If the past year has taught us anything, it is this: systems built for stability can still break under pressure. Conflict, climate shocks, fiscal tightening, demographic change, and political fragmentation have collided into a global polycrisis—with profound and lasting consequences for millions of children and families.
At Maestral International, we see 2026 as a design challenge. The global operating environment has shifted fundamentally, and our work must shift with it. That means a sharper focus on three questions: why investments in children matter now more than ever; how to localize and deploy those investments efficiently amid fiscal constraint; and how to use evidence to innovate at the scale these times demand.
Across regions, we hear a consistent message: needs are rising, commitments are weakening, and systems are struggling to deliver. Fragmentation, under-financing, workforce constraints, and weak accountability continue to blunt impact—especially for children facing multiple and severe adversities.
Maestral’s work in 2026 is anchored in closing this gap. We are focused on helping governments and their partners move from well-intended policy statements to functioning systems—systems that reach children in need, deliver quality services, and can be financed and sustained over time.
This requires breaking down silos between child protection, social protection, health, and education—the core pillars of social policy. Children need a protective and supportive environment across all of them. Failures in one sector weaken the rest; progress in one strengthens the whole.
Reflecting this reality, Maestral has reframed its work around three inter-related thematic hubs: care reform, child and adolescent well-being, and social policy. Protection remains central to all three, but experience has made one lesson clear: children need holistic responses to the complex risks the polycrisis has created.
We are also opening new regional offices in the Middle East and North Africa and the European Union. These will enhance our ability to elevate and mobilize regional and local expertise, to build partnerships, and to respond more efficiently to emerging needs.
At the same time, fiscal space is tightening. In 2026, Maestral is deepening its work at the intersection of child policy and public finance. From investment cases and medium-term expenditure frameworks to costed reform pathways and results-linked financing, we are helping partners confront hard questions: What does it really cost to protect children? Where are resources being misallocated? And how can limited funds deliver the greatest long-term returns for human capital and social cohesion?
Which raises a bigger question: are resources truly scarce—or poorly aligned? In the United States alone, giving to residential care grew from $2.5 billion to $4.5 billion over five years, even as evidence shows those funds could achieve far greater impact through family-based care and prevention. Globally, GDP is at historic highs, yet social systems remain under strain. This disconnect demands closer scrutiny—and a stronger case for redirecting resources toward future generations.
Looking ahead, Maestral is investing in models that combine global technical leadership with deep regional and national engagement. That means closer collaboration with ministries of finance and social sector ministries, development agencies and regional institutions, NGOs and community-based organizations, faith-based actors, philanthropy, and the private sector. Children and youth need all hands on deck—and working in alignment.
Evidence alone does not change systems. But when used strategically, it can unlock momentum. In 2026 and beyond, Maestral’s focus is on translating evidence into action—demonstrating what works, why it works, and how it can be scaled and sustained.
The year ahead will not be easy. But it is full of possibilities. We look forward to designing and shaping what comes next, together.