Protecting Children's Health
Lifesaving Child Immunization and Vaccination
UNICEF is a global leader in child immunization. The procurement of vaccines is UNICEF's largest procurement activity, worth $757 million in 2010. Last year, UNICEF provided 2.5 billion doses of vaccines to 99 countries, reaching an estimated 58% of the world's children. UNICEF is improving transparency around vaccine supply by making vaccine prices available on its website.
Immunization is a key part of UNICEF's response to the crisis in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. Currently, UNICEF-supported vaccination teams are at work in full force in the Horn of Africa, where famine and a refugee crisis caused by severe drought and food insecurity has left hundreds of thousands of children vulnerable to killer diseases like measles and polio.
Through campaigns like The Eliminate Project, which aims to protect every woman of child-bearing age against maternal and neonatal tetanus by 2015, UNICEF is forging a path for improved holistic medical services for the world's most marginalized communities.
Malaria Prevention
Every 45 seconds a child dies of malaria. Nearly 90% of those deaths occur in Africa, accounting for 1 out of every child death there.
UNICEF is the world's largest provider of insecticide-treated mosquito nets, which help protect families from malaria. Increased availability of bed nets and scaled-up global funding for malaria programs are helping reduce the malaria burden in many countries.
We are determined to stop the needless deaths of children from preventable disease. And we believe that all children deserve the healthiest possible start in life. Their future—and ours—depends on it.
Progress in child survival
The number of children under age 5 dying every day drops steadily every year. Four years ago, more than 25,000 children died daily of preventable causes and treatable diseases. Today, that number is 21,000. UNICEF and its partners have played a huge role in reducing the global under-5 mortality rate. Our target is zero children dying of causes we can prevent.
By investing in low-cost, effective programs addressing malnutrition, child vaccinations, basic hygiene and the importance of early breastfeeding for boosting immunity, UNICEF continues to fight the leading killers of children worldwide and improve every child's chance of surviving, no matter what the odds.
Support UNICEF's Child Health and Immunization Programs.
Related Children's Health, Immunization and Vaccination Links
February 3, 2012
UNICEF providing vaccines to children in Haiti's hardest-to-reach communities
UNICEF is implementing a program to ensure that every child in Haiti is immunized against diseases like polio, diphtheria, tetanus, and measles-rubella. The program, known as RED (Reach Every District), helps manage resources and link services with communities. RED also provides supportive supervision and monitoring for action. This approach will improve communication between communities and health workers, increasing vaccination coverage.
January 28, 2012
Protecting children's right to a legal identity in Benin
A legal identity is a critical right, one that many children in Benin are denied due to not having a birth registration. During a recent visit, UNICEF Ambassador Angélique Kidjo advocated for improvements in the birth registration system in order to guarantee this right for all children. Without birth registration, children are excluded from basic services, and are more vulnerable to exploitation. In Benin, 40 %of children are not registered. UNICEF is committed to helping increase birth registration to guarantee the rights of all children.
January 26, 2012
India achieves major milestone in eradicating polio
Once recognized as the epicenter of the polio epidemic, India is on the verge of creating history by stopping the transmission of polio. The UNICEF-supported campaign to stop polio has administered close to 900 million doses of the oral polio vaccine in 2011 alone and has not reported any cases of polio in the last 12 months. The World Health Organization is poised to take India off the list of countries where polio remains endemic. India’s progress proves that it is possible to break the barriers to eradication.
