UNICEF

The United Nations Children's Fund (FNUI), in English, (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund), better known as Unicef, is an agency of the United Nations (UN) based in New York that provides humanitarian aid and development to children and mothers in developing countries. He is a member and executive committee of the United Nations Development Group.

Originally it was created in 1946 under the name of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef), in Spanish: Fondo Internacional de Emergencia de las Naciones Unidas para la Infancia, to help the children of Europe after the Second World War. In 1953, Unicef became a permanent body within the UN system, in charge of helping children and families and their rights. Its name was shortened to the current name, but the original acronym was kept.

Unicef works in more than 191 countries and territories through different programs and National Committees. The basis on which it guides its work is the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its work is focused on five priority areas of work: child survival and development, education and gender equality, children and HIV/AIDS, child protection and policy advocacy and alliances.

The way to carry out this work is through a combination of cooperative programs with national governments and planning based on the results achieved. For this purpose, it compiles and analyzes data on the situation of children and women, in addition to maintaining and updating global databases. It is especially concerned about the repercussions that the different social and economic policies that are carried out have on children. It has the Innocenti Research Center that develops its own research on childhood. The actions carried out in the field are also evaluated and analyzed in order to determine good practices and lessons learned.

Unicef's other main tasks include acting in emergency situations with the aim of saving lives, alleviating suffering and protecting the rights of children. For which, it carries out campaigns to purchase supplies that will be used both for development programs and for actions in emergency situations.

UNICEF works in 193 countries and territories to help guarantee children the right to survive and thrive from early childhood through adolescence, providing food, clothing and medical care to children around the world, and has also tried to meet your other needs. Unicef is the largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, works to improve the health and nutrition of children; quality water supply and sanitation; quality basic education for all children and protection against violence, exploitation and HIV/AIDS.

UNICEF is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from individuals, companies, foundations and governments. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 and the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord in 2006.

History

The needs of children received increased attention in 1959, when the United Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It was hoped that the document would generate interest in children's problems and contribute to their solution by building public support, both financially and in other ways.

However, “twenty years later,” according to Collier's 1980 Year Book, “such 'rights,' especially those related to nutrition, health, and material well-being, were far from being a reality for many of them. the 1.5 billion children of the world. Therefore, in recognition of the continuing need to solve children's problems and in keeping with the stated objectives, the United Nations declared 1979 as the International Year of the Child. Government, civic, religious and charitable groups from around the world were quick to react in search of solutions.

Timeline

• Unicef was created in 1946 by the unanimous decision of the First Session of the United Nations General Assembly to provide emergency relief to millions of children in Europe from the Posguerra, the Middle East and China victims of World War II.
• In 1953, Unicef became a permanent agency of the United Nations system with a mandate to respond to the needs of children and to protect their rights.
• Between 1954 and 1969 Unicef hosted in Spain eight Premature Centers by this order: Madrid, Bilbao, Valencia, Barcelona, Seville, Granada, San Sebastián and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It is remarkable not only the effectiveness of these Centres in their double clinical and teaching facet but also for being a pioneer model in Spain.
• In 1959, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of the Child, a precursor to the present Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• In 1960, Unicef changed its status as an organization of humanitarian assistance by that of an international development cooperation agent. Education was considered the best tool to combat poverty.
• In 1965 he received the Nobel Peace Prize and in 1979 he was elected the leading agency of the United Nations system by the United Nations General Assembly.
• In 1987 he published the study: "Adjustment with a human face", which generated a major global debate on how to protect children and women from the negative effects of economic adjustments and reforms.
• The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted in 1989.
• A Global Plan of Action was developed between 1990 and 2000, starting with the World Summit for Children, which committed countries to achieving seven major targets and 20 other support targets for children.
• In 2000, at the New York Millennium Summit, 200 heads of State and Government signed the Millennium Declaration, which set eight goals to eradicate global poverty by 2015.
• In 2006, coinciding with its 60th anniversary, he received the Prince of Asturias Award of Concordia.
• In December 2018, Unicef told a baby to receive a drone vaccine for the first time in history. [1]

Priorities

Unicef helps mainly in areas of extreme poverty, in Africa and other latitudes of the world. Humanitarian rights are Unicef's areas of action and include the development of childhood, adolescence, and participation in life patterns, based on education and better development for children.

Child Survival and Development

Survival is the primary right that all children must be guaranteed. Unicef works on health, water, sanitation and nutrition programs to try to guarantee that right.

Goal 4A of the Millennium Development Goals is to reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the mortality of children under 5 years of age. Infant mortality is one of the most important indicators of poverty and degree of development of a country. Although the number of deaths of children under five years of age has risen from 12 million in 1990 to just under 6.9 million in 2011 in recent years, today 19,000 still die a day from largely preventable causes. 36% of deaths in children under the age of 5 are due to preventable diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria. Malnutrition accounts for a third of the deaths of children under five years of age, in addition to the fact that 165 million children suffer from chronic malnutrition. Every day, 4,000 children under the age of five die due to the lack of safe drinking water and proper sanitation. Other causes of death are armed conflicts and HIV/AIDS. Millennium Development Goals Report 2013. New York. 2013.

Unicef carries out health, nutrition, and water and sanitation programs, with actions aimed at preventing and treating child malnutrition, oral rehydration in case of diarrhea, promoting breastfeeding, immunization against preventable diseases or the distribution of mosquito nets to prevent the spread of malaria. Most of these actions are carried out in West Africa and South Asia.

Education and gender equality

Children in day care.

The second of the Millennium Development Goals is to achieve universal primary education. Education, in addition to being a fundamental human right, is a crucial element for the development of individuals and societies, contributing to the improvement of people's lives and helping to eradicate the vicious circle of poverty.

Yet around 57 million children are out of school, 42% of whom live in impoverished countries. The worst primary school enrollment rates are in sub-Saharan Africa. There are 120 million children who do not reach the last grade of primary school and 130 million more who do not acquire basic knowledge, cannot read, write or count correctly.

Unicef's work in this area is aimed at both achieving the MDGs related to education and gender equality (goals 2 and 3), as well as the Education for All goals, which is a global commitment to provide quality basic education to all children, youth and adults.

UNICEF works in more than 150 developing countries and UNICEF's priorities in education are: Equal opportunities in access to education and universal primary education. The promotion of women's autonomy through girls' education and gender equality. Education in emergency situations and after crises. Early childhood development and school readiness. Improving the quality of primary and secondary education.

Efforts are constant in the sense of assuring every boy and girl in the world the right they have to education. The strategy of accelerating the enrollment of girls has been carried out in at least 25 countries during the period 2002-2007.

Childhood and HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS continues to be the world's leading killer, with 2.5 million HIV infections recorded in 2011 and 1.7 million people dying from AIDS-related causes (24% fewer than in 2005).

In addition to the cases of infected children, HIV/AIDS affects millions of children due to the economic and social disruption caused by the loss of family members. Important advances have been made, such as the early diagnosis of the disease or the prevention of transmission from mothers to children. Among the remaining barriers are access to adequate medication, discrimination or the lack of protection of orphaned children due to HIV/AIDS.

Unicef launched the campaign “United for Children. United against AIDS” in 2005 that took place in more than 150 countries. This campaign focuses on the so-called “Four Ps”: Prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Provide pediatric treatment to children. Prevent infection among adolescents and young people. Protect and support children affected by HIV/AIDS.

As part of the global campaign "Eliminate Mother-Child Transmission by 2015", in 2010, together with the World Health Organization and other allies, the Mother-Child Kit for HIV Prevention was launched, which consists of in a pack with antiretroviral drugs and antibiotics to prevent vertical transmission. During emergency situations such as catastrophes or armed conflicts, special attention is also paid to HIV to prevent its spread.

Child protection

Despite the fact that all children have the right to protection against any form of violence, exploitation and abuse, millions of children of different socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, religions or cultures continue to be exposed to this type of vulnerability throughout the world. world. However, gender, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status make some children especially vulnerable.

Being exposed to situations of violence, exploitation and abuse can affect, in the short and long term, the correct physical and cognitive development of children, affecting their learning and socialization capacities and negatively influencing their transition towards education. adult life.

Some examples of situations where protection is especially necessary are: when births are not registered, child labor, child marriage, trafficking in minors, children in emergency situations due to armed conflicts, minors in conflict with the law, children without parental care, minors orphaned by one or both parents or under institutional guardianship, female genital mutilation, sexual exploitation or violence against children.

Unicef works to collect data that can reflect the situation of these children as accurately as possible. In this way, once the problem is made visible and with the collaboration of governments, allies, the private sector and civil society, it is possible to implement different protection measures.

On October 11, 2013, at the facilities of the Buenos Aires Legislature in Buenos Aires (Argentina), the Argentine Network for the Sustainable Adolescent Girl Effect (Raenas) was launched together with Código R, Ecomujeres, Nodo Centro, Multimedios Vip, and more than 50 institutions, proposing institutional interaction as the axis of work, initiating a new public-private articulation commitment that promotes the generation of message replicators in pursuit of child and adolescent care. In October 2014, the team presented Unicef with the first annual report on activities and projects carried out.

Executive advocacy to protect children and their rights from policies and alliances for children's rights

Problems related to childhood can be addressed from different areas. Unicef focuses on analyzing the impact that different public policies have on children. It also studies whether these policies follow the norms and standards that are predetermined for politics, such as the child protection council established by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, in order to situate children's rights at the center of public policy.

To carry out this work, Unicef works with governments, different public and private institutions, civil society and beneficiary groups, with the intention that the measures they take are appropriate to the problem and sustainable and long-lasting over time.

Unicef has increased its policy advocacy interventions and partnerships. They are being carried out in developing and industrialized countries since, as a result of the economic crisis, an increasing number of countries are taking fiscal austerity measures. These actions have increased the risk and have reduced the provision of services and social protection measures. Likewise, in August 2016 the association with the Happy Hippie Foundation program was announced, a non-profit organization in the United States founded by the artist Miley Cyrus, to collaborate in humanitarian aid during the war in Syria, mainly for children. from the country.

Project Examples

Child-friendly (or child-friendly) cities

Intended to promote the application of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the field of local entities (town halls, councils,...) there are several programs in which UNICEF works, but one of the most important is the Program World in Favor of Children's Rights.

Space for Peace

It is an initiative that Unicef has been developing together with Club Atlético Boca Juniors since 2007. The program consists of using the club's facilities to train young people and adolescents about their rights. In this way, every month, 160 kids are invited to the micro-cinema of the Museo de la Pasión Boquense to develop educational activities and, in recognition, they are invited to the stadium to watch a Boca Juniors soccer match.

Child Hope Campaign

The Niño Esperanza campaign was a televised event that served to raise funds for underprivileged children. The event was annual and had the participation of various artists and the presentation of the official song of the campaign, as was the case in 2006 with the main theme My country by the artist Kleber Alejandro.^{[citation required ]}

Immunization

Immunization is a direct matter in which UNICEF intervenes, within which it has included improvements in the health of the world's children, for at least the last 20 years.^{[citation required]}

Unicef Goodwill Ambassadors

Unicef Goodwill Ambassadors are individuals who work on behalf of the UNICEF Children's Rights Fund. The objective is to allow people with public recognition to participate in Unicef campaigns, relying on the fame that these people have.

American musician Danny Kaye was the first to receive the appointment in 1964. Currently, there are international, regional and national ambassadors.

Some celebrities who have been named UNICEF ambassadors are: Lionel Messi, Emma Watson, Katy Perry, Thalía, Selena Gomez, BTS, Choi Si-won, Julieta Venegas, Nicole Kidman, Shakira, Millie Bobby Brown, David Bisbal, Diego Forlán, Benjamín Vicuña, Radamel Falcao, Ricky Martin and Aidan Gallagher, among others.

Sponsorships

• In 2006, Unicef sponsored his shirt with the Barcelona Club Football. Other teams that have signed contract are Boca Juniors, AC Milan, Tigres de México, Flamengo, Santos and Algeciras Balonmano.

• Hello Kitty of the company Sanrio is recognized worldwide as a child ambassador of Unicef.

• Habbo Hotel sponsored Unicef to help the world's children with the camps in Africa in 2004.

• Montblanc And Unicef made an alliance for global child literacy. For the purchase of each article of this campaign, 10% are intended to support this cause. These articles have an olive grove and a blue sapphire relative to the Unicef seal; their production ended in May 2010 which made them special items.