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UNICEF represents one of the largest and most effective sources of co-operation for providing services and programmes for children in developing countries. It is part of the United Nations' system of organizations, and also works with bilateral aid agencies and non-governmental organizations in 117 countries.
UNICEF is committed to helping children in need regardless of race, nationality, religion or sex. In 1950 its mandate was changed by the UN General Assembly to focus on long-term assistance programmes for needy children in developing countries. Subsequently, its name was changed to "UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND" although the already well-known acronym - UNICEF - was kept. In recent years, UNICEF has become involved in programmes that are not only directly aimed at children but are geared to activities that indirectly benefit their quality of life.
Approximately 15 million children die before they reach the age of 5. UNICEF believes that a number of low-cost health actions could prevent fully half of these deaths. UNICEF today stresses what it terms the "Child Survival and Development Revolution". Simple procedures, easily implemented, comprise the foundation of this "revolution", and a global campaign is underway to reduce these deaths - the campaign is known as GOBI - Growth Monitoring; Oral Dehydration; Breastfeeding; Immunization. UNICEF, as the world's largest supplier of vaccines, aims to achieve universal child immunization by 1990.
UNICEF is one of the main advocates for the adoption, by the United Nations General Assembly, of the Charter for the Rights of the Child. It is also one of the prime movers in promoting activities to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Child in 1989.
Israel served as a member of UNICEF's Executive Board from 1949-1968. From 1950-1965 she herself was a recipient of UNICEF aid for purposes of developing dairy herds and dairy production, especially pasteurization and sterilization of milk for children's consumption. In the early 1950s Israel, coping with mass immigration, was in need of assistance, especially for vaccines and equipment for immunization against tuberculosis and polio.
In 1965, Israel ceased to be a recipient of UNICEF as she had reached a sufficiently high level of development in those areas. In 1969, the Israel National Committee for UNICEF was established at the request of UNICEF's Executive Director, so that Israel could be more effectively involved in the organization's activities. The committee's purpose is to disseminate knowledge and information about the importance of UNICEF's work, in order to increase awareness of the problems of children - hunger, education, disease - on an international as well as on a national level.
