Introduction
The United Nations Children’s Fund, commonly abbreviated UNICEF, has existed for nearly 75 years since its establishment in 1974. It is a branch of the United Nations that seeks to address equal opportunities for all disadvantaged children, adolescents, and their families. UNICEF’s staff are trained professionals who advocate for children’s rights of nutrition, shelter, education, security, and healthcare despite the tough or endangered environments that they live in.
Operating in over 190 countries globally, the organization has vowed to protect the humanitarian rights of every child in the world, supported by its mission statement, “for every child” (UNICEF, 2022). The United Nations mandates the organization to protect the rights of every child and explore their potential to realize maximum opportunity with equality. Current situations like COVID-19 and the Ukraine-Russia War have seen the impact of UNICEF through food relief, evacuations, and other forms of protection for children living within the affected areas.
The Impact of UNICEF’S Mission and Vision
The mission of the organization determines the scope of its activities and operations. The mission statement of the organization, “for every child” is clear of the desire of the organization, stating clearly that their ambition is to ensure the right of every child, in all corners of the world are protected and equal opportunities served to them. Observable through their overwhelming deeds of support to children from all walks of life, in different approaches either through nutrition, education, protection from terror, or clothing, the mission is clear that the organization seeks nothing but the quality of life and humanity for children (particularly marginalized and disadvantaged). Operations of the organization involved accessing remote parts of the world, places associated with war and extremisms, harsh climatic conditions, with one major aim of serving every child an opportunity like others through their empowerment programs
The vision statement of UNICEF is, “to create a world where the rights of every child are realized” it is evident that the ultimate goal for the organization is to create a conducive environment for the development of children, potential realization, and equality. The vision states statement gives UNICEF staff and advocated the courage to visit every corner of the world to ensure all children are granted the humane environment that fosters equality and growth for all children. The vision statement empowers the organization to reach unreachable places for the sake of children. The organization’s operation coincides with the mission and vision to administer healthcare, education, nutrition, shelter, and clothing for all disadvantaged and marginalized children around the world.
UNICEF’S Service Delivery
UNICEF is a department under the larger United Nations; operating in over 190 territories globally, the organization possesses’ resource and influence that enable running of their activities and operations. The organization has representation in all the territories, physical offices, and staff deployed in all parts of the world. UNICEF’s operations go beyond charitable programs to innovative programs where they devise measures to curb future occurrences through forecasting, awareness creation, and policy drafting and proposals. The operations and existence of UNICEF have seen the transformation of lives among children; through the introduction of policies like the “zero tolerance” on all forms of gender and sexual abuse, there has been a significant drop in global sexual-based crimes against children and adolescents. The organization’s staff comprised of medical doctors, pharmacists and nutritionists have also seen the development of instant energy-giving components, that are fed to children facing starvation before special dieting is induced (Reuge et al., 2021). Over the years, the female child (girl-child) has been empowered by policies promoting equality in resource allocation, education, and equal opportunity. As a result, there has been a rise in school-going girls, and reduced early marriages, notably in Chad, Mali, and Burkina Faso for Africa and Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Syria for the Middle East nations.
Funding, Policies, and Legislations
The operation and day-to-day running of the organizations are dependent on two major factors; funding and policies. The operations of UNICEF require heavy monetary funding, due to the extremity that most of the projects have to go through to achieve their organizational mission and vision. For instance, reaching remote parts of the world requires the use of aircraft or ships than any other organization may not afford. In 2020 for instance the organization received approximately $7.2 billion, funds that were raised from voluntary donations from member nations governments and private donors; the USA, Germany, and the European Commission claimed the largest share of the donation (UNICEF, 2022). The funding is vital for the purchase of basic needs (food, medicine, and clothing), transportation costs, salaries and wages, recruitment and staff training, and all other forms of support deemed important by the organization.
Policies on the other hand ensure that all projects of the organization follow due diligence, in respect to this, the organization has a well-structured guideline for operations, principles, and code of ethics that govern UNICEF’s existence. The guidelines control all operations including; procurement (tendering and supply), recruitments, research, and data collection. The sole mandate of UNICEF is to protect The Rights of the Child as stipulated under the United Nations Convention (UNCRC). All projects and operations should be in the interest of the convection and for the well-fare of children (Macedo & Egry, 2021). The organization has also advocated for the enactment of policies that secure children, for example, the “zero tolerance” campaign that led to the amendment of punitive actions taken on offenders of children welfare, sexual and gender offenses precisely. The organization has published all the forty-two categories of the UNCRC; the children’s version on its website and ensures that their activities are aimed at spreading the information ad practicing the acts as well.
UNICEF’s Impact on the Society
The health programs that UNICEF does are but are not limited to; Maternal, newborn, and child survival, Child and adolescent healthcare, boosting immune systems, Health in emergencies, and humanitarian environments. It is true to say that the impact of the organization has been outstanding in the protection of children in different regions of the world. The organization has received global honors for its dedicated support and advocation for children’s well-being in 1965, 1989, and 2006 for the Nobel peace prize, the Indira Gandhi Prize, and the princess of Austria awards respectively. Unicef has established dispensaries and health centers for maternal mothers to deliver and conduct routine checks for their unborn babies. Moreover, the organization holds educational talks with young adults or adolescents on mental health, and sexual and reproductive health (SRH). During the covid-19 pandemic, UNICEF in conjunction with other humanitarian organizations and international health organizations like the WHO, Doctors Without Borders / Medecins Sans Frontieres, the CDC came together to shed light o the symptoms and actions to be taken for those that had signs of having contracted the disease (Reuge et al., 2021). Through the UNICEF website, measures to curb the spread of the virus were displayed in static, motion, and textual forms to spread the message about the effects of the disease.
Conclusion
UNICEF as an organization continues to touch the lives of many children across the world through its charitable and human programs all aiming at the well-being of children. the organization has been in existence for over 75 years and its existence rewarded multiply as noted earlier. The programs of the organization are driven by the mission and vision of the organization that drives their staff to go beyond limits to ensure every child gets an equal opportunity and quality of life. With funding from member countries’ governments and private donations, most of the organization’s programs have come to reality. Being a branch of the United Nations, the organization operates under internal policies, that govern their activities to ensure accountability and ethical uprightness of all their undertakings. The continued existence of uncertainties in the world for instance the covid-19 pandemic and the war between Ukraine and Russia call for more support to the organization (UNICEF) to help in the facilitation of aid for children trapped within the mixes of such calamity. The organization has improved its website to accommodate different countries in the world; the move aimed at increasing response time through the ease of communication.
References
Macedo, C. M., & Egry, E. Y. (2021). Conceptual frameworks for programs addressing violence against children: a scoping review. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 55.
Reuge, N., Jenkins, R., Brossard, M., Soobrayan, B., Mizunoya, S., Ackers, J.,… & Taulo, W. G. (2021). Education response to COVID 19 pandemic, a special issue proposed by UNICEF: Editorial review. International Journal of Educational Development, 87, 102485.
UNICEF. (2022). Convention on the Rights of the Child. Web.