About the Organization
Progress in Saving Children's Lives
Every day, more than 19,000 children die—and they don't have to. They die from causes most people in the U.S. rarely worry about. Malnutrition. Unsafe drinking water. Lack of an affordable vaccine. UNICEF is doing whatever it takes to reduce child mortality and reach a day when the number of children dying from preventable causes is not 19,000—it is ZERO. We are closer than ever before, thanks to lifesaving interventions and programs that have helped reduce daily child deaths by 12,000 since 1990.
UNICEF works in more than 150 countries around the world. Since its inception, UNICEF has strived to reach as many children as possible with effective, low-cost solutions to counter the biggest threats to their survival. In countries where there is overall progress, but a widening gap between rich and poor, UNICEF is doubling its efforts to reach the poorest 20%, where preventable deaths are most concentrated. No corner of the globe is too remote for UNICEF staff to get these children the basics for survival. By plane, boat, train, truck, motorcycle, foot, donkey, camel—UNICEF uses any means necessary to provide help for children and families.
UNICEF:
* Provides child immunizations and vaccinations to more than half of the world's children.
* Provides families with clean drinking water and sanitation, helping nearly 1.8 billion people gain access to safe drinking water.
* Helps protect children against malaria; in 2008 we distributed more than 19 million anti-malaria bed nets.
* Provides nourishment to prevent malnutrition; in many famine-ravaged countries we are the main provider of ready-to-eat therapeutic foods that can bring children back from the brink of starvation.
* Participates in the fight against AIDS by caring for children affected by AIDS and ensuring that infected pregnant women get the drugs they need to prevent transmission of the virus to their babies.
* Works to protect children from abuse, aiming to stop child exploitation and trafficking.
* Strives to provide access to a quality education for all children.
