UNICEF

UNICEF — the United Nations Children’s Fund — is the UN agency for children. The General Assembly created it on 11 December 1946 to deliver emergency food and health care to children in war-devastated Europe; in 1953 it became a permanent UN fund, keeping the acronym it is known by.

UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories, from its headquarters in New York. Its mandate is the survival, development and protection of children, guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the most widely ratified human-rights treaty in history.

UNICEF is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from governments, companies, foundations and millions of individual donors. It received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965.

A 36-member Executive Board, elected by the UN Economic and Social Council, sets policy and approves programmes. An Executive Director runs the organization: Catherine Russell has held the post since 2022.

Seven regional offices and a global Supply Division in Copenhagen — the world’s largest humanitarian warehouse — back country offices that deliver programmes with governments and local partners.

UNICEF vaccinates children, treats malnutrition, gets children into school, builds water and sanitation systems, and protects children in war, displacement and disaster. It also publishes the annual State of the World’s Children report and advocates for child rights in every forum where budgets and laws are made.

In emergencies it is often among the first responders on the ground — and among the last to leave.

• UNICEF, unicef.org — mandate, structure, Executive Board.
• UN General Assembly resolution 57(I), 11 December 1946 — founding resolution.
• Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989.
• Nobel Peace Prize, 1965.