UNICEF is a UN agency.
UNICEF is the acronym for United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund . This fund was created in 1946 to assist European children after World War II , although seven years later it became a permanent organization within the UN system. It was decided, in any case, to keep its name ( UNICEF ), already popular throughout the world.
This organization is dedicated to meeting the needs of children, with programs to provide food, education and health care in any region of the planet. His work was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 and, fifty-one years later, with the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord , among other distinctions.
UNICEF and children's rights
UNICEF tries to ensure compliance with the Declaration of the Rights of the Child , endorsed by the UN in 1924 . This declaration states that the child must be given the "necessary means" for his "normal material and spiritual development."
The Convention on the Rights of the Child , a UN international treaty, is also supported by UNICEF . The treaty includes 54 articles on the right of children under twenty years of age to be protected, develop and actively participate in society .
UNICEF works to promote children's rights.
Work areas
Specifically, there are currently several areas that focus the work of this global organization:
- Education and equality: Schooling and education are a fundamental right, which is why that entity fights at all times to ensure that children anywhere on the planet enjoy them, making them a reality. To this end, they develop actions that seek and achieve not only the improvement of existing school infrastructure but also the appropriate training of teaching staff and the making of the necessary legislative changes that favor these fields.
- HIV, AIDS and childhood: More than three million children around the world suffer from this aforementioned disease, which has become one of the scourges of today's society. For this reason, UNICEF works through a campaign titled "United for Children. United for AIDS" for the prevention of the transmission of this pandemic between mothers and children, care from the Pediatrics area or the protection of minors who are affected.
- Protection against abuse and exploitation: Preventing any child from being a victim of sexual abuse, labor exploitation , child marriage or militarization is the fundamental objective that this organization aims to achieve with its different actions in this sector.
- Child and maternal survival: Reducing child mortality, which today has absolutely alarming rates, is the maximum goal that UNICEF wants to achieve. That is why it develops a series of programs and campaigns that work to improve health, nutrition or sanitation conditions.
UNICEF Ambassadors
UNICEF has Goodwill Ambassadors who are personalities who help spread the entity's campaigns and programs.
David Beckham, Jackie Chan, Mia Farrow, Roger Federer, Susan Sarandon, Ricky Martin y Shakira son algunos de estos embajadores a nivel mundial.