A lot of people have always heard about the organization ‘UNICEF’, but so many people don’t know the meaning of UNICEF or the purpose for which it was established. If you are among the people that don’t know what UNICEF means, and the functions, this article will enlighten you and give you insights about how UNICEF can be of help to the broader society and even individuals.
This article would be divided into two subheadings which are:
- What is UNICEF
- Functions of UNICEF
What is UNICEF
Unicef is an acronym for United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund:
U stands for United
N stands for Nations
I stands for International
C stands for Children’s
E stands for Emergency
F stands for Fund.
UNICEF as an organization works mainly to protect the right of children, adolescents, and even women in disadvantaged societies. The organization was created on December 11th, 1946 to meet the emergency needs of children in post war.
In 1950, the UNICEF statute was broadened to address the long-term needs of children and women in developing countries everywhere.
UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations system in 1953, this was when the initial name of the organization was shortened to the United Nations Children’s Fund. However, UNICEF retained its original acronym.
UNICEF operates in 190 countries, with the headquarters located in New York. This organization operates through country offices around the world, as well as 34 National Committees, seven regional offices, a research center in Florence, a supply operation in Copenhagen, a shared services center in Budapest, as well as other offices in Brussels, Geneva, Seoul, and Tokyo. 85% of UNICEF’s are located in the field.
The task in which Unicef carries out is enormous and requires a lot of money, one might keep wondering where a non-governmental organization such as UNICEF gets it funding, UNICEF is usually funded with the voluntary donation of people around the world. Anybody can donate to help the progress of UNICEF.
UNICEF is driven by five important values which are:
- Care,
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Respect
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Integrity,
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Trust, and
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Accountability.
A large extent of endeavors has been initiated to ensure these values form the basis of UNICEF operations and guide the world’s leading organization for children and young people.
The following are 10 functions of UNICEF:
- In conjunction with the government, private sectors, and some individuals, UNICEF helps to protect children and adolescents by looking after their health, survival, and well-being.
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Unicef provides funds for the training of personnel who can help improve children’s health and education. such as teachers, community health workers, sanitation workers, and nutritionists.
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Another function of UNICEF is that they make effort to prevent diseases like Tuberculosis, malaria, eye diseases, and skin diseases by providing vaccination against those diseases.
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Provision of technical support is a function of UNICEF. Unicef provides technical support by providing materials such as paper for textbooks, health apparatus and medicines to hospitals, and also pipes for providing clean water in rural areas.
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Unicef helps in advancing gender equality in the society by supporting girls’ child’s education.
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UNICEF is the sole agency for children, it speaks on behalf of children and upholds the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and works for its implementation. Also, UNICEF protects children against child abuse.
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UNICEF assists governments to plan, develop, and extend community-based services in the area of maternal and child healths, nutrition, clean water, and sanitation.
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Providing maternal and childcare facilities, including antenatal and postnatal support. The goal here is to prevent maternal and child mortality.
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Unicef help to create and implement policies that help prevents HIV among adolescents and children. They also help with the treatment of HIV-infected patients.
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Another function of UNICEF is the promoting of governance decentralization and accountability measures to increase public involvement in the coverage of social services.
Finally, one important function of UNICEF is that they provide employment opportunities for qualified personnel to function to fulfill their obligations as mentioned above. UNICEF as an organization has a lot of beneficial functions to the society.