The International Federation for Family Development (IFFD) actively participated in the Global Caregivers Forum, held in Madrid on 15–16 January 2026—a historic milestone as the first global forum of its kind dedicated exclusively to caregiving, parenting support, and care systems across the life course. Convened by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the Government of Spain, the Forum brought together ministers, multilateral institutions, researchers, civil society organizations, and private sector leaders to advance a shared global roadmap positioning care as a central pillar of social development. The Forum was supported by strategic philanthropic and corporate partners, including the LEGO Foundation and CaixaBank, underscoring the growing recognition of caregiving as a shared public, private, and societal responsibility.
IFFD’s engagement highlighted its distinctive role on the global stage as one of the world’s largest parenting organizations, present in 68 countries across all continents. Drawing on decades of direct work with families and parents in diverse cultural, social, and economic contexts, IFFD contributed grounded, practice-based insights that complemented the Forum’s policy and research discussions. Its interventions emphasized the importance of strengthening family relationships, parental communication, and shared caregiving responsibilities
as essential enablers of child development, poverty reduction, mental health, and social cohesion priorities reflected in the Forum’s outcome document, Every Child Safe, Loved, and Nurtured.
IFFD was represented by Alex Vazquez, Director of International Relations, and Leticia Rodriguez, Programs Director. Throughout the Forum, the IFFD delegation engaged in in-depth exchanges with ministers from all regions, leading experts in parenting support and mental health, peer civil society organizations, and private sector stakeholders. These conversations focused on improving the quality, scalability, and cultural adaptability of parenting and caregiver education courses, ensuring that evidence-based models remain responsive to the real needs of families.
A key theme reinforced during the Forum—and strongly echoed by IFFD—was the critical role of the private sector in supporting caregivers and strengthening care systems. Discussions highlighted how employers and businesses can act as strategic partners by promoting family-friendly workplace policies, flexible work arrangements, parental leave, mental health support, and access to parenting and caregiving resources. In this context, IFFD highlighted CaixaBank’s previous collaboration with IFFD and UNICEF on analytical reports and partnerships examining the role of families in more effectively achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
IFFD’s participation also included high-level interactions with key global and national leaders, including Queen Letizia of Spain; senior authorities such as the Director of Malaysia’s LPPKN; and global experts including Chemba Raghavan, alongside Benjamin Harris. These exchanges reinforced the importance of bridging global policy commitments with family-centered practice, while mobilizing public, private, and civil society actors around a shared care agenda.
Notably, IFFD’s presence at the Forum was further strengthened by its institutional role within the
UNICEF ecosystem. As Chair of the NGO Committee of UNICEF to the UNICEF Executive Board, IFFD contributed to the Forum with a unique dual perspective—bringing together civil society coordination, family science, and direct programmatic experience with parents and caregivers worldwide. This role underscores IFFD’s credibility as a trusted interlocutor between families, NGOs, the private sector, and multilateral decision-making spaces.
As the Global Caregivers Forum concluded with a shared commitment to scale effective caregiver and parenting support globally, IFFD reaffirmed its readiness to collaborate with governments, UN agencies, businesses, philanthropic actors, and civil society partners to translate the Forum’s historic outcomes into concrete, family-responsive policies and programs—ensuring that caregiving is recognized not only as a private responsibility, but as a shared societal and economic investment essential for sustainable development.
