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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