Doctor Mike
The children's health advocate helps raise awareness of the importance of UNICEF's mission: to ensure that every child is healthy, educated, protected and respected.
UNICEF Ambassador since 2024
Family medicine physician and top health content creator, Dr. Mikhail Varshavski — better known as Doctor Mike — was appointed UNICEF Ambassador on the first day of World Immunization Week in 2024.
A longtime advocate for children’s health, Doctor Mike regularly shares evidence-based medical information and addresses common misconceptions with his audience of over 30 million followers on social media. With over 5 billion views on YouTube channel alone, he has built a career translating complex health information into accessible, engaging content.
His collaboration with UNICEF began in 2021, when he partnered on a video to discuss how COVID-19 vaccinations work. "I feel a responsibility to be a bridge between the public and the medical community to rebuild trust — especially for people who feel overlooked, unheard or simply confused," Doctor Mike wrote in a May 2025 op-ed for Newsweek.
Born in Russia and raised in New York City, Doctor Mike earned his B.S. in Life Sciences and Doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine from the New York Institute of Technology. While completing his residency at Atlantic Health System’s Overlook Medical Center, he began sharing health guidance on Instagram. Guests featured in his podcast, "The Checkup," have included medical professionals, athletes, world leaders, comedians and actors.
I feel a responsibility to be a bridge between the public and the medical community to rebuild trust — especially for people who feel overlooked, unheard or simply confused.
In 2024, Doctor Mike visited the UNICEF Supply Division, traveling to Copenhagen for a firsthand look at the world’s largest humanitarian warehouse, where he learned from experts about UNICEF’s work and helped pack and ship lifesaving supplies to children and families around the world.
He teamed up with UNICEF Regional Goodwill Ambassador and Rugby World Cup winner, Tendai Mtawarira, for a child nutrition quiz in support of UNICEF’s 2024 Child Food Poverty Report. He has supported key UNICEF USA initiatives such as Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. And for World Polio Day 2025, he collaborated with UNICEF & UNICEF USA on Instagram to remind viewers that polio anywhere is a threat to children everywhere.
In his Newsweek op-ed, Doctor Mike discussed the race to eradicate preventable diseases, UNICEF's role in global immunization efforts, and the importance of debunking myths and misinformation about vaccines to get the job done.
The piece tackled the issue of vaccine skepticism head-on: "What if I told you there's a preventative health measure that has saved more lives than almost any other medical intervention in history? That it's rigorously tested and remarkably cost-effective? That sounds like it would be universally celebrated, right?"
In closing, a call to action:
"Science will continue to evolve, and we will always be learning. But for these vaccine-preventable illnesses, we know what works. We have the science. We just need to ensure that neither misinformation nor lack of access slows the incredible progress that vaccines have given us.
"Every dose UNICEF and its partners deliver moves us closer to ending preventable disease and gives each child a fair shot at a full, healthy life, while every myth we dispel and question we answer strengthens the well-being and resilience of our entire community."
Related: Doctor Mike on Vaccines: 'Let's Not Let Misinformation Win'
Join Doctor Mike in ensuring every child is protected from deadly diseases. Support UNICEF
