A child born into a poor family is nearly twice as likely to die before reaching the age of 5 as a child born into better circumstances. You can help stop this injustice.
For more than 70 years, UNICEF has been on the front lines of the battle to help every child survive and thrive. We are proud to partner with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to save and improve the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children.
Together, we work relentlessly to advance new ways to combat killer diseases and other threats to children – and to make these proven, low-cost methods available to every child, everywhere.
Reaching every child left behind is not only the right thing to do. It is also the smart thing to do – helping build stronger communities, more equitable societies and a better future for us all.
Your support can save lives.
Every year, vaccines protect millions of children from illness, disability and death.
UNICEF works with governments and other partners to expand the benefits of vaccines to every child, with a focus on the most disadvantaged. UNICEF is also one of the world's largest buyers of vaccines for children: In 2015, we procured 2.8 billion doses. We reach about 45 per cent of the world’s children.
Reaching children in conflict
Almost two-thirds of all unvaccinated children live in conflict-affected countries
Women tackling polio in Afghanistan
Female health workers are vaccinating at-risk children and breaking down barriers for women
Beating back yellow fever in Angola
After a 2015 outbreak, 3,000 social mobilizers helped vaccinate 16 million children and adults against the deadly disease
Yemen’s vaccine champion
Midwife Bamoumen is vaccinating up to 375 children a day
UNICEF works with governments, communities and families to keep children healthy. We focus on reaching the most vulnerable women and children to prevent and treat the main child killers, including diarrhoea, pneumonia and malaria. Community-based approaches are at the heart of our work. In 2015, we trained more than 82,000 health workers to help children at risk,
wherever they are.
Born in an Iraqi displacement camp
Helping mothers in Debaga camp give their babies a healthy start in life
HIV test results by drone in Malawi
Speeding up the delivery of HIV test results so babies receive life-saving treatment
Birth registration in Pakistan by phone
Protecting children by increasing birth registration from 5% to 95% in a single year
For 1 million babies in 2015, their first day was their last – and nearly 2.7 million newborns died within their first month of life.
UNICEF helps save lives by connecting women and babies with life-saving resources, such as skilled birth attendants and critical pre- and postnatal care.
Mothers helping mothers in Brazil
‘Social mothers’ support low-income women during pregnancy and in the first, most critical months of a baby’s life
Reaching the hardest to reach in Cambodia
Mobile health teams provide women and babies in remote locations with critical pre- and postnatal care
Kangaroo care saves newborn lives in Haiti
Skin-to-skin contact between premature newborns and their mothers protects against infection and keeps babies alive
Antenatal Care Day in Sierra Leone
Free antenatal and postnatal services are saving lives by encouraging pregnant women to come to health facilities
Undernutrition kills almost 3 million children a year and leaves millions more with stunted
bodies and brains.
UNICEF focuses on the first 1,000 days of life, when nutrition has the greatest impact. In 2015, UNICEF treated more than 3 million children for severe acute malnutrition. With our partners, we provided breastfeeding support to mothers and delivered life-saving interventions such as vitamins and fortified foods to nearly 270 million children in priority countries.
Baby cafe in Indonesia
A village midwife is providing affordable, healthy food for babies and children
Breastfeeding classes in Guinea-Bissau
The benefits of breastfeeding are critical in a country where 1 out of every 10 children dies under the age of 5
Recovering from malnutrition
Seven-month-old Umara is one of over 100,000 children across north-east Nigeria being treated for malnutrition
An estimated 277,000 children under 5 are suffering from severe acute malnutrition
Babies born to adolescent mothers are 1.5 times more likely to die in the first 28 days of life. Complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the second leading cause of death for
girls 15 to 19.
Addressing these special risks is a critical focus of UNICEF’s work to keep children healthy. We work to promote girls’ education, prevent child marriage and help adolescent girls protect their and their children’s futures.
A storybook wedding – except for one thing
Worldwide, more than 700 million women alive today were married as children
Married at 12 in Chad
Child brides like Amina are more likely to drop out of school and suffer complications during pregnancy and childbirth
Supporting mothers in a refugee camp in Kenya
A child mother support group helps unaccompanied mothers take better care of their babies