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United Nations Children'S Fund

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is a United Nations program focused on the rights of children. UNICEF is headquartered in New York City and is primarily funded by governments and charitable donations.

History

Originally dubbed the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, UNICEF was founded in December 1945 to provide food, clothing, and health care to impoverished children in Europe after World War II. In 1950, UNICEF's mandate was expanded to address the needs of children and women in all developing countries, becoming a permanent program of the United Nations in 1953. UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965. In 1989, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a set of standards ensuring human rights of children aged 18 years and younger. This framework serves as the basis for UNICEF's work.

Priorities

Working in 191 countries, UNICEF currently has five focus areas: child survival and development; provision of basic, compulsory education for all boys and girls; HIV/AIDS prevention for children; protection of children from violence and exploitation; and public policy. The child survival program centers on using evidence-based, high-impact interventions to lower the number of preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths. The education program is based on the principles of human rights and gender equality, with the philosophy that education is a means to ending poverty and disease. In fighting HIV/AIDS, UNICEF has set out to reduce the number of new infections in children, particularly among infants and young adults. In addition, the program focuses on providing support to orphans and families affected by HIV/AIDS. The child protection focus area advocates for the development of a protective environment for children, free from the threats of violence, abuse, and exploitation. Finally, the public policy focus area uses data analysis to clarify the pathways by which policy affects the well-being of women and children in developing countries.

The Millennium Development Goals

In 2000, the world's leaders met at a summit to address the eradication of poverty, resulting in eight Millennium Development Goals with a target date of 2015. Six of the eight goals have an intrinsic link to children: eradicate poverty and hunger; achieve universal education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; and combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. UNICEF's work in the five focus areas directly relates to these goals. UNICEF indicators are used as measures of progress toward a number of goals.

  • United Nations
  • United Nations
  • children's fund
  • funding
  • UNICEF
  • HIV/AIDS
  • UNICEF
AnuManchikanti
http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412953948.n466
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