The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund was created by the United Nations General Assembly on 11 December 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II. The Polish physician Ludwik Rajchman is widely regarded as the founder of UNICEF and served as its first chairman from 1946.
In 1950, UNICEF's mandate was extended to address the long-term needs of children and women in developing countries everywhere. In 1953 it became a permanent part of the United Nations System, and the words "international" and "emergency" were dropped from the organization's name, making it simply the United Nations Children's Fund, retaining the original acronym, "UNICEF".
Revenue of UNICEF :-
UNICEF relies on contributions from governments and private donors. Governments contribute two-thirds of the organization's resources. Private groups and individuals contribute the rest through national committees. It is estimated that 92 per cent of UNICEF revenue is distributed to program services. UNICEF's programs emphasize developing community-level services to promote the health and well-being of children. UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 and the Prince of Asturias Award of Concord in 2006.
Work of UNICEF :-
Most of UNICEF's work is in the field, with a presence in 190 countries and territories. UNICEF's network of over 150 country offices, headquarters and other offices, and 34 National Committees carry out UNICEF's mission through programs developed with host governments. Seven regional offices provide technical assistance to country offices as needed.
UNICEF's Supply Division is based in Copenhagen and serves as the primary point of distribution for such essential items as Vaccines, Antiretroviral medicines for children and mothers with HIV, nutritional supplements, Emergency shelters, damily reunification , and educational supplies.
UNICEF national committees :-
There are national committees in 38 [industrialized] countries, each established as an independent local non-governmental orgenization. The national committees raise funds from the public sector.
UNICEF is funded entirely by voluntary contributions, and the National Committees collectively raise around one-third of UNICEF's annual income. This comes through contributions from corporations, civil society organizations around six million individual donors worldwide.
Girl Star is the most important Project by UNICEF :-
The Girl Star project is a series of films which documents stories of girls from the most disadvantaged communities across five northern states in India who, through via education, have managed to break socio-economic constraints to make a success of their lives and become self-sufficient. These young women have grown to become role models in their communities, inspiring younger girls to go to school and continue their education. They have selected professions from the most conventional such as teaching and nursing, to the most unconventional like archery, bee-keeping, often entering what has traditionally been a man’s domain. Girl Star is also one of UNICEF’s most known projects.
