Primary Mission For The Children

The United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF works around the world for the benefit of girls and boys. UNICEF works to promote respect for children’s rights, to meet their primary needs and to improve their opportunities. With its dual mandate in the area of ​​emergency humanitarian aid and development cooperation, UNICEF is main partner for child protection both in developing countries and in crisis situations.

Despite tremendous progress, millions of girls and boys around the world are still unable to attend school or suffer from malnutrition.

UNICEF’s primary mission is therefore to promote respect for the rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It strives to ensure that all girls and boys have the opportunity to survive, to grow and to fully develop their abilities without discrimination or favoritism. UNICEF is committed to creating favorable conditions for the development of children and is particularly concerned with their protection in the event of conflict and emergency situations.

Context

Considerable progress has been made in the past two decades. Mortality of children under the age of five has fallen from 12.7 to around 6 million deaths per year. The share of malnourished children has been halved. The net enrollment rate at primary school level in developing countries reached 92% in 2016, and gender equality in classes at this level has gradually improved. However, a considerable proportion of disadvantaged children could not benefit from these significant improvements. The positive results of the countries that have achieved the national targets hide the great disparities that exist. Prolonged humanitarian crises also continue to hamper the development of some 30 million girls and boys.

UNICEF Goals

The strategic plan of UNICEF for 2018-2021 aims to obtain concrete results in favor of children, in particular of the most disadvantaged girls and boys, breaking the vicious circle of inequality. The plan focuses on the five objectives set out below.

All children survive and realize their potential

This includes promoting early childhood development as well as improving the nutritional situation of girls and boys, the health of mothers and babies, and the health of adolescents through vaccination, HIV / AIDS prevention or the promotion of balanced nutrition. .

All children learn

Early childhood learning processes and the development of skills of adolescents should be promoted in general, as well as facilitating access to education for unschooled girls and boys, especially in situations of humanitarian crisis.

All children are protected from violence and exploitation

Violence, harmful practices against girls and boys as well as serious violations committed against minors in areas affected by humanitarian crises must be prevented and a widespread birth registration system should be introduced.

All children live in a safe and clean environment

Access to safe water and basic sanitation must be guaranteed for all minors. In addition, better protection of children from environmental pollution, natural disasters and the consequences of climate change must be guaranteed.

All children have an equal opportunity to succeed in life

This includes gender equality from the earliest years of life, integrated support for girls and boys with disabilities, greater participation of and adolescents in public processes and the reduction of poverty among children through better social protection.

Results

Through its activities, UNICEF has made a decisive contribution to improving the legal and regulatory framework in favor of children. In last year, the Humanitarian Organization achieved the following results:

• over 78.6 million children were vaccinated against measles (+ 54%) and 150,000 children with HIV were treated with antiretroviral treatment;
• 32.7 million children were able to have access to better sources of drinking water (+ 42%);
• 12.5 million children received educational material (+ 31%).