Why we’re watching: UNICEF’s core constituency — kids in need — has had a tough pandemic. Children have lost years of education, suffered from domestic and gender-based violence, missed out on childhood immunizations, and gone hungry. Now under new leadership, UNICEF will have to continue its key role procuring COVID-19 vaccines while helping children make up lost ground in so many other areas.

Leadership: Catherine Russell, executive director.
Staff: Over 15,000.
$: $6.5 billion in expenditure in 2020.
HQ: New York.
Tidbit: As part of its fundraising efforts, UNICEF is one of the few charitable organizations that receives, holds, and distributes cryptocurrency.
Follow: Teresa Welsh.

Analysis: After seven Americans in a row were picked to lead UNICEF, there was a brief hope that this year might be different and an open, transparent selection process would be held. Instead, the U.N. secretary-general went with the Biden administration’s pick — Catherine Russell, a long-time Biden aide. But Russell does come to the role with substantial and relevant experience, including as the former U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues. That experience will be put to the test now as UNICEF faces an unprecedented crisis for kids. UNICEF is also key in the U.N.’s system of delivering malnutrition treatment, which has been a point of contention with the other agency involved, the World Food Programme. Russell could influence the future of the relationship between the two agencies and their role in increasing global malnutrition treatment coverage. — RK.

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