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Around 75 million children living in crisis-affected countries desperately need education support. In emergencies or other situations when school infrastructure needs to be scaled up quickly, UNICEF provides innovative Construction at UNICEF construction solutions to get children back into safe learning environments.   The construction of hundreds…, Modular school construction in Türkiye , By the end of 2019, there were 3.6 million Syrian refugees in Türkiye, including 1.6 million children. Due to the Syrian crisis, a large influx of refugee children in Türkiye led to overcrowding in local schools. Additional classroom space was urgently needed but building permanent school structures was not an option due to time and financial…, Rapid and sustainable recovery of schools in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), The Kamuina Nsapu insurgency between 2016 and 2019 destroyed many schools in the affected provinces. To get children impacted by this crisis back into school and create a safe learning environment, UNICEF used local labour and materials to implement a transformable model to rebuild schools with 384 classrooms in Kasaï province.   The transformable…, Sustainable local materials to scale up schools for refugee children in Bangladesh , In Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Kutupalong is the world’s largest refugee camp – home to Rohingya refugees who brought with them accounts of the unspeakable violence and brutality that had forced them to flee Myanmar.  There are currently 902,947 Rohingya refugees living in 34 Kutupalong and adjacent camps in Cox’s Bazar District. Over half are…

In 2021, Supply Annual Report UNICEF procured construction services totalling $257.1 million , including $106.7 million in the Middle East and North Africa Region and $64.1 million in the West and Central Africa Region. Additionally, UNICEF implements millions of dollars in construction works through its partners.    UNICEF construction covers a…, Building schools with local resources, In 2021, UNICEF used local materials and labour to reconstruct 384 classrooms in 64 schools destroyed during the 2016 - 2019 Kamuina Nsapu insurgency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. UNICEF employed a sustainable, transformable school model to get children back into the classroom as quickly as possible and later transformed the foundation…, Testing green building in remote and challenging environments  , Much of Qinghai province in China is remote, mountainous, arid – and endures very cold winters. Under conditions that challenge standard building approaches used elsewhere in the country, UNICEF piloted the construction of innovative water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities in conjunction with China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural…, Greening the UNICEF office in Bangladesh, In December 2020, UNICEF opened the doors of its new three-storey office in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The office can host over 200 staff members and its construction deployed several sustainable building strategies. The greening of this office began with its architectural design, developed in consultation with UNICEF’s Greening Team, which works to make…, Sustainable strategies in construction, UNICEF employs key strategies to reduce is environmental footprint and increase the sustainability of the structures it builds, including utilising: Local or regional sourcing of materials to reduce CO2 emissions of transportation. Recycled building materials. Waste disposal channels for toilets and kitchens, which eliminate pollution of…

In support of its programmes, UNICEF is engaged in constructing new infrastructure and improving existing facilities that provide services to children, their families and communities. Construction projects in even the most developed environments are challenging by nature. They require a highly technical professional workforce, knowledge of local…, The Democratic Republic of the Congo: Medical and vaccine warehouses in Kinshasa and Kisangani, Project complexities: Import of technology, remote location, security and safety, large and high-value project, technical workforce. According to a 2019 survey, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), only 35 per cent of children aged 12 to 23 months are fully vaccinated, 45 per cent are incompletely vaccinated, and 20 per cent have not…, Palestine: Desalination plant for provision of drinking water to Gaza, Project complexities: Import of technology, security and workforce safety, large/high-value project, technical workforce, permits and authorisations. UNICEF’s water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programme lists universal and equitable access to safe water as its number one priority. Gaza’s traditional sources of water are no longer reliable due…, Iraq: Water treatment plants for children and families in Abu Ghraib and Al Qa’Qa’, Project complexities: Import of technology, security and workforce safety, large and high-value project, technical workforce, permits and authorizations. In 2015, the people living along the Euphrates River near Bagdad suffered from an outbreak of cholera, a deadly water-borne disease that causes profuse diarrhoea. Epidemiologists traced the…, Complex construction, As a trusted partner for funders and governments, UNICEF is committed to delivering social infrastructures such as schools and health facilities for children and young people. The UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2022-2025 guides how UNICEF deploys its resources to support complex construction and highlights two cross-cutting strategies related to this…

So far this year, Supply Division has procured 3.2 million soap bars that are packed as part of UNICEF  kits used in emergency situations.   These soap bars go a long way in protecting children’s health and well-being. Handwashing with soap is one of the cheapest and best ways to reduce: Diarrhoeal diseases by Impact of drinking water, sanitation…, Afghanistan, In June 2022, eleven-year-old Sadaf Samadi washes her hands at the UNICEF-supported Fatah Girls School in Herat, Afghanistan. “I love my school and I’m very happy to come to class. In addition to school subjects, we’re taught life skills like how to properly wash our hands. There are so many diseases around so it's really important to stay healthy…, Cambodia, In April 2022, Panha Lak, eleven-year-old, proudly shows his soapy hands in Maroeum Village, Kratie Province. He is keeping them clean with soap acquired via UNICEF Water and Sanitation Programme with funding from Irish Aid and in collaboration with the Ministry for Rural Development of Cambodia., Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bakonga, 8 years old, washes his hands at Ilako Primary School in Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of Congo, where UNICEF has installed handwashing stations to help students protect themselves from Ebola with hand hygiene. Bakonga’s school is almost an exception in sub-Saharan Africa, where almost two thirds of schools (66 per cent) have no hygiene…, Malawi, A group of students wash their hands at Mchoka Primary School in Salma District. The elementary school has now sanitation facilities and several places where children can wash their hands thanks to a UNICEF supported project. Previously, according to the principal Levison Simba “there were no flowers here, the sanitary facilities were inadequate,…, Pakistan, Eighth year-old Geetu shows her brother how to properly wash hands using soap outside a public toilet at Mohammad Medical Emergency Camp in Umerkot District, Sindh Province, Pakistan. Geetu and her family are stranded at this campsite after their home was destroyed by Devastating floods in Pakistan the torrential monsoon rains and subsequent…, Venezuela, A girl washes her hands during an activity to raise awareness about the importance of handwashing techniques in a school in Caracas, Venezuela. In March 2022, as a part of World Water Day celebrations, UNICEF Venezuela rolled out different activities throughout the country to promote hand hygiene, including distribution of hygiene kits to children…

UNICEF and partners have announced a milestone moment in efforts to tackle the global counterfeit medicines industry as Rwanda and Nigeria became the first countries in Africa to authenticate vaccines using GS1 barcoding technology. The news was announced at the launch of the Traceability and Verification System (TRVST), a new collaboratively…, Quality-assured vaccines and risks, “Substandard and falsified products are a growing global issue, posing major health, social and economic risks. They endanger the lives of those that we are mandated to protect,” said Etleva Kadilli, Director of UNICEF Supply Division. “UNICEF is proud to be at the forefront of global efforts, along with partners, to ensure higher levels of…, TRVST rollout in Africa, In July 2022, the TRVST was launched in Nigeria and Rwanda with the first GS1 scans marking a milestone in patient safety against counterfeit and substandard medicines. COVID-19 vaccines were the first products used in the TRVST. The TRVST started with COVID-19 vaccine data to ensure patient safety and address the urgent risk of falsified or…, Improving efficiency in sharing data, “The TRVST is an important addition to the national health supply chain and health information system investments to improve efficiency in sharing data across the chain, strengthen data quality, extend data visibility, and reduce costs of data capture and transformation,” said Dr. Emile Bienvenu, Director General of the Rwanda Food and Drug…

The war in Ukraine has taken an unimaginable toll on children and their families. Almost 1,000 children have been killed or injured, while 5.2 million need humanitarian assistance. The loss and separation of families has caused intense trauma. With the growing needs of children, comes the challenge to send emergency supplies that meets them.…, The evolving needs of children, In March and April, during the early stages of the war, one of the most pressing necessities in Ukraine was winter clothes, as harsh temperatures threatened the well-being of children caught up in the war. In the following months, as summer arrived, different needs emerged and the operation became more complex. Demand was constant for health kits…, Consistency of the most-needed supplies, Originally, UNICEF had a single supply route through Poland into Ukraine, where a warehouse was set up on the grounds of an old chicken factory in Lviv. The warehouse was to be temporary, but soon turned into a critical piece of infrastructure as the storage and collection point for supplies heading for children and families throughout Ukraine. “…, On the frontline of supply, The supply operation is not just about supplies, but the people that procure, ship and distribute them. UNICEF Supply Division has, since the beginning of the war, been sending warehousing and logistics specialists into Ukraine to support their colleagues to run a fast and efficient supply operation.   "We can’t just think outside the box, we must…

Drinking a glass of water is a trivial routine for many, but for millions of people worldwide  accessing safe water still requires long journeys or strenuous work. In 2020, 1 in 4 people lacked access to water that was free from contamination and available when needed, and 1 in 10 people still needed to walk more than 30 minutes to collect safe…, From diesel to solar power, Motor-powered pumps can serve big communities and extract large volumes of water, eliminating or reducing the time people spend queuing or walking to collect it. In Nigeria, for example, two health facilities were desperately in need of a safe supply. At Shallow wells no more Dogon Kuka Primary Health Centre in Yobe State , a shallow well marked…, Sustainable sources of water, UNICEF Nigeria’s Water and Sanitation Manager, Michael Forson, explains that the installation of solar-powered systems in the country was the result of a decision taken years ago to move away from water pumps driven by diesel generators. “The cost to operate a supply system for a community is vital. The price of a litre of diesel can increase so…, For small communities, human-powered pumps, For small communities with up to 200 people who live no more than 200 metres from a water source, human-operated pumps, especially handpumps, may be a better solution than electric pumps. UNICEF, in collaboration with partners, drills boreholes, installs handpumps, provides spare parts and trains people in the community on how to operate and…, Early development, For almost 50 years, UNICEF has been working to promote the use of water pumps that meet the needs of local communities. In 1974, UNICEF and the Government of India recognized the need for a better hand pump than those available on the market. They were looking for an inexpensive new pump that had a simple design and was easy to use and maintain.…, Water is everything, Embedded video follows

Working in supply procurement and logistics can be challenging at the best of times. In 2021, as the dimensions and scope of UNICEF’s pandemic response grew, delivering humanitarian aid was more complicated than ever. The Supply Community faced supply chain disruptions, while dealing with local complexities and access issues, but took on…

With its robots and packaging lines, UNICEF’s vast Warehouse and distribution humanitarian warehouse in the port city of Copenhagen stands as an imposing testament to the development and adaptation that the organization’s supply and logistics operation has undergone in the six decades since it first set up base in Denmark.      “Even when I joined…, Response to emergencies , In the early years, UNICEF’s Copenhagen warehouse was known as UNICEF Packing and Assembly Centre with a primary focus on logistics operations functions, warehousing and shipping. Back then, the centre had an annual throughput of $2–3 million, consisting mostly of supplies needed for UNICEF’s response to emergencies in different countries. Sixty…, Network of suppliers and partners , As the core supply, logistical and freight transport functions have developed over the past 60 years, the Copenhagen hub has evolved to take on other strategic and operational roles as well.   UNICEF procures essential products on behalf of governments and other partner organizations, using its network of suppliers and partners to achieve better…

The interactive iframe below cannot be accessed via keyboard navigation due to external source limitations. A man transports vaccine carriers on a bike. UNICEF/UNI44842/Noorani Bangladesh Porter Mohammed Abu Taher transports cold boxes of measles vaccine to a distribution point in Boalkhali Subdistrict Health Complex, Chittagong District. From…

For Poheli Chakma, the joy of being a new mother was interrupted nine days after delivering her first child, a son, on 26 February 2022. Poheli’s baby had been born via C-section at the Rangamati General Hospital – a one-hour boat journey from her village. While recovering in hospital, Poheli received counselling on newborn care. She learned to…, Improving health-care infrastructure for newborns, A decade ago, many hospitals in Bangladesh did not have adequate facilities to manage sick newborns. Seriously sick babies were cared for in ordinary paediatric wards. But without proper safety procedures, case fatalities were high. Since 2011, UNICEF has been helping the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare develop standard operating procedures…

With these hearing aids hundreds of children can now hear their teacher at school and communicate with their parents, allowing more independence and participation. For children with profound hearing loss, it may be the first time they hear their parents’ voices.   Pascaline, 13, was diagnosed as having moderate to severe hearing loss. She could…, 94 per cent price reduction  , UNICEF was able to significantly reduce the prices for these quality devices, providing them to the Government of Rwanda for $118. At this point in time, the same hearing aid can cost as much as $2,000 if buying it commercially within Rwanda. The 94 per cent price reduction means the Government can reach many more children with these life-changing…, ‘Gold-standard’ of hearing aids, Programmable hearing aids are considered the ‘gold-standard’ as they can be set up to compensate for an individual’s specific hearing loss. However, this requires a trained audiologist to be available, which is not always feasible in some low-income countries. Therefore, UNICEF also has pre-programmed hearing aids available for procurement which…