As a programme of the United Nations, UNICEF has an almost unequalled reach among humanitarian organisations. In its 70 years, it has built a network of over 200 offices in more than 191 countries and territories, and along with it, a huge bureaucracy. Much of the administration was created and solidified in the '60s using paper record-keeping, and by design, the country offices were largely independent in how they were managed and run.

While the organisation has been modernised to some extent, it is also slow to change, according to Evan Wheeler, the CTO of UNICEF’s Global Innovation Centre.