Layers of Impact: Driving Change for Children at Every Level

Have you seen Aria Mia Loberti in “All the Light You Cannot See”?

In her first acting role, Loberti starred in last year’s Netflix hit adapted from the book by the same name. She was terrific.

You're more likely to have seen Loberti’s acting debut (and if you haven’t, I highly recommend it) than to have heard her powerful words about the inequities holding back so many children and youth around the world.

Loberti is a UNICEF Ambassador and a celebrity who commits time and energy to advocating for children's rights worldwide. She spoke earlier this year at the Aspen Ideas Health Festival about the need for significant societal change to solve the world’s biggest problems for children. Here is part of what she said:

"I would love to point you in the direction of UNICEF and be like, 'Ok, that is going to solve all the world's problems. Just go tell every young girl you know to go join a UNICEF Club or, in their home country if they are not here in the U.S., to be involved in UNICEF programming.'

"(But) it will not solve the problem, and I say that with full love for every organization like UNICEF, for every nonprofit that is out there. In order for this to really work, this needs to be full-on societal change—not just change from organizations and NGOs that already know the value of it and how it works, because we need to change how our whole society thinks about inclusion and access and who holds power." 

I’ll admit it; Loberti is right.

The combined efforts of UNICEF and every other global humanitarian and development organization—for all of the great work done by all of us—will not solve everything that holds back so many children and youth from reaching their potential. As Loberti said, we need complete societal change powered by equitable political, social and economic change that gives every young person a chance to thrive.

That said, to address the needs of children today, we need change at multiple levels—societal, yes, of course—and also at the system and personal levels.

The societal level is what Loberti was talking about. Ultimately, the keys to permanent change are equitable laws and policies that help create cultures where the rights of children are upheld, the needs of families prioritized and where economies create opportunity for everyone and the rule of law is upheld.

Part of UNICEF’s mandate includes advocating for laws and policies that protect children’s rights, which we do here in the U.S. and across the world. Social and behavior change is another area of focus, with experts identifying key structural, social, cognitive and behavioral factors that create barriers for children in accessing opportunities like education, protection and healthcare.

The systems level is where change in healthcare, education, protection and other sectors can happen at scale. When such systems are weak—whether through lack of budget, data or infrastructure—making lasting change for children can be an uphill struggle. But strong systems can be transformational. They can create a ripple effect across an entire country or region and yield significant dividends in terms of wider impact and sustainability. UNICEF is exceptionally good at change at this level.

As one example, with financial support from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , UNICEF is strengthening health systems in several countries in fragile contexts. In part, the program makes long-term sustainable improvements in health facility infrastructure, including procuring essential supplies, rehabilitating clinics and connecting healthcare facilities to water and sanitation infrastructure and solar power for resilience from shocks to ensure sustained care for communities.

At times, however, context necessitates change at the personal level—helping one child at a time.

I’ve been asked more than once whether it is really a good strategy to continue funding humanitarian work in Haiti where, despite enormous investments over time, little has improved for children and families. Societal and system changes are not fully possible there right now as the country struggles with a broken government, gang violence and lack of safety and security.

Why keep working there? Because there are children in Haiti who need immediate care just to get through the day. We have to help at the personal level, one child at a time.

Ultimately, Loberti is right—we want to effect societal- and system-level change. I’m proud of the work UNICEF does to advocate for change at the societal level and to produce systems change through its work. I’m grateful as well for the work we do in crisis situations, where the best we can sometimes do is to help individual children make it through the next day.

So, what’s most important—societal, system or personal change?

It depends on the situation at the time. But we should always work to make the biggest change we can make. How many children can we reach in a crisis? How do we change the health and education systems they depend on? And how do we influence societies to take their responsibilities to children seriously?

It all matters.