UNICEF and GRADE: Evidence for the Well-Being of Children and Adolescents in Peru
This new institutional partnership focuses on research, dialogue, and the dissemination of knowledge to inform public policy and reduce inequalities.
Lima, November 2026. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE) have signed an agreement aimed at strengthening their institutional partnership to generate, analyze, and disseminate rigorous and timely evidence on the rights and well-being of children, adolescents, and young people in Peru, with a special focus on socioeconomic, gender, and territorial inequalities.
The cooperation agenda aims to jointly define research priorities and develop studies, policy and program evaluations, and analyses and syntheses of evidence on topics prioritized by UNICEF and GRADE.
Areas of interest include social protection; educational and labor market transitions; mental health and well-being; nutrition and health risks; education and learning; and poverty and inclusion. The agreement also provides for the study of the effects of inequalities on children, adolescents, and youth, as well as on their households.
“This partnership with GRADE is important for UNICEF because it allows us to generate solid evidence that helps chart a path toward a prosperous future for children and adolescents. It also helps us highlight experiences that deserve to be scaled up into public policies to fully guarantee children’s rights,” said Javier Álvarez, UNICEF Representative.
For his part, Juan José Díaz, Executive Director of GRADE, commented that “at GRADE, we have spent decades researching how inequalities affect the opportunities of children and adolescents. Studies such as ‘Niños del Milenio’ (Young Lives Peru) have helped us understand how these gaps impact their educational and career trajectories. This partnership highlights GRADE’s and UNICEF’s shared commitment to generating, discussing, and disseminating rigorous evidence that helps guide the design, implementation, and evaluation of public policies and interventions in support of children and adolescents in Peru.”
The collaboration between UNICEF and GRADE includes workshops, seminars, and forums for dialogue with policymakers, as well as outreach materials aimed at academic, technical, and civil society audiences.
In a private ceremony, the cooperation agreement was formalized today, Thursday, November 12. Following the signing by both parties, the partnership will have an initial term of two years, with the possibility of extension.
