News from the Field
April 21, 2013
UNICEF Volunteers Win President’s Volunteer Service Award
Volunteering not only makes the world a better place, it is what distinguishes us as human beings. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is deeply grateful to its over 45,000 volunteers who are helping us save children’s lives every day. We would like to celebrate all our volunteers by introducing you to the eight U.S. Fund for UNICEF volunteers who this year received the President’s Volunteer Service Award, one of the nation’s most distinguished service awards. And National Volunteer Week is the perfect time to join them on the UNICEF Action Center.
April 19, 2013
In Chad, New Health Centers Tackle Nutrition Crisis
Chad experiences chronic drought among its harsh and erratic climatic conditions, and nearly 20 percent of the country’s children die before their fifth birthdays. During periods of drought, many children suffer from severe acute malnutrition. In response to the nutrition crisis in Chad and the Sahel Belt region, UNICEF and partners have scaled up services and facilities to treat the growing number of children affected by malnutrition. The number of treatment centers has doubled, and hundreds of tons of supplies have been delivered.
April 16, 2013
Appeal by the Heads of Leading UN Humanitarian Agencies for the People of Syria
Our agencies and humanitarian partners have been doing all we can. With the support of many governments and people, we have helped shelter more than a million refugees. We have helped provide access to food and other basic necessities for millions displaced by the conflict, to water and sanitation to over 5.5 million affected people in Syria and in neighbouring countries, and to basic health services for millions of Syrians, including vaccinations to over 1.5 million children against measles and polio.
April 15, 2013
In Syria, Children's Lives on Hold
There are about 200,000 persons in need of humanitarian assistance in Tartous governorate in Syria, but the actual number is expected to be higher. New arrivals from other parts of Syria continue to flow into Tartous on a daily basis. “You see children coming with nothing,” says one volunteer. He adds that the situation of both the displaced families and the host communities in Tartous is only going to get more desperate, if aid doesn’t keep up with the needs.
April 10, 2013
Fighting Child Labor in Pakistan
Six years ago, Iqra’s father went missing. At the age of seven, Iqra was forced to drop out of school and for five years helped her mother pick cotton and assisted as a domestic worker. But then Iqra’s mother was invited to a meeting in her village set up by UNICEF and the IKEA Foundation to help promote child rights. Iqra’s mother learned about the importance of education, and decided to enroll her children back in school. The same program helped Iqra’s mother start her own business.
