Every day, UNICEF workers brave war zones, treacherous terrain, disasters and disease to make the world safe for kids. UNICEF has helped save more children's lives than any other humanitarian organizationUNICEF has helped save more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization
Kids need UNICEF now more than ever:
- Despite major gains in child survival in recent decades, deep inequities persist within countries and across regions, leading to wide disparities; in Sub-Saharan Africa, a child is 15 times more likely to die before reaching their first birthday than a child born in a high-income country.
- Childhood immunization rates plunged during the pandemic to their lowest levels since 2008 due to disruptions to essential health services — leaving more children vulnerable to preventable diseases and opening the door to outbreaks.
- Only 52 percent of children living with HIV are receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) — leaving an estimated 800,0000 untreated, even though new testing technologies and HIV self-tests are more widely availble, and pediatric ART options are better tolerated, more effective and cheaper than ever before.
- Two in five schools around the world lack adequate facilities for students to wash their hands with soap and water — an essential practice for safeguarding personal and community health.
- Despite the availability of a simple and effective treatment, diarrhea claims around 480,000 children under age 5 every year.
Meet Amani Ahmed Mohammed Al-Shami, a UNICEF-supported health care worker in Dhama, Yemen, committed to bringing down Yemen’s tragically high infant mortality rate. Dr. Al-Shami is a trainer who teaches nurses, doctors' assistants and other health care workers how to prepare mothers for safe childbirth and to care for their babies during the critical first days of life:
Meet Amani Ahmed Mohammed Al-Shami, a UNICEF-supported doctor and trainer in Dhama, Yemen, who teaches other health care workers how to prepare mothers for safe childbirth and to care for their newborns during the critical first days of life:
Why donate to UNICEF? It's a smart way to make your money go further for children:UNICEF makes your online donations go further for children
- UNICEF is a leader: UNICEF leverages its expertise as the world’s largest vaccine buyer— and vaccinator of 46 percent of the world's children — to strengthen primary care health systems to increase immunization coverage and close immunity gaps.
- UNICEF scales low-cost solutions that work: UNICEF distributes tens of millions of bed nets every year to save children from deadly mosquito-borne diseases.
- UNICEF is an innovator: UNICEF uses chatbots, SMS, interactive voice response and other technologies through multiple channels — including U-report, RapidPro, Infolines and HealthBuddy — to reach communities in dozens of countries with lifesaving health information.
- UNICEF tackles tough problems: Too many pneumonia cases go untreated or are misdiagnosed because families can’t get adequate, affordable care; UNICEF makes sure that millions of children with suspected pneumonia receive appropriate antibiotics.
- UNICEF works to stop outbreaks before they happen: immunizing displaced and refugee children against measles, polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases is a top priority of UNICEF's response in an emergency.
- UNICEF believes no child should die from something we can prevent: UNICEF provides simple and effective treatments for diarrhea — oral rehydration salts and zinc — to children in their homes and communities.
- UNICEF is committed to an AIDS-free world: UNICEF-supported programs reach millions of adolescents with HIV/AIDS education and prevention services in 35 countries.
- UNICEF is a mother’s best friend: tens of millions of babies are delivered in UNICEF-supported health-care facilities every year.
- Millions of insecticide-treated bed nets are distributed annually by UNICEF to protect children from deadly mosquito-borne diseases.
- The U-Report bot answers users' health questions and tackles misinformation via SMS and other messaging services in 68 countries.
- UNICEF reaches millions of children with suspected pneumonia with antibiotics every year.
- Millions of children in humanitarian emergencies are vaccinated against measles as part of UNICEF's response.
