UNICEF's commitment to Myanmar's children
UNICEF has been working in Myanmar continuously since 1950. Despite difficult political and economic circumstances, UNICEF helped to successfully initiate programs to protect children against small pox, leprosy and yaws. Over time, UNICEF expanded its programs to support the development of rural health services, basic education for children, and community water supply and sanitation systems. More recently, UNICEF has supported HIV/AIDS prevention, early childhood development, and child protection programs. UNICEF also advocated for Myanmar's accession to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which the government ratified in the 1990s. More recently, UNICEF has supported HIV/AIDS prevention, early childhood development, and child protection programs. Today UNICEF supports some programs (such as immunization) throughout the country, while it supports other programs (such as malaria prevention) primarily in high-risk areas of Myanmar. Wherever it can, UNICEF supports an integrated package of health, education, water supply and sanitation interventions as it now does in 61 of Myanmar's most vulnerable townships. UNICEF has field officers positioned throughout the country to enhance implementation and ensure that the assistance it provides reaches those children and women for whom it is intended. The overriding goal of UNICEF's current program in Myanmar is to protect and further children's rights to survival, development, protection and participation. Recognizing that the wellbeing of children is closely linked to the health and wellbeing of their mothers, UNICEF also works to help women in Myanmar realize these fundamental rights.
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