About UNICEF in Ukraine
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) opened its office in Kyiv in 1997. Since then, the children's agency has been working to improve the lives of children and families throughout Ukraine. During the past nine years, UNICEF became increasingly involved in supporting the Ukrainian authorities to create a favourable environment for children in need, by developing substantial health, nutrition, education and protection programmes. UNICEF in Ukraine is currently implementing a Country Programme in cooperation with the Government, national civil society and international organizations over a five-year period from 2006 to 2010. The UNICEF Country Programme focuses on contributing to the reduction of child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, protecting the vulnerable, promoting gender equality and empowering women, and developing a global partnership for children. UNICEF is committed to achieve a number of strategic results by the end of 2010, including the establishment of a monitoring system for child rights that will influence policy at the national and sub-national levels. Advocacy for increased budget allocations to benefit children will be stepped up and policies, standards and norms will be developed and adopted in the best interests of children. All young people will be able to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS infection and children already infected by HIV will have access to appropriate care and support. The rate of mother-to-child-transmission of HIV will be reduced to below five per cent. In addition, the most vulnerable and marginalised children, young people and women will enjoy an improved and sustainable protective environment. Systems will be in place to reduce violence and abuse of children at national and local levels. Children will also benefit from the establishment of a preventive and reintegration-oriented juvenile justice system. The majority of Ukraine's children will be born in 'baby friendly' facilities, while their parents will increase their knowledge of the development of the child in its early years. Iodine deficiency disorders will be eliminated. UNICEF has four main programmes in Ukraine. The Advocacy, Information and Social Policy Programme will centre on putting child rights at the top of the political and public agenda. It will include the establishment of a multi-level child rights monitoring system for collecting, and analysing disaggregated data to influence policy. Also, UNICEF will support the establishment of informal and formal forums where parliamentarians, political leaders, the media and civil society are able to conduct a dialogue on priority concerns affecting children, young people and women and will take a leadership role in promoting appropriate policy changes. Spaces for partnership with young people will be created, including involving young people in decision making processes at national and local levels. Strategic goal of the HIV/AIDS, Children and Youth Programme is to put children and adolescents at the centre of HIV/AIDS agenda and to build capacity of Ukraine's government and civil society to halt and to reverse the spread of HIV among children. UNICEF will work to expand the access of young people to correct information, relevant skills and services tot reduce their vulnerability to HIV and continue to support life skill-based education both in schools and out-of-school setting. The programme will promote the rights of all children living with HIV/AIDS. Children and young people with HIV/AIDS will have access to improved care and will experience less discrimination in their lives. The Child Health and Development Programme aims at decreasing infant and maternal mortality rates by supporting a series of local and national level initiatives, such as establishing baby-friendly hospitals, improving family child care practices and promoting breastfeeding. Parent training will be integrated into existing mother and child health and preschool education systems. UNICEF will continue high-level advocacy for the implementation and enforcement of national legislation on universal salt iodisation. Special attention will be paid to children living in rural areas and disadvantaged communities. Another aim of this programme is to increase the knowledge of parents and other caregivers in vulnerable communities on the importance of early childhood development and change their attitudes and behaviour accordingly. The priorities of the Child Protection Programme are to protect children from widespread domestic and institutional violence and abuse, transform the state care system towards family-based care, establish national policy mechanisms in support of the most vulnerable children including those who are HIV-positive, and to develop a restorative juvenile justice system. Existing legislation and policies will be reviewed and strengthened in order to protect children from violence and abuse. Children who remain in institutions will have access to quality education and social services. UNICEF programmes are being implemented in Kyiv, Crimea, Odessa, Donetsk, Lviv, Kherson, Sumy, Ivano-Frankivsk, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky, Chernigiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya, Mykolayiv.
Key Statistics
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