UNICEF is known as the acronym for United Nations Children's Fund (United Nations Children's Fund), it is a world body of the United Nations (UN) dedicated to children. UNICEF works on the ground in 160 developing and transition countries to help children survive and thrive in life.
UNICEF was born in 1946 to meet an urgent need recognized by all States in the First Assembly of the United Nations: to help displaced children and refugees from Europe at the end of World War II. Little by little, UNICEF was acquiring responsibilities of greater geographical and temporal scope, consolidating itself and thus becoming universal.
More than 7,000 people around the world work at UNICEF with the mission of promoting and protecting the rights of children. They contribute to their well-being through cooperative programs, which help them survive and develop fully into adulthood.
This organization is financed through public and private donations, supplies food, essential medicines, vaccines, medical equipment, pest controls and educational materials, health care and emergency situations also predominate. These contributions are generally more common in underdeveloped countries.
UNICEF is currently working towards the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2000, its priorities are child survival and development, basic education and gender equality, the fight against AIDS, protection of children from violence, exploitation and abuse, and promotion of policies and associations in favor of children's rights.
There are four basic levels of work in UNICEF: field offices and regional offices, charged with providing technical and program management advice in each country; the national committees, which carry out the work of promotion, education and fundraising to carry out the activities; and the headquarters, whose function is strategic planning and coordination, its headquarters are in New York.
The governing body of UNICEF is the Board of Directors, which is composed of 36 members, representing the five regional groups of the United Nations member states, and sets policies, approves programs and makes decisions on administrative, financial and budget plans. On the other hand, there are Goodwill Ambassadors around the world, which are numerous celebrities who advocate for national and international childhood.
For all its actions that contribute to the full development of children, UNICEF has received awards such as the Nobel Peace Prize (in 1965) and the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord (in 2006). In 1989, the organization succeeded in having the Convention on the Rights of the Child declared by the UN World Magna Carta.
