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CASE STUDY UNICEF

Equipping UNICEF to harness AI for good

How technology is supporting the agency’s mission to protect and empower children worldwide

3-MINUTE READ

AI for All: A bold new strategy

UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, works to improve the lives of children and their families in over 190 countries and territories. In this era of artificial intelligence – with the UN describing AI as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals - UNICEF sees AI as a powerful tool to speed up life-changing and life-saving interventions. However, the organization also recognizes the risk: if not used responsibly, AI could deepen the socioeconomic divide between children around the world.

To unlock this technology’s potential for helping improve children’s lives, Accenture supported UNICEF with exploring key applications of AI and building the foundations for successful AI usage as the organization developed a unified strategy for AI.

AI for impact, efficiency and advocacy

The engagement focused on three key applications of AI: program impact, operational efficiency and effectiveness, and child rights advocacy.

For program impact, the strategy aims to deliver quality, effective outcomes for children and communities at scale. This includes leveraging AI and predictive analytics to anticipate and respond to humanitarian needs, providing accessible digital education to all or supporting community health workers with real-time guidance.

For operational efficiency and effectiveness, the strategy includes optimizing resource allocation such as AI powered workforce planning in warehouses and implementing an AI-driven chatbot to resolve customer care issues. It will also enhance AI readiness to boost UNICEF staff productivity.

For child rights advocacy, the strategy connects UNICEF's deep expertise in children's issues with the technology ecosystem and global AI governance decision makers. It identifies gaps in AI policy and regulation, aims to identify ways in which children’s voices can be represented in AI governance, and seeks to foster proactive collaboration among partners, along with continuous monitoring safeguards as technology evolves. 

Building the foundations for AI at UNICEF

To develop AI that is sustainable and globally scalable, the team assessed and defined the skills and tools needed to deliver and adopt AI. This view of the future helped UNICEF identify next steps to establish its AI capability, enabling delivery of AI for impact, efficiency and advocacy.

AI requires a new way of working to support decision making and risk management. The team developed a hub-and-spoke model for implementation, where local offices can make decisions, while a global AI hub provides advice and support. Accenture supported UNICEF in conducting AI risk and governance assessments to inform responsible development and use of AI. It also recommended enhancements to principles for ethical AI use and helped UNICEF to develop a framework to identify, assess and mitigate AI risk to keep children and their communities safe while still delivering on its value.

Additionally, UNICEF will strengthen its AI capabilities by building skills across the organization, improving coordination with regional teams, and fostering a culture of innovation within responsible AI guidelines. To support this, Accenture recommended refreshing UNICEF’s AI structure—focusing on workforce planning, upskilling, change enablement, and a knowledge hub to share insights and success stories.

This setup ensures that UNICEF will stay at the forefront of technological advancements while maintaining its commitment to ethical and responsible AI use—contributing to a brighter, safer future for the children of the world.

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