About UNICEF

Our mission

UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

A government worker stands next to a pump to spray DDT with villagers around him

UNICEF

A government worker prepares to pump a spray can containing the chemical DDT in the village of Koufrain. Several children and adults are with him. In 1952 in Syria, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) are supporting a campaign against malaria, which has ravaged the population and the economy for generations.

3 shaved heads children stand with a man health worker

UNICEF

Three children with shaved heads, who are suffering from mycosis, stand with a man health worker outside the UNICEF-assisted Infectious Disease Hospital in Damascus, the capital. Circa 1952 in Syria, some 50,000 of the country's 1 million children suffer from mycosis, a highly contagious scalp disease.

What we do

UNICEF’s office in Syria was established in 1970 and has been working with local and international partners to help the Government fulfil its obligation to empower children to fully claim and enjoy their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

UNICEF works across sectors of health, social policy, child protection, early childhood development and education; we help supply water, sanitation and promote hygiene, nutrition and disaster risk reduction; we empower youth. UNICEF also provides humanitarian assistance when needed.