Whatever it takes to save a child
Every day, more than 24,000 children die—and they don't have to. They die from causes most people in the U.S. rarely worry about. Malnutrition. Unsafe drinking water. Lack of a five-cent vaccine. UNICEF is doing whatever it takes to reach a day when the number of children dying from preventable causes is not 24,000—it is zero.
UNICEF is on the ground
UNICEF works in more than 150 countries and territories around the world. Since its inception, UNICEF's main goals have been to reach as many children as possible with effective, low-cost solutions to counter the biggest threats to their survival, and to provide them with the protection and education all children deserve. No corner of the globe is too remote for UNICEF staff to get children the basics for survival. By plane, boat, train, truck, motorcycle, foot, donkey, camel—UNICEF uses any means necessary to provide a lifeline to children and families.
- UNICEF vaccinates more than half the world's children against childhood illnesses.
- UNICEF provides families with clean water and sanitation—between 1990 and 2004 alone, we helped more than 1.2 billion people gain access to safe drinking water.
- UNICEF helps protect children against malaria; in 2008 we distributed more than 19 million anti-malaria bed nets.
- UNICEF provides nourishment to fight malnutrition, and in many famine-ravaged countries we are the main provider of ready-to-eat therapeutic foods that can quickly and safely bring children back from the brink of starvation.
- UNICEF cares for children affected by AIDS and helps ensure that infected pregnant women get the drugs they need to prevent transmission of the virus to their babies.
- UNICEF protects children from abuse.
- UNICEF makes certain all children have access to a quality education.
Closer and closer to zero
UNICEF has saved more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization and is not daunted by war or conflict, disaster or disease, geography or logistical complexity.
And UNICEF's work is having an extraordinary impact. Recently, the number of children under the age of five who die each day dropped significantly: from 25,500 three years ago to 24,000 today. In fact, over the last 50 years, UNICEF and its partners have helped cut the worldwide child mortality rate by more than half. Most notably, new statistics show that the decline in child mortality is actually accelerating, even as the overall population increases.
We're making tremendous progress. But UNICEF will not rest until the number of children dying from preventable cause is zero. Any number greater than zero is unacceptable. With your support, we are certain to get there.
We invite you to join us in our efforts to save the world’s children.
