Our Mission

7-month-old Kumbaba is carried by his mother, Oumou Sy, and accompanied by a health worker at the UNICEF-supported nutrition centre in Kaédi Hospital, in the city of Kaédi in the southern Gorgol Region.
Mauritania
UNICEF/NYHQ2012-0465/MIA BRANDT

Putting children first all over the world

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to put children first. UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization by providing health care and immunizations, safe water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more.

UNICEF USA supports UNICEF’s work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. Together, we are working
toward the day when no children die from preventable causes, and every child has a safe and healthy childhood.

Stay Informed

Be the first to know about UNICEF's relief efforts in times of emergency.

sign up
Fast Fact
45
%
UNICEF helps immunize 45 percent of the world’s children.
+
50
%
UNICEF's lifesaving interventions have helped cut child deaths by more than 50% since 1990.
16
thousand
Despite progress, 16,000 children still die every day from causes we can prevent.
190
UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories to save and protect children.
285
emergencies
In 2018, UNICEF responded to 285 humanitarian emergencies in 90 countries.
72
hours
UNICEF can ship lifesaving supplies to children anywhere in the world within 48 to 72 hours.
100
UNICEF works in more than 100 countries to improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities
12
million
UNICEF implemented over 12 million diagnosis tests to prevent child deaths from malaria.
750
thousand
More than 750,000 people receive updates on UNICEF's lifesaving work. Stay informed: join our list!

What UNICEF USA Is Doing

UNICEF USA supports UNICEF, and other efforts in support of the world's children, through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States.

Where UNICEF Works

UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories all over the world. Here are a few regions where UNICEF has focused its work recently.

Share on

What UNICEF Is Doing

Saving Children's Lives
Building Children's Futures
Emergency Relief

Stories About Our Mission

A Syrian girl cries upon her arrival in Hassakeh city after fleeing Turkish bombardment on Syria's northeastern towns along the Turkish border on October 10, 2019.
UNICEF Urges All Parties to Protect Children in Syria
As violence escalates in northeastern Syria, many children are at imminent risk of injury, death and displacement.
For Pascaline, a teenager living in a poor neighborhood in Niger's capital, Niamey, staying in school means the chance to play soccer and to make her own decisions about her future.
Using Soccer to End Child Marriage in Niger
A successful program in Niger uses soccer to encourage girls to stay in school and avoid early marriage.
An 11-year-old girl from Nigeria (left) comforts her younger brother aboard a rescue boat after they were picked up from an overcrowded dinghy in the Mediterranean Sea, en route to Italy, about 14 miles north of Sabratha, Libya, on July 28, 2016.
In Photos: Migration's Searing Impact on Children
A new photo exhibition illustrates the physical, emotional & psychological impact of migration on the world's children.
Yasmin (left), 12, a Bangladeshi national, and Showkat, 15, a Rohingya refugee, both attend a UNICEF-supported adolescent club in Lambasia refugee camp, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh on June 24, 2019.
Youth Clubs Help Rohingya Children Cope With Problems in Refugee Camps
UNICEF-supported clubs give adolescents a forum to discuss personal safety, early marriage and the dangers of drugs and trafficking.
UNICEF Market Helps Supergirl-Silversmiths Shine
Thanks to entrepreneur training and access to a global market, the Jalapa Girls Silversmiths are confident in themselves and their futures.
UNICEF USA President and CEO Caryl M. Stern visits with children in Guatemala in 2015.
Reflections on Yom Kippur
How will our society fare when it's judged by its treatment of the world's children?
See all »