Press Release

IKEA Foundation provides 110,000 blankets to UNICEF for children in Syria, Jordan and Uganda

Responding to UNICEF’s urgent call for supplies, longstanding partner IKEA Foundation has donated 110,000 baby blankets to some of the world’s most vulnerable children affected by conflict. The blankets will be distributed to children living in refugee camps in Jordan and Uganda and infants visiting hospitals and health centers in Syria. The foundation will ship the IKEA blankets to the destination countries where UNICEF will handle distribution.

NEW YORK (May 7, 2013) – Responding to UNICEF’s urgent call for supplies, longstanding partner IKEA Foundation has donated 110,000 baby blankets to some of the world’s most vulnerable children affected by conflict. The blankets will be distributed to children living in refugee camps in Jordan and Uganda and infants visiting hospitals and health centers in Syria. The foundation will ship the IKEA blankets to the destination countries where UNICEF will handle distribution.

In Jordan, 35,000 IKEA baby blankets will be distributed to Syrian refugee children ages two and under arriving in camps in Northern Jordan. It is still very cold at night in the desert, even during summer, and the blankets will help keep the youngest children and infants warm.

In Syria, 50,000 blankets will be used for newborn babies and infants when they visit health centers and hospitals across five cities including Homs and Aleppo.

Another 25,000 blankets will be provided to children ranging from three-15 years old living in refugee camps in southern Uganda. The conflict continues to escalate in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo with an estimated 2.6 million people currently displaced. This situation is expected to impact more than 60% of children.

About UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works in 190 countries and territories to save and improve children’s lives, providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when ZERO children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.

For additional information, please contact:
Andrea Sioris, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 212.880.9136, asioris@unicefusa.org