United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund [UNICEF]
INTRODUCTION
United Nations International
Children’s Emergency Fund [UNICEF] is one of the specialized agencies of the
United Nations. It was established in
1946 by the United Nations General Assembly to deal with rehabilitation of
children in war ravaged countries.
UNICEF is governed by a thirty.
Nations executive board. The head
quarters of the UNICEF is at United Nations.
MEMBERSHIP OF UNICEF
At present 105 countries are its
members. In
ACTIVITIES OF UNICEF
1. Child Health
Child health is the major area of
activity of UNICEF. The main goals of
UNICEF Assistance in this field are to extend coverage of maternal and child
health services, immunization, family planning aspects of the family health,
sufficient and accessible drinking water, adequate sanitation and health and
nutrition education.
2. Primary Health care
UNICEF has been encouraging and
co-operative in the extension of maternal and child health centers to the local
or community level for many years. This
has been done mainly through help for health centers and sub centers and under
five clinics and for the training of their personnel.
3. Immunisation
UNICEF is supporting in a number of
countries the WHO expanded programme of immunization which usually delivers a
number of vaccinations simultaneously.
4. Rural water supply and sanitation
UNICEF has been assisting rural water
supply and sanitation projects since 1953 initially on pilot or demonstration
projects scale.
5. Child Nutrition
Unicef
gives high priority to improving child nutrition in collaboration with FAO,
UNICEF also began aiding “Applied Nutrition” programmes through such channels
as community development, agricultural extension, schools and health services
as to stimulate and help the rural population to grow and eat the foods. It required for better child nutrition.
Specific aid is also given for
intervention against nutritional deficiency disease, provision of large doses
of Vit.a in areas where xerophatalmia is prevent, enrichment of salt with
Iodine in areus of endemic goiter, provision of iron and folute supplements to
combat anemias and enrichment of foods.
Village level technology
UNICEF in the past few years has began
to assist the development and promotion of low – cost indigeneously based
technologies, ideas, methods, equipment, tools and practices which help to
improve nutrition, health and daily life of children and to relive family level
work loads, particularly of mothers.
Family and child welfare
The purpose is to improve the care of
children. Both within and outside their
homes through such means as parent education, day care centres, child welfare
and youth agencies and women’s club.
Formal and non formal Education
In collaboration with UNESCO, UNISEF is assisting
Currently, UNICEF is promoting a
campaign, known as
G
- For growth charts to better
monitor child development
O - For Oral Rehydration to treat all mild
and moderate dehydration
B - For Breast Feeding
I - Immunization against measles,
diphtheria, polio, pertusis, tetanus and Tb.
Urban Services
UNICEF is supporting a wide variety of
activities directly benefiting urban children including mother and child health
services. Communicable disease control measures, Child – feeding non – formal
education program and community and day – care centers. There is also provision for the training of
community workers.
UNICEF IN
In 1949, UNICEF began work in
UNICEF support the governments efforts
in bringing services essential to the survival and development in children
services as basic to life itself as clean water, safe sanitation, immunization
and other health measures.
UNICEF passionately believes that
every child, boy or girl, from a rich family or poor, has the right to go to
school and learn the skills essential for a healthy and productive life.
Health
The
decade long effort to immunization children against major childhood disease had
spectacular results in
Ø Against
diphtheria, pertussis tetanus.
Ø The
new child survival and safe motherhood programme will build on this success to
deliver many more health services to mothers and child.
Education
Ø Nearly
one third of
Nutrition and Child Development
UNICEF continues to support the ICDS
programmes of the government which aims at improving the nutritional and health
status as well as the social development of young children.
The girl Child
UNICEF is working to meet the special
needs of girls, the most vulnerable of all children, work focuses on the
special initiatives to encourage education, to delay marriage and to combat
female infanticide.
CONCLUSION
In short, UNICEF activities cover
programmes assisting in child survival, protection and development
interventions like immunization, child growth monitoring, birth spacing,
education of girls and income generating activities for women.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.
K.Park Text
book of preventive and Social Medicine, M/s. Banarsidas Bhanot Publishers 18th
Edition, Pg.No.707-708.
2.
B.T.Basavanthappa,
Community health Nursing, Publishers by Jitendar.P. Viji, Second Edition, Page
No.946-950.
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