About us
UNICEF is the global leader promoting and protecting children’s rights in 191 countries, including Greece
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UNICEF programmes work to protect the rights of children and adolescents across 191 countries and territories. We prioritize the most vulnerable children to ensure that no child is left behind.
Created in 1946, UNICEF is helping to build a world where children’s rights are fully realized. In line with our mandate, shaped by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we are working closely with partners and other UN entities to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path, ensuring that no child is left out of economic and social progress.
We cooperate with all countries and governments; build strategic partnerships with the corporate sector and the media; and work closely with local communities, civil society organizations, and independent institutions to provide systematic support to children.
UNICEF's work in Greece
UNICEF became operational in Greece in early 2016 as an outposted team of the Regional Office of Europe and Central Asia, in order to respond to the significant influx of refugee and migrant children and their families. The response centered on direct service delivery as well as national capacity building through key partnerships with governmental bodies, ministries, local authorities, civil society and NGOs.
Over the last four years the response focused primarily on three main UNICEF strategic sectors: child protection, education and child rights monitoring, supported also by the expertise of a number of technical experts seconded to key Ministries such as Education, Labour, and Social Affairs, Migration and Asylum, as well as local authorities, Municipalities and independent authorities such as the Office of the Deputy Ombudsperson for Children’s Rights.
UNICEF Country Office in Greece
As jointly announced on 20 November 2020, the Greek state and UNICEF mutually agreed to the establishment of UNICEF Country Office in Greece. Therefore, UNICEF’s presence in the country has now adopted an expanded mandate to address the needs of all vulnerable children in the country, under the form of a Country Office. This confers the full mandate of UNICEF to Greece, which is to work closely with and provide necessary support towards the fulfilment of the Member State's obligations to children under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which Greece ratified in 1993.
Learn more about UNICEF's work in Greece here.
Country Offices
UNICEF has over 150 Country Offices across the world, including Field Offices in specific countries, working closely with governments, civil society, local communities and the private sector to ensure all children have access to health, education, protection and equal opportunities.
Regional Offices
UNICEF Country Offices across the world are overseen by seven Regional Offices. These offices carry out UNICEF's mission through a unique set of programmes that focus on practical ways to realize the rights of all children. For more information on the work of Regional Offices visit the sites below.
National Committees*
Currently there are 33 National Committees for UNICEF in the world, each established as an independent, local, non-governmental organization. The National Committees are an integral part of UNICEF’s global organization and a unique feature of how the organization functions. These independent local organizations, promote children’s rights through awareness raising and public advocacy, raise funds and create key corporate and civil society partnerships.
*The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has partnered with a number of independent associations around the world to promote the work of the Organization worldwide, raise funds and promote the rights of the child, as defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). These associations are officially named National Committees for UNICEF and have the ability to use the UNICEF logo and name for the purposes of promoting the work of the organization.