) to identify new ways of generating income and impact, and £0.9 million for investment in fundraising development.

Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis that the Trustees consider to be appropriate. The Trustees have considered the following when arriving at this conclusion:

Ethical investment policy

Other than holding money on deposit at the bank for short, fixed periods, UNICEF UK does not have any other investments such as stocks and shares and does not invest in properties. We sell any shares or similar investments donated to UNICEF UK as soon as possible to limit our exposure to changes in their value and so that those funds are available for our work for children. Except for amounts held in our reserves as described above, UNICEF UK transfers all available funds to UNICEF. Consequently, UNICEF UK’s investment policy means that no investments are kept that could be considered unethical.

For the group personal pension schemes that UNICEF UK has negotiated for our employees, we ensure that employees have the option to choose to invest their pension funds entirely in ethical investments.

Changes in assets

The cash at bank held by the group at the year-end amounted to £31m, compared to £21m at the end of 2024. A large percentage of income is received in the last month of the accounting period and year-on-year fluctuations in the bank balance arise depending on the days the December bank holidays fall, which affects the timing of remittances to UNICEF for our programmes and UK suppliers around the year end.

The Trustees are confident that UNICEF UK will have adequate resources to continue to meet its liabilities for the foreseeable future and therefore have prepared the financial statements on a going concern basis.

RISK MANAGEMENT

Risk oversight and management

We strive to maximise opportunities for children in the UK and around the world and recognise that a set of risk principles is required to support this aim. We continually review our risk awareness, management and robust safeguarding procedures as part of our approach to good governance.

The Board of Trustees is responsible for overseeing the effective management and control of risks for UNICEF UK which it mainly delegates to the Audit and Risk Committee to oversee, bringing matters to the Board's attention at each of its meetings, and reviews UNICEF UK’s risk appetite statement every year.

Day-to-day risk management is led by the Executive and Senior Leadership Team, who maintain the strategic risk register that is shared with the Audit and Risk Committee and Board of Trustees.

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Additionally, risk management is an integral part of our planning processes at a strategic, departmental and project level.

Risk mitigation in 2025

The principal risks and uncertainties impacting UNICEF UK in 2025 were as follows:

1. Reduced international aid funding Although UNICEF UK does not directly receive significant Government funding, UNICEF globally has been affected by the reduction in international aid budgets around the world in 2025, leading to a need to reorganise to operate on reduced budgets. This reduces stability and risk appetite at a global level, which in turn creates a risk to UNICEF UK’s ability to achieve our strategic objectives in relation to income growth and influence.

To mitigate this risk, UNICEF UK has strengthened our own risk appetite framework to support us to grow safely and will continue to work closely with UNICEF and adapt to changes.

2. Macro-economic and political environment

The current macro-economic environment is fraught with risks stemming from conflicts, protectionism, and increasing uncertainty, leading to the worst outlook for children in generations, both in the UK and globally. The uncertainty creates a difficult fundraising environment, with pressure on the profits generated by our corporate partners and potential reductions in the wealth of our supporters, all increasing the risk to the level of funds we are able to raise for children.

To counter such threats, we continue to diversify our funding sources, identify potential new donors, and work on new products that may widen our appeal. At the same time, we prioritise cost efficiency through improved ways of working and regularly reviewing the efficiency of our operations.

3. Information security

The risk of cyber-attacks is increasing as cybercriminals become more sophisticated, frequently leveraging AI to enhance their tactics. Such attacks could disrupt our ability to operate effectively and threaten our reputation as a trusted organisation, as demonstrated by a number of high-profile examples in recent years.

To mitigate the risk, we have robust technical controls and policies in place, have hired a dedicated cyber expert and run mandatory training for all colleagues. We continue to invest and prioritise risk mitigation activities around all areas of information security.

4. Recruiting and retaining key talent and skills

The pace of change in the workplace today, particularly in relation to technology and data, means we need to ensure that our colleagues are equipped with the right skills to enable us to maximise the opportunities that the change brings. We need to ensure we can attract and retain key talent, as well as ensuring we invest in training.

To mitigate the risk, we offer a wide range of training opportunities and will be investing in a further tailored approach in 2025 to ensure we are identifying and investing in the right areas. In addition, we have robust recruitment and selection policies and procedures.

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Registered Charity Details

United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK), Registered Charity Number 1072612 (England and Wales), SC043677 (Scotland) Company number 03663181

Trading subsidiary

UNICEF Enterprises Limited, Company number 02736690

Registered Office

1 Westfield Avenue, London E20 1HZ

Trustees

The Trustees who served during 2025 were as follows:

Trustees Committees*
Shatish Dasani (Chair) F, N, R (Chair)
Sarah Davis (Vice Chair) F, R
Alex Connock (Vice Chair
resigned on 21 October 2025)		 N (Chair), R
Sean Carney (Treasurer, retired on 24 June 2025) F (Chair), ARC, R
Usama Al-Qassab N, ARC
Richard Hawkes (resigned on 8 July 2025) ARC
Maggie Atkinson ARC (Chair)
Matt Ferguson (resigned on 30 September 2025) F
Zamila Skingsley (Vice Chair, appointed as Vice
Chair on 14 May 2025)		 N (Chair)
Heather Francis (Treasurer, appointed on 31
March 2025)		 F (Chair), ARC, R
Chris Merry (appointed on 1 September 2025) F, ARC
Meryl Bagguley (appointed on 1 October 2025) F
Sophie Pender (appointed on 9 October 2025) N
Sheena Amin (appointed on 9 October 2025) ARC
Jacob Ellis (appointed on 31 March 2025,
resigned on 23 June 2025)		 -
  • Committee membership on 31 December 2024 F = Finance Committee, ARC = Audit and Risk Committee, N = Nominations and Engagement Committee,

R = Remuneration Committee

60 OUR ORGANISATION

Executive team

Philip Goodwin Chief Executive
Steven Waugh Chief Financial Officer(until 31
December 2025), Chief Financial and
Operations Officer(from 1 January
2026)
Anna Kettley Chief Influence and Impact Officer
Mohini Raichura-Brown
(In post until 30 April 2025)		 Chief Partnerships Officer
Louise Lane Chief Marketing Officer(until 30
April 2025), Chief Marketing and
Partnerships Officer(from 1 May 2025)
Ben Ramalingam(In post until 5 January 2026) Chief Strategic Development Officer

Professional advisers

UNICEF UK’s principal professional advisers include:

Independent auditor: Crowe U.K. LLP, 2nd Floor, 55 Ludgate Hill, London EC4M 7JW

Internal auditor: MHA MacIntyre Hudson, 2 London Wall Place, London EC2Y 5AU

Principal bankers: HSBC Bank plc, 133 Regent Street, London W1A 4HX

Principal legal advisers: Bates Wells, 10 Queen Street, London EC4R 1BE; Dentons UK and Middle East LLP, 1 Fleet Place, London EC4M 7WS, Russell-Cooke LLP, 2 Putney Hill, London SW15 6AB

Company Secretary

Steven Waugh

The report of the Trustees including the Strategic Report was approved by the Trustees on 13 May 2026 and signed on their behalf by Shatish Dasani.

Shatish Dasani, Chair of the Board of Trustees

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THANK YOU

UNICEF UK President

Olivia Colman CBE

UNICEF UK Vice-Presidents

Marc Bolland Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE Dame Carolyn McCall Lord Jack McConnell Mark Makepeace

UNICEF Global Goodwill Ambassadors

Muzoon Almellehan David Beckham OBE Orlando Bloom Vanessa Redgrave CBE Millie Bobby Brown

UNICEF UK Ambassadors

Ramla Ali Martin Bell OBE Sanjeev Bhaskar OBE Charley Boorman Alex Brooker Emma Bunton Gemma Chan Martin Compston David Harewood OBE Tom Hiddleston Sir Chris Hoy CBE Suzy Eddie Izzard Jemima Khan Ewan McGregor OBE Sir Andy Murray OBE

James Nesbitt OBE Dermot O’Leary Rita Ora Arlo Parks Lord David Puttnam CBE Claudia Schiffer Michael Sheen Jessie Ware Robbie Williams Levison Wood

UNICEF UK High Profile Supporters

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE Lee Juggurnauth Alex Scott MBE Cel Spellman Professor Chris van Tulleken

2024/25 Youth Advisory Board

Shafa, Tiana, Macey, Finn, Jonathan, Ruby and Kaius

Board of Trustees

(at December 2025) Shatish Dasani (Chair) Sarah Davis (Vice Chair) Zamila Skingsley (Vice Chair) Heather Francis (Treasurer) Chris Merry Maggie Atkinson Meryl Bagguley Sheena Amin Sophie Pender Usama Al-Qassab

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Major partners

111 Harley St Accenture Arm AstraZeneca The Band Aid Charitable Trust Eric and Kirsty Bendahan Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club BT The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation Chellaram Foundation Children’s Investment Fund Foundation Clipper Clyde & Co The Constance Travis Charitable Trust Deloitte EA Sports easyJet Eleva Foundation Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Formula 1 The Gates Foundation B & P Glasser Charitable Trust GlaxoSmithKline GSR Foundation Guernsey Overseas Aid and Development Commission Haleon Isle of Man International Development Committee Jersey Overseas Aid Jo Malone London Keller Group Marks & Spencer The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime Aditya and Megha Mittal Nord Anglia Education Oak Foundation Pandora People’s Postcode Lottery The Power of Nutrition PwC Revolut Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Standard Chartered Squarepoint Foundation Unilever ViiV Healthcare Positive Action Vitality The Wellcome Trust

And all those who wish to remain anonymous. Thank you.

Every Child Fund and Every Child Circle

Thank you to the supporters of UNICEF’s Every Child Fund. By placing your trust in us, you are creating a brighter future for an entire generation of children.

UNICEF Next Generation

UNICEF Next Generation is a committed group of young leaders who pledge their financial resources, time, networks, and skills to UNICEF’s life-saving work. Thank you

Scotland Advisory Board

Malcolm Robertson (Chair) Catherine Currie Browne David Duke MBE Jude McCorry Tony McElroy Fiona McFarlane Arushi Rastogi Liz Reilly

Thank you also to our very generous supporters from Scotland who wish to remain anonymous and who support transformative education both in Scotland and globally.

Sports Advisory Board

Yath Gangakumaran Omar Shaikh Kelly Hogarth Jenny Mitton

Gifts in Wills

Legacies continued to provide a large proportion of vital core funding for UNICEF in 2025. We are so grateful to all our supporters for helping to build a better world for children. In 2025, 271 supporters left a gift in their Will to our work for children, totalling £8.6 million. More than 629 gifts were made in memory of a loved one. A further 114 supporters pledged to include a gift in their Will to UNICEF.

Each of these affirming, generous acts will go toward our programmes supporting children across the world to reach their potential.

63

AUDITOR'S REPORT

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM COMMITTEE FOR UNICEF

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF (the “charitable company”) and its subsidiaries (the “group”) for the year ended 31 December 2025 which comprise of the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Consolidated and Charity Balane Sheets, the Consolidated Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

1. Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have

64

obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial

statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit

2. Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

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  1. Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on pages 47–48, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and under the Companies Act 2006 and report in accordance with the Acts and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate,

they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Details of the extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud and noncompliance with laws and regulations are set out below.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We identified and assessed the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements from irregularities, whether due to fraud or error, and discussed these between our audit team members, including internal specialists. We then designed and performed audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the charitable company and group operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, including financial reporting legislation and the Charities SORP (FRS 102), and [local] tax regulations. We assessed the required compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items.

66

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which might be necessary to the group’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charitable company and the group for fraud. The laws and regulations we considered in this context for the UK operations were General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), anti-fraud, bribery and corruption legislation, and taxation legislation.

Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify noncompliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be within [the timing of recognition of grant, voluntary and legacy income, and the override of controls by management. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management, internal audit and the Audit and Risk Committee about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, sample testing on the posting of journals, reviewing regulatory correspondence with the Charity Commission, detailed reviews of a sample of funding agreements for income, and reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further

removed non-compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it.

In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect noncompliance with all laws and regulations.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Naziar Hashemi Senior Statutory Auditor For and on behalf of Crowe U.K. LLP Statutory Auditor London

15 May 2026

67

The United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF

Consolidated statement of financial activities

(incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31 December 2025

----- Start of picture text -----
2025 2024
Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Total
Notes £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Income from:
Donations and legacies 2 58,149 79,381 137,530 57,143 69,192 126,335
Charitable activities:
UK Programmes 3 2,742 - 2,742 2,490 - 2,490
Other trading activities 4 160 16 176 85 6 91
Investments 5 856 - 856 849 - 849
Other income 6 651 4,698 5,349 258 5,240 5,498
Total income 62,558 84,095 146,653 60,825 74,438 135,263
Expenditure
Expenditure on:
Raising funds 7 29,993 4,899 34,892 31,729 4,990 36,719
Charitable activities
Core UNICEF programmes 8 22,791 - 22,791 21,300 - 21,300
Specific UNICEF programmes 8 - 73,696 73,696 - 62,666 62,666
UK programmes, advocacy & 8 8,824 898 9,722 8,041 1,946 9,987
programme engagement
31,615 74,594 106,209 29,341 64,612 93,953
Other expenditure 9 - 4,660 4,660 833 5,055 5,888
Total expenditure 61,608 84,153 145,761 61,903 74,657 136,560
Net (expenditure)/income for the year 950 (58) 892 (1,078) (219) (1,297)
Transfers between funds 53 (53) - 35 (35) -
Net movement in funds 1,003 (111) 892 (1,043) (254) (1,297)
Total funds brought forward 7,003 915 7,918 8,046 1,169 9,215
Total funds carried forward 8,006 804 8,810 7,003 915 7,918
----- End of picture text -----

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in note 22 to the financial statements.

68

The United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF

Company number: 3663181

Balance sheets

As at 31 December 2025

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Charity
2025 2024 2025 2024
Notes £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 14 1,153 1,403 1,153 1,403
Investments 15 23 23 43 43
1,176 1,426 1,196 1,446
Current assets
Debtors 17 11,844 11,076 12,535 11,347
Inventory 40 28 - -
Cash at bank and in hand 31,479 21,441 30,935 21,220
43,363 32,545 43,470 32,567
Current Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 18 11,956 13,881 11,948 13,876
Amounts due to UNICEF 23,065 11,577 23,065 11,577
35,021 25,458 35,013 25,453
Net current assets 8,342 7,087 8,457 7,067
Total assets less current liabilities 9,518 8,513 9,653 8,513
Creditors: amounts falling due after one year 19 708 595 708 595
Total net assets 21 8,810 7,918 8,945 7,918
Funds 22
Unrestricted funds
General funds 5,552 5,552 5,687 5,599
Designated funds 2,454 1,451 2,454 1,451
Restricted funds 804 915 804 915
Total funds 8,810 7,918 8,945 7,965
----- End of picture text -----

A separate statement of financial activities for the charitable company itself has not been presented because the charitable company has taken advantage of exemptions afforded by section 408 of The Companies Act 2006. The net income of the charitable company for the year was £979,000 (2024: net expenditure £1,249,000).

The notes on pages 71 to 88 form part of these financial statements.

These financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on 13 May 2026 and were signed on their behalf by:

Shatish Dasani Chair

Heather Francis Treasurer

69

The United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF

Consolidated statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 December 2025

----- Start of picture text -----
2025 2024
£'000 £'000
Net income for the reporting period (as per the Statement of Financial Activities) 892 (1,297)
Adjustments for:
Interest from investments (856) (1,028)
Depreciation charges 382 315
Foreign exchange rate (gains)/losses 145 (23)
(Increase)/decrease in debtors (768) (1,732)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors 9,676 (983)
Decrease / (increase) in inventory (12) (28)
Net cash provided by operating activities 9,458 (4,776)
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest from investments 856 1,028
Purchase of fixed assets (131) (309)
Purchase of investments (23)
Net cash provided used in investing activities 725 696
Effect of foreign exchange rate fluctuations on cash and cash equivalents (145) 23
Increase/ (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 10,038 (4,057)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 21,441 25,498
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 31,479 21,441
----- End of picture text -----

70

The United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2025

1 Accounting policies

a) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.

The financial statements of UNICEF UK's trading subsidiary company, UNICEF UK Enterprises Limited ("UEL"), are consolidated with the accounts of UNICEF UK on a line-by-line basis.

Transactions and balances between the charitable company and its subsidiary have been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements. Balances between the two entities are disclosed in the notes of the charitable company's balance sheet.

The results of the joint venture company Soccer Aid Productions Limited are consolidated based on the charitable company’s share of the income, expenditure, assets and liabilities and included in UNICEF UK's consolidated accounts using the equity method of accounting.

The financial currency of the charity is pound sterling and figures in the accounts are presented to the nearest thousand.

b) Public benefit entity

The charitable company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

c) Going concern

d) Significant estimation uncertainty and key judgments

The trustees have considered sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

The items in the accounts where these judgements and estimates have been made include:

71

e) Income

Income is recognised when the charitable company has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charitable company has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Legacies and bequests are recognised when the conditions of entitlement, probability and measurement are met. Entitlement is dependent on the type of legacy. For pecuniary legacies entitlement is deemed to be the point of notification of a legacy or when probate has been granted. For residuary legacies entitlement is deemed to be the earliest of the funds being received or when estate accounts are finalised.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

f) Donations of gifts, services and facilities (Gifts in kind)

Donated services and facilities are treated as gifts in kind and are included as income (with an equivalent amount in resources expended) at the estimated value to the Charity. Income is recognised if the benefit to the Charity is reasonably quantifiable, measurable, and material, the Charity is entitled to the donation in that control over the expected economic benefit has passed and it will more than likely flow to the Charity.

Judgement has been applied in the consideration of what gifts in kind are included in the Charities accounts. Gifts in kind are accounted for where the actual expenditure incurred by a supporting organisation/partner can be measured reliably and the Charity has received the benefit. If elements of support cannot easily be quantified as they are not discrete activities but embedded within wider arrangements, full value of support is not included in the Charity’s Statement of Financial Activities.

g) Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

h) Fund accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes. Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.

i) Grants to UNICEF programmes

The charity recognises funds in support of programmes delivered by UNICEF. Charitable expenditure for Specific and Core UNICEF programmes is recognised concurrently with the recognition of income, reflecting the charity's obligation to transfer funds to UNICEF.

A liability is recognised for grants payable to UNICEF at the point when the commitment arises, typically upon approval of the grant, and is reduced as payments are made.

This policy ensures that all funds raised are appropriately matched with expenditure in the reporting period, in accordance with the charity's objective of supporting UNICEF programmes internationally.

72

j) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Expenditure notes 7-10 in the financial statements are presented differently from prior years for improved clarity. This change does not affect the reported amounts or comparability of the financial statements.

k) Allocation of support and governance costs

Expenditure is allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. However, the cost of overall direction and administration of each activity, comprising the salary and overhead costs of the central function, is apportioned on the following basis which are estimates' (based on space, usage or time spent) of the amount attributable to each activity.

Governance costs are identified as an estimate of the proportion of time spent on governance related activities by support functions (10% for 2025).

l) Operating leases

Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

m) Tangible fixed assets

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £1,000. Depreciation costs are allocated to activities on the basis of the use of the related assets in those activities. Assets are reviewed for impairment if circumstances indicate their carrying value may exceed their net realisable value and value in use.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

n) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

o) Stock

Goods purchased for resale are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

p) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

73

q) Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charitable company has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

Amounts due to UNICEF are recognised where the charitable company has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to UNICEF for international programmes and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured reliably.

The charitable company only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

r) Pensions

Charitable company operated one defined contribution pension scheme during the year. The assets of the scheme are held separately from the charitable company in independently administered funds. The charge in the Statement of Financial Activities is the amount of contributions payable to the pension scheme in respect of the accounting period.

s) Foreign currency

Transactions in foreign currencies are translated at rates prevailing at the date of the transaction. Balances denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the rate of exchange prevailing at the balance sheet date.

t) Volunteers

UNICEF UK benefits greatly from the involvement and enthusiastic support of its volunteers. These include our President, Vice-Presidents, Members, Ambassadors, regional fundraising groups and office-based volunteers. In accordance with FRS 102 and the Charities SORP (FRS 102), the economic contribution of general volunteers is not included in the accounts.

u) Investments

Investments in subsidiaries and joint ventures companies are stated at cost on the basis that no reliable estimate of market value is available.

UNICEF UK Enterprises Limited - subsidiary

UNICEF UK owns 100% of the issued ordinary share capital of UNICEF UK Enterprises Limited, a company registered in England (company number 02736690). This subsidiary is used for non-primary purpose trading activities. All activities have been consolidated on a line by line basis in the statement of financial activities. Available profits are given under Gift Aid to UNICEF UK, and there is a deed of covenant in place.

Soccer Aid Productions Limited - joint venture

The business of Soccer Aid Productions Ltd is the development, production and marketing of a series of events and activities culminating in an annual televised fundraising event called Soccer Aid for UNICEF. This event is intended to raise money for distribution under Gift Aid to UNICEF UK for use in accordance with its charitable objectives for the benefit of children worldwide. Soccer Aid Productions Ltd is incorporated in England (company number 10928864) with an issued share capital of 2 ordinary shares of £1 each. UNICEF UK owns 50% of the share capital in this joint venture. In 2025 UNICEF UK held 2,346,000 non voting deferred shares, details of which are provided in Note 15.

v) Company information

The United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales, and a charity registered with the Charity Commission. Its registered address is 1 Westfield Avenue, Stratford, London E20 1HZ.

74

2 Income from donations and legacies

Gifts (by source):
Marketing
Corporate partnerships
Major supporters, charitable
trusts and foundations
Special events
Other
Legacies
Government grants:
Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA)
Guernsey Overseas Aid &
Development Commission
Isle of Man International
Development Committee
The Scottish Government
Donated services
Total income from donations and
legacies		 2025
2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
38,665
10,184
48,849
37,385
11,306
48,691
1,886
19,152
21,037
2,383
20,169
22,552
3,513
48,768
52,281
2,763
36,000
38,763
5,694
21
5,716
5,929
50
5,979
17
11
28
20
25
45
8,374
294
8,669
8,663
128
8,791
-
160
160
-
192
192
-
193
193
-
30
30
-
250
250
-
350
350
-
100
100
-
300
300
-
248
248
-
642
642
58,149
79,381
137,530
57,143
69,192
126,335*

*Comparative 2024 for regional fundraising has been reclassified within Marketing for consistency with current year presentation. The reclassification has no impact on total income or net result for the year.

3 Income from charitable activities

UK Programmes:
Fees for Baby Friendly Initiative
materials and services
Fees for Rights Respecting
Schools materials and services
Child Rights Partners fee
Total income from charitable
activities		 2025
2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
1,485
-
1,485
1,399
-
1,399
992
-
992
843
-
843
265
-
265
248
-
248
2,742
-
2,742
2,490
-
2,490

75

4 Income from other trading activities

UNICEF cards and gifts
Sales of cards and gifts
Other trading income
Total income from other trading
activities		 2025
2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
135
16
151
85
6
91
25
-
25
-
-
-
160
16
176
85
6
91

5 Income from investments

Interest on bank deposits
Total income from investments		 2025
2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
856
-
856
849
-
849
856
-
856
849
-
849*

*Comparative 2024 has been reclassified within other income for consistency with current year presentation. The reclassification has no impact on total income or net result for the year.

6 Other income

UNICEF fundraising development
Share of profit in joint venture
Rental Income
Loan interest
Other income
Total other income*		 2025
2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
-
4,698
4,698
-
5,240
5,240
231
-
231
-
-
-
255
-
255
79
-
79
148
-
148
179
-
179
17
-
17
-
-
-
651
4,698
5,349
258
5,240
5,498*

* Relating to Soccer Aid Productions Ltd

76

7 Expenditure on raising funds

2025 Expenditure
Direct marketing
Corporate partnerships
Major supporters, charitable trusts and
foundations
Special events
Legacies
UNICEF cards and gifts
Total expenditure on raising funds
2024 Expenditure
Direct marketing
Corporate partnerships
Major supporters, charitable trusts and
foundations
Special events
Legacies
UNICEF cards and gifts
Total expenditure on raising funds		 Direct costs
Support costs
2025
Total
£'000
£'000
£'000
12,617
4,056
16,673
3,334
2,913
6,247
2,605
2,658
5,263
3,925
1,322
5,247
766
486
1,252
210
-
210
23,457
11,435
34,892
Direct costs
Support costs
2024
Total
£'000
£'000
£'000
12,501
4,856
17,357
3,486
3,443
6,929
2,289
3,092
5,381
4,102
1,604
5,706
634
573
1,207
134
5
139
23,146
13,573
36,719

77

8 Expenditure on charitable activities

----- Start of picture text -----
2025
2025 Expenditure Direct costs Support costs Total
£'000 £'000 £'000
-
Core UNICEF programmes: 22,791 22,791
Specific UNICEF programmes:
Humanitarian emergencies 18,819 - 18,819
Child protection 1,254 - 1,254
Climate Environment Energy and Disaster
Risk Reduction 344 - 344
Education 6,176 - 6,176
Health 3,154 - 3,154
HIV & AIDS 450 - 450
Mental Health 268 - 268
Nutrition 30,248 - 30,248
Social Protection Inclusion & Governance 7,414 - 7,414
Wash 5,569 - 5,569
-
73,696 73,696
UK programmes, advocacy & programme engagement:
Education programmes and youth work 2,750 888 3,638
Baby Friendly Initiative 1,579 442 2,021
Campaign and parliamentary work 2,387 855 3,242
UNICEF programme engagement 821 - 821
7,537 2,185 9,722
Total expenditure on charitable activities 104,024 2,185 106,209
----- End of picture text -----

Expenditure included in Core and Specific UNICEF programmes represents grants paid to UNICEF for international programmes.

2024 Expenditure Direct costs
Support costs
2024
Total
Core UNICEF programmes: £'000
£'000
£'000
21,300
-
21,300
Specific UNICEF programmes:
Humanitarian emergencies 16,659
-
16,659
Health 5,086
-
5,086
HIV & AIDS 1,080
-
1,080
Water, sanitation and hygiene 854
-
854
Nutrition 28,712
-
28,712
Education 6,838
-
6,838
Child protection 2,330
-
2,330
Social inclusion 567
-
567
Safe and clean environment 355
-
355
Gender equality 185
-
185
UK programmes, advocacy & programme 62,666
-
62,666
engagement:
Education programmes and youth work 2,431
1,012
3,443
Baby Friendly Initiative 1,247
515
1,762
Campaign and parliamentary work 2,573
950
3,523
UNICEF programme engagement 763
496
1,259
7,014
2,973
9,987
Total expenditure on charitable activities 90,980
2,973
93,953

78

9 Other expenditure

2025 Expenditure
UNICEF fundraising development (note 12)
Total other expenditure
2024 Expenditure
UNICEF fundraising development
Share of loss in joint venture
Total other expenditure		 Direct costs
Support costs
2025
Total
£'000
£'000
£'000
4,660
-
4,660
4,660
-
4,660
Direct costs
Support costs
2024
Total
£'000
£'000
£'000
5,055
-
5,055
833
-
833
5,888
-
5,888

10 Analysis of support and governance costs

2025 Expenditure
Basis of allocation
Finance
Income and
expenditure
Information technology
Headcount
People, development and strategy
Headcount
Facilities management
Headcount
Supporter care
Staff time
Directorate
Staff time		 2025
Total
£'000
1,850
2,745
3,114
2,104
517
1,928
Governance cost
*		 1,362
Total support and governance costs 13,619
2024 Expenditure
Basis of allocation
Finance
Income and
expenditure
Information technology
Headcount
People, development and strategy
Headcount
Facilities management
Headcount
Supporter care
Staff time
Directorate
Staff time
Governance cost
Total support and governance costs		 2024
Total
£'000
3,124
4,595
3,100
2,354
515
1,204
1,655
16,547*

*Prior year comparatives have been restated to reclassify support costs between categories. The reclassification has no impact on total support costs or net result for the year.

79

11 Net income for the year

This is stated after charging:

11 Net income for the year
This is stated after charging:
2025 2024
£'000 £'000
Depreciation 382 315
-
Operating lease rentals: Property 1,432 1,458
-
Auditors' remuneration: Audit 58 52
Other services 8 23
Foreign exchange losses/(gains) 145 33

12 UNICEF fundraising development programme

Expenditure on trading activities and fundraising is undertaken with the following financial support provided by UNICEF Headquarters for fundraising research & development activities.

2025 2024
£'000 £'000
Fundraising development programme
Legacy development 666 918
Major donor development 182 311
Other donor recruitment 3,774 3,875
Mid-level donor recruitment - -
Business development 1 70
Other funding 38 65
Total
Unutilised funding to return to UNICEF
Unutilised funds to carry forward		 4,660
-
38		 5,240
56
Total funding in year (Note 6) 4,698 5,296
Movements on UNICEF fundraising development programme funds:
At the start of the year
Funding received		 Total
2025
£'000
545
4,698		 Total
2024
£'000
360
5,296
Funding available
Funding utilised (Note 9)
Funding to return to UNICEF
Transfers between funds		 5,243
(4,660)
-
(31)		 5,656
(5,055)
(56)
-
At the end of the year 552 545

80

13 Staff costs

13 Staff costs
The average number of employees during the year was as follows:
Fundraising
UK Programmes and Advocacy
Support teams
Total		 2025
2024
Number
Number
138
142
164
152
101
106
403
400
Staff costs were as follows:
Salaries and wages
Redundancy and termination costs
Social security costs
Pension contributions
Total salary costs		 2025
2024
£'000
£'000
19,555
18,792
269
13
2,378
2,033
1,425
1,318
23,628*
22,156
Other staff costs* 133
96
Total staff costs 23,760
22,252

Other staff benefits includes the life insurance and health insurance.

Total costs (salary, benefits, social security costs and employer's pension contributions) paid to key management personnel was £985,879 (2024: £873,902). The key managerial personnel of the charity are the trustees and the executive team.

  • The comparative information for other staff costs for 2024 has been restated for consistency with current year presentation. This has no impact on total expenditure for the prior year.

Employees with emoluments (emoluments include salaries and taxable benefits, but not employer pension costs) over £60,000 were as follows:

follows:
2025 2024*
Number Number
£130,001 - £140,000 5 2
£120,001 - £130,000 0 1
£110,001 - £120,000 1 2
£100,001 - £110,000 10 9
£90,001 - £100,000 6 5
£80,001 - £90,000 4 3
£70,001 - £80,000 16 13
£60,001 - £70,000 51 43

There were 93 employees in the year (2024:78 employees) with emoluments over £60,000 who accrued retirement benefits under the charity's defined contribution schemes. The combined contributions for the year from UNICEF UK for those employees totalled £563,030 (2024: £451,263)

81

13 Staff costs (continued)

Executive Remuneration

The executive team's actual remuneration (gross pay and employers pension contributions) in 2025 was as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Employer's|Employer's|2025| |Pension|Social Security|£| |Position|Gross Pay|Contribution|costs|Total| |1|Chief Partnerships Officer|141,500|14,723|14,979|171,202| |Chief Influence and Impact Officer|105,560|6,334|14,180|126,073| |Chief Strategic Development Officer|131,950|7,917|17,944|157,811| |Chief Financial Officer|137,228|11,527|18,454|167,210| |Chief Marketing and Partnerships|134,500|11,084|18,093|163,677| |Officer| |Chief Executive|163,922|13,769|22,215|199,907|

----- End of picture text -----

1 Chief Partnerships Officer in post until 30/04/2025

The executive team's actual remuneration (gross pay and employers pension contributions) in 2024 was as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Employer's|Employer's|2024| |Pension|Social Security|£| |Position|Gross Pay|Contribution|costs|Total| |1|Interim Chief Influence and Impact|11,895|1,563|1,290|14,747| |Officer| |Chief Partnerships Officer|131,250|10,815|15,436|157,501| |Chief Influence and Impact Officer|111,614|6,626|13,804|132,044| |2|Chief Strategic Development Officer|43,333|650|5,517|49,500| |Chief Financial Officer|133,900|11,248|16,447|161,595| |Chief Marketing Officer|125,615|10,342|15,366|151,323| |3|Interim Executive Director|45,072|3,786|5,540|54,398| |4|Chief Executive|47,425|3,984|5,851|57,260| |5|Chief Executive Officer|79,067|6,642|9,825|95,534|

----- End of picture text -----

1 Interim Chief Influence and Impact Officer in post until 4 March 2024

Remuneration Ratio

The remuneration of the highest-paid employee in UNICEF UK was 3.8:1 (2024: 3.1:1) times the median remuneration of the workforce.

Pension and retirement benefits

The charity operated one salary sacrifice pension scheme during the year with Hargreaves Lansdown. The pension cost charge for the year represents contributions payable to the scheme and amounted to £1,424,622 (2024: £1,318,000).

There were £nil outstanding contributions at the end of the financial year (2024: £nil).

Trustees

The charity trustees were not paid and did not receive any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2024: £nil). No charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2024: £nil).

Trustees' expenses represents the payment or reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs totalling £3,414 (2024: £2,113) incurred by 4 (2024: 4) members relating to attendance at meetings of the trustees.

82

14 Tangible fixed assets

The group & charity

----- Start of picture text -----
Short
leasehold Fixtures and Computer
property fittings equipment Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Cost
At the start of the year 2,193 581 985 3,759
Additions in year 17 2 112 131
Disposals in year - - (116) (116)
At the end of the year 2,210 583 981 3,774
Depreciation
At the start of the year 1,141 581 634 2,356
Charge for the year 187 - 195 382
Eliminated on disposal - - (116) (116)
At the end of the year 1,328 581 713 2,621
Net book value
At the end of the year 882 2 268 1,153
At the start of the year 1,052 351 1,403
----- End of picture text -----

15 Subsidiary undertaking and joint venture company

UNICEF UK owns the whole of the issued ordinary share capital of UNICEF UK Enterprises Limited, a company registered in England (company number 02736690).

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |2025|2024| |£'000|£'000| |20,000 £1 ordinary shares UNICEF UK Enterprises Limited at cost|20|20|

----- End of picture text -----

The subsidiary undertaking is used for non-primary purpose trading activities. All activities have been consolidated on a line by line basis in the statement of financial activities. Available profits are gift aided to the charitable company. A summary of the results of the subsidiary is shown below:

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |2025|2024| |£'000|£'000| |Turnover|123|66| |Cost of sales|(25)|(13)| |Gross profit|98|53| |Administrative expenses|(185)|(101)| |Operating profit|(87)|(48)| |Profit on ordinary activities|(87)|(48)| |Gift Aid payment to parent undertaking under deed of covenant|-|-| |Net result for the financial year|(87)|(48)| |The aggregate of the assets, liabilities and funds was:| |Assets|604|250| |Liabilities|(719)|(278)| |Funds|(115)|(28)|

----- End of picture text -----

83

15 Subsidiary undertaking and joint venture company (continued)

Soccer Aid Productions Limited

----- Start of picture text -----
||||| |---|---|---|---| |2025|2024| |Carrying|Carrying| |Amount|Amount| |No. of shares|(£000)|(£000)| |Ordinary shares|1|-|-| |Deferred shares|2,346,000|23|23| |Total Investment|23|23|

----- End of picture text -----

During the year ended 31 December 2017, UNICEF UK entered into a joint venture agreement. As a result of the agreement, UNICEF UK holds a 50% share in Soccer Aid Productions Limited (company number: 10928864) which was incorporated in August 2017. The carrying amount of the oridnary voting shares in Soccer Aid Productions Ltd is £1. On 1st October 2024 UNICEF UK applied for 2,346,000 non-voting deferred shares of £1each in Soccer Aid Productions Limited. As at end of 31 December 2024 the carrying value of this investment is £23,460 with further comittment to additional £2,322,540 not yet called up. The accounts of Soccer Aid Productions for the period ending 30 June 2025 have been filed with Companies House and included in UNICEF UK’s consolidated accounts using the equity method of accounting. Soccer Aid Productions Limited results for 2025 is a net profit of £231k which has been recognised as UNICEF UK’s share of the profit for the year ended 31 December 2025 (2024: net loss £833k).

16 Parent charity

The United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF is the parent charity to one wholly owned trading subsidiary, UNICEF UK Enterprises Limited (see note 15). The gross and net income of the parent charity alone are as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |2025|2024| |£'000|£'000| |Gross income|146,530|135,197| |Net income for the year|979|(1,249)|

----- End of picture text -----

17 Debtors

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Group|Charity| |2025|2024|2025|2024| |£'000|£'000|£'000|£'000| |Trade debtors|438|300|438|300| |Other debtors|5,006|1,951|5,005|1,949| |Prepayments|3,707|6,372|3,707|6,372| |Accrued income|2,693|2,453|2,674|2,453| |Amounts due from subsidiary undertaking|-|-|711|273| |Total debtors|11,844|11,076|12,535|11,347|

----- End of picture text -----

18 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Group|Charity| |2025|2024|2025|2024| |£'000|£'000|£'000|£'000| |Trade creditors|2,924|1,930|2,921|1,930| |Taxation and social security|698|644|698|644| |Provisions|179|89|179|89| |Other creditors|203|13|203|13| |Accruals|4,004|3,631|3,998|3,626| |Deferred income|3,949|7,574|3,949|7,574| |Total creditors|11,956|13,881|11,948|13,876|

----- End of picture text -----

84

19 Creditors: amounts falling due after one year

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Charity
2025 2024 2025 2024
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Provision for dilapidations 708 595 708 595
708 595 708 595
Provisions for other liabilities
Total Total
The group & charity Dilapidations Other 2025 2024
£'000 £'000
Provisions falling due under one year (note 18)
At the beginning of the year - 89 89 215
Additions - 179 179 89
Releases - (89) (89) (215)
Provisions at the end of the year - 179 179 89
Provision falling due more than one year (note 19) 708 - 708 595
----- End of picture text -----

Dilapidations provision represents an obligation to cover the cost of restoring office property to its original condition when the lease terminates. The provision is expected to be utilised in 2030, the year the lease terminates.

Other provisions include return of restricted funds to the donor and termination costs. These provisions are expected to be utilised in the next 12 months.

20 Deferred income

Deferred income comprises amounts received from a party in advance of contracted activity, and fees for Baby Friendly Initiative, Rights Respecting Schools and Child Friendly Communities that have been invoiced for but services not yet provided to the party.

Balance at the beginning of the year
Amount deferred in the year
Amount released to income in the year
Balance at the end of the year		 2025
2024
2025
2024
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
7,574
2,882
7,574
2,882
4,615
7,421
4,615
7,421
(8,240)
(2,729)
(8,240)
(2,729)
3,949
7,574
3,949
7,574
Group
Charity

21 Analysis of group net assets between funds

General
unrestricted
Designated
funds
Restricted
funds
Total funds
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
Current assets (Restated)
Current liabilities (Restated)
Non- current liabilities
Tangible fixed assets
Investments
Tangible fixed assets
Net assets at the end of the year 2024		 1,403
-
-
1,403
23
-
-
23
30,179
1,451
915
32,545
(25,458)
-
-
(25,458)
(595)
-
-
(595)
5,552
1,451
915
7,918
1,153
-
-
1,153
23
-
-
23
40,105
2,454
804
43,363
(35,021)
-
-
(35,021)
(708)
-
-
(708)
5,552
2,454
804
8,810
Current assets
Current liabilities
Non- current liabilities
Net assets at the end of the year 2025

85

22 Movements in funds

2025 Movements in funds

2025 Movements in funds
Unrestricted funds:
General funds
Designated funds:
IT Infrastructure reserve
Strategic investment
Fundraising development
Total designated funds
Total unrestricted funds
Restricted funds:
Specific UNICEF programmes
Advocacy & Policy Programmes (Child Health Advocacy)
Child Rights & Sports Programme
Baby Friendly Reserve
UNICEF fundraising development
Children's Rights In Scotland		 At the start
of the year
Income &
gains
Expenditure
& losses
Transfers
between
funds
At the end of
the year
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
5,552
62,558
(61,478)
(1,080)
5,552
451
-
(130)
233
554
1,000
-
-
-
1,000
-
-
-
900
900
1,451
-
(130)
1,133
2,454
7,003
62,558
(61,608)
53
8,006
-
78,674
(78,674)
-
-
22
179
(71)
(22)
108
144
18
(125)
-
37
171
-
(76)
-
95
545
4,698
(4,660)
(31)
552
33
526
(547)
-
12
915
84,095
(84,153)
(53)
804
7,918
146,653
(145,761)
-
8,810

Purpose of funds

The general unrestricted fund of £5,552,000 covers fixed assets (NBV £1.2m at end of 2025) and working capital needs for a period of four months, in line with our reserves policy.

The IT Infrastructure designated reserve relates to future investment in information technology, including transformation programmes.

The strategic investment reserve relates to additional resource, expertise, or investment in activities that support expansion, diversification, capability and furthering children's rights.

The fundraising development reserve relates to supporting investment in fundraising activities and strategies. Restricted funds are used for specific purposes as stipulated by the donor.

UNICEF fundraising development programme funds are provided by UNICEF headquarters to invest in strategic fundraising initiatives.

2024 charity only balance sheet: general funds and amounts due to UNICEF have been restated to exclude the results of the trading subsidiary. This change has no impact on consolidated group position.

86

2024 Movements in funds

2024 Movements in funds
At the start
of the year
Income &
gains
Expenditure
& losses
Transfers
between
funds
At the end of
the year
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
Unrestricted funds:
General funds
Designated funds:
IT Infrastructure reserve
Strategic investment
Total designated funds
Total unrestricted funds
Restricted funds:
Specific UNICEF programmes
Youth Justice Pilot (Children's Rights In Scotland)
Rights Respecting Reserve (Nord Anglia)
Rights Respecting Reserve (Scotland)
Rights Respecting Reserve (MOPEC)
Advocacy & Policy Programmes (Child Health Advocacy)
Advocacy & Policy Programmes (Early Years)
Child Rights & Sports Programme
Baby Friendly Reserve
UNICEF fundraising development
Children's Rights In Scotland		 5,552
60,825
(60,193)
(632)
5,552
1,229
-
(778)
-
451
1,265
-
(932)
667
1,000
-
-
-
-
2,494
-
(1,710)
667
1,451
8,046
60,825
(61,903)
35
7,003
-
68,423
(68,423)
-
-
35
-
-
(35)
-
-
12
(12)
-
-
-
300
(300)
-
-
-
210
(210)
-
-
285
78
(341)
-
22
25
-
(25)
-
-
151
112
(119)
-
144
313
-
(142)
-
171
360
5,240
(5,055)
-
545
-
63
(30)
-
33
1,169
74,438
(74,657)
(35)
915
9,215
135,263
(136,560)
-
7,918

87

23 Related party transactions

The Trustees, President, Vice Presidents and key managerial staff made donations totalling £25,953 to UNICEF UK during 2025 (2024: £30,906). None of these donations had any conditions attached which required the charity to alter the nature of its activities.

Included in the amounts stated as income in the accounts may be payments from persons or organisations who are related to Trustees, other board members and key managerial staff. The nature of certain fundraising activities may mean that donor details are not recorded and therefore it may not always be possible to identify these payments which are within the normal course of the charity's business.

During 2025 UNICEF UK transferred £59.7 million (2024: £66.3million) to UNICEF as grants for international programmatic work to support children around the world.

Costs of £170,809, are recovered from UNICEF UK Enterprises Limited ('UEL') by the parent charity, UNICEF UK (2024: £91,493). As at the balance sheet date, UNICEF UK has an intercompany balance with UEL of £710,649 (2024: £273,017).

In 2024 an new 3 year funding agreement was signed with Soccer Aid productions Ltd and UNICEF UK agreed a revolving credit facility of up to £2.5 million to Soccer Aid Productions Limited. As at the balance sheet date £1,957,858 has been drawn down on that facility (2024: £1,639,586). As part of a new funding agreement UNICEF UK subscribed to 2,346,000 deferred shares in Soccer Aid Productions Ltd. Details of the deferred share subscription, including amounts called up, are provided in Note 15. During year Soccer Aid productions recharged UNICEF UK £739,957 (2024: £730,899) for media, management, staff and marketing expenses. These charges were made in the normal course of business and as at balance sheet date, there was £498,876 outstanding balance for these charges.

There are no other related party transactions to disclose for 2025 (2024: none).

24 Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes. The charity's trading subsidiary UNICEF UK Enterprises Limited gift aids available profits to the parent charity. There is no charge to corporation tax in 2024 (2023: nil).

25 Operating lease commitments

The group's total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases is as follows for each of the following periods:

Less than one year
One to five years
Over five years		 2025
2024
£'000
£'000
1,835
1,835
5,964
7,341
-
459
7,800
9,635

26 Contingent Assets

Legacies notified but not yet finalised in estate accounts are treated as contingent assets. As at 31st December 2025, contingent assets amounting to £7m (£7.3m in 2024) have been identified. These relate to legacies where probate was granted or notification received but the estate accounts were still under administration and uncertainties remained regarding the value and timing of receipt.

27 Events after reporting date

In March 2026, UNICEF UK purchased 49% of the shares in SAFU IP Holdings Ltd for total consideration of £2.3m. This secured the future earnings and growth potential of the of the Soccer Aid for UNICEF event, which will be used to benefit children around the world. The consideration comprises a combination of cash and loan notes maturing in 2027 and 2028. As this transaction occurred after 31 December 2025, this is a non-adjusting event and therefore has not been recognised in the financial statements.

88

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR WORK TO BUILD A BETTER WORLD FOR EVERY CHILD.

The United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK)

Registered Office

1 Westfield Avenue London E20 1HZ

Registered Company Number 3663181 Registered Charity Number 1072612 (England and Wales) SC043677 (Scotland)

unicef.org.uk