UNICEF completes 75 years
UNICEF was first started in 1946. It is a branch of the United Nations which is responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children all over the world.
During its inception, this body was known as United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. In 1953, the name was shortened to United Nations Children's Fund. The headquarters is located in New York City, USA. Its activities include providing immunizations and disease prevention, administering treatment for children and mothers with HIV, enhancing childhood and maternal nutrition, improving sanitation, improving education, and providing emergency relief in response to disasters. The organisation was founded in the wake of the 2nd World War in order to help women and children across the globe, who have been affected by the War.
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As this organization was founded on the 11th of December 1946, the date came to be known as the UNICEF Day and is celebrated all over the world. The celebrations take place to spread awareness among people about the sustainable development of children. It emphasizes on eliminating hunger, violation of children's rights and discrimination based on race, religion or gender.
The theme for this year's UNICEF Day is "to help children to recover from interruption and learning losses experienced through the pandemic in the last two years".
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The UNICEF's activities include providing immunizations and disease prevention, enhancing childhood and maternal nutrition.Unsplash
This year also marks the 75th anniversary of the UNICEF. For all these years the organisation has been working tirelessly for the rights and the well-being of every child. In their official website, it is mentioned that, "we have been at the frontlines of humanitarian crises, armed conflict and natural disasters. Undeterred by the scale of crises, we rise to the challenge, reimagine what is possible and respond by helping millions of children survive and thrive. Our on-the-ground expertise has reached more than 191 countries and territories, through committed partnerships and a passion for innovation."
The fund has been helping children all these years through various difficulties – whether it is an armed conflict, or a natural disaster or other humanitarian crises. They have tried and defeated diseases, provided essential services and education. A healthy and safe environment has been tried to be built so that the children can grow up properly.
Currently, poverty and inequality has been on a rise due to the pandemic, climate changes and widespread social and economic challenges. These have impacted a huge number of children who do not belong to a financially stable background.
UNICEF has come up with a five-pointer plan to ensure a better post-COVID world for every child. They have named it: Reimagine the Future for every Child
- Vaccines for all.
- Revolutionize learning.
- Invest in Mental Health.
- End Discrimination.
- Address the Climate Crisis.
In order to revolutionize learning in this pandemic and even in a post-pandemic world, the gap of digital learning needs to be bridged. A huge percentage of children could not continue schooling because they did not have internet. For some families it is not possible to afford such amenities. If schools cannot be re-opened, then the Government needs to ensure that the children have some means of accessing education.
We need to overcome these barriers of caste, gender, color, financial condition and treat everyone equally. Unsplash
People need to understand and accept that mental health is as important as physical health. The pandemic has highlighted how impressionable a child's and a youngster's minds are. Their familiar patterns of going to school, meeting friends, playing outdoors have been disrupted because of the pandemic. Adolescents have been deprived the comfort of their peers. These people are not able to seek help because of the stigma around mental health, which needs to be removed.
Society teaches us to discriminate between people on the basis of caste, gender, color, financial condition. We need to overcome these barriers and treat everyone equally and ensure that everyone gets equal opportunities.
Another very important problem is climate change. Children are more vulnerable to water borne diseases and food scarcity that come along with climate change, as they are still in their growth phase. If not acted upon now, "more than 1 billion people face displacement within the next 30 years as the climate crisis, natural disasters and armed conflict drive an increase in migration, with major impacts to both the developing and developed worlds."
(Keywords : UNICEF, United Nations, United Nation's Children's Fund, child, right, development, awareness, nutrition, education.)
