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.

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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.

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What UNICEF Is Doing

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

Stories About Our Mission

Families continue to flee escalating violence in northeast Syria in October 2019.
Families Continue to Flee Violence in Northeast Syria
Escalating conflict has displaced at least 160,000 people. UNICEF and partners are reaching families with emergency assistance.
A child from Yemen's Al-Meshqafah camp takes a break while carrying heavy jugs of drinking water from supply tanks to the camp.
Poverty Eradication Begins With Children
Poverty is a fundamental denial of the human rights of children. Here's how UNICEF is helping every child reach her full potential.
In November 2018, Akosusu Siska kisses her new baby, Reagen, born the day before this photo was taken at the UNICEF-supported Jules Chevalier Clinic in Mbandaka, Équateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo Eliminates MNT
Babies in the DRC are no longer at risk of contracting tetanus, thanks to immunization and education campaigns by UNICEF and partners.
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.
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