We explain what UNICEF is and for what purpose this international fund was created. In addition, when it was created and the functions it fulfills.
What is Unicef?
It is known as Unicef to United Nations International Emergency Fund for Children (for its acronym in English: United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund), a program developed within the UN to provide humanitarian support to mothers and children in developing countries.
Unicef was created on December 11, 1946 in order to meet many of the food, educational and other needs of children surviving World War II, a conflict that left Europe in a state of utter devastation. Beginning in 1953, however, its reach was extended to the entire world and it was granted the status of a permanent body of the United Nations.
Unicef financing relies entirely on donations from companies, foundations and governments. Its motto is For every child and his work has earned him recognition such as the Nobel Peace Prize (1965) or the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord (2006).
A series of world personalities from the world of entertainment and culture have the status of ambassadors of Good Will Unicef, such as the North American actress Emma Watson, the Argentine singer Diego Torres, the Colombian singer and songwriter Shakira or the American actor Danny Glover .
Unicef functions
More than 193 countries work with Unicef through various programs and regional committees, whose principles are based on the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Adolescent. In this way, the organism cares about the health, education, protection and other human rights needs of children, through constant data collection work, advocacy for equality, and policies and partnerships with local governments to provide food, health care and clothing to children in endemically poor regions or victims of armed conflict.
Among these tasks are:
- Immunization of child populations through free vaccine campaigns.
- Attention to displaced children and adolescents or victims of armed conflicts.
- Attention to child populations in states of extreme poverty, as in some countries on the African continent.
- Sponsorship of positive initiatives for children or to combat child drug addiction, such as sports or culture.
- Denouncement of child labor, child recruitment or other forms of exploitation, including sexual exploitation.