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Product innovation

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Article
30/05/2024

Saving children’s lives with oxygen

In Pakistan, one-year-old Muhammad Umar suffers from pneumonia, A child dies of pneumonia every 43 seconds a condition that kills 700,000 children under five each year . He was admitted to the emergency ward where, for two days, he received oxygen to help him breathe while antibiotics fought the disease. "My child was admitted to the emergency…, An investment in over 130 oxygen plants worldwide, Since 2021, UNICEF has expanded its health progra...
Article
19/04/2024

From ideas to impact for children: The evolution of product innovation at UNICEF

Innovation has always been integral to UNICEF, intertwined with the organization’s origin and mission. Products like nutrient-rich powdered skim milk used in the 1960s for combating malnutrition in children, and oral rehydration salts in the 1990s as a remedy for diarrhoea, were critical innovations of their time....
Article
21/04/2023

Three ways UNICEF is innovating for children and unlocking their creativity

Children and young people need support to nurture their potential as innovators. They are also aware of the challenges their communities face. Cultivating their creativity and critical thinking skills is key to helping them develop their capacity to address these issues. Through three different play initiatives, About UNICEF Supply Division…, Imagining the future and building it, brick by brick, UNICEF teamed up with the LEGO Group to launch Bui...
Document
14/02/2023

Target Product Profile: Rapid water quality detection method or portable kit

Issued in September 2016 and revised in January 2023. Through this Target Product Profile (TPP) UNICEF is seeking a solution for innovative and easy to use water detection methods that can accurately determine faecal contamination as rapidly as possible. Resources: Project page Questions and answers on rapid E. coli detection For product developers: sign up to help us assess the interest of product developers in responding to this TPP and stay in...
Article
06/12/2022

UNICEF UK President Olivia Colman visits UNICEF and advocates for disability inclusion

International Day of Persons with Disabilities, celebrated on 3 December, is an opportunity to shine a light on assistive technology, supportive devices like wheelchairs and hearing aids that change the lives of children with disabilities, allowing all children, no matter their disability, to learn, play, particip...
Article
20/06/2022

Providing shelter in times of crisis

For nearly five decades UNICEF has supplied tents to provide shelter to people fleeing conflict and disaster. They are one of the first supplies deployed in an emergency. With disasters often leaving infrastructure partially or completely destroyed, the tents become makeshift classrooms for displaced students, nut...
Document
03/11/2021

Target Product Profile: Faecal sludge and wastewater management in emergencies – treatment products

Issued November 2021  Without faecal sludge and wastewater management, deadly diseases can quickly spread in humanitarian settings. But access to wastewater and faecal sludge treatment options that are affordable, easy to deploy and that deliver satisfactory performance remains a challenge in humanitarian emergencies.    UNICEF is seeking products that ensure the treatment of faecal sludge and wastewater in these contexts. With this project, we a...
Article
21/04/2021

UNICEF innovative High Performance Tent on the path to global scale-up

In the mountainous regions of Afghanistan, freezing temperatures of -9 °C (15 °F) are common for many communities during the winter months. Around 50 per cent of the country is covered by mountains where most inhabitants are rural, isolated from social services, and experience harsh winters, rough terrain, and a l...
News note
03/03/2021

First ever global guide for assistive technology to improve the lives of millions

Original article published by the World Health Organization (WHO). Eight-year old Aseel had a surgery when she was a baby that left her partially paralyzed. She has spent most of her life finding ways to adapt and experience a normal childhood in a refugee camp in Jordan. Being a refugee hasn’t made her life easier. Until recently, Aseel used a…
Article
03/12/2020

Inclusive supplies making a difference for children living with disabilities

Aseel, age eight, was left partially paralysed after undergoing surgery at eight months old. She has spent most of her life finding ways to adapt and experience a normal childhood. But as a refugee living in Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan, she struggled to stay engaged in the classroom since the stroller she was ...
Article
07/07/2020

Inclusive innovation transforms a standard latrine into a disability-friendly solution

Sohel, 10, was born with a physical disability affecting his feet, making it extremely difficult to walk. Rajuma, 6, also has a physical disability, where she experiences pain in her knees and is unable to walk long distances. Both Sohel and Rajuma are Rohingya refugees living in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. F...
Article
25/06/2020

Innovation at the heart of humanitarian response

Tents have served UNICEF well for many years. The changing nature of humanitarian crises – including climate change and protracted emergencies – has posed new challenges to ensuring these spaces remain safe and secure. Extreme weather exposes tents to increasing risks of collapse and larger temperature variances, ...