About UNICEF
UNICEF is the global leader promoting and protecting children’s rights in 190 countries, including Ukraine
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UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to reach the most vulnerable children and young people who are most in need. We work to save their lives. To protect their rights. To keep them safe from harm. To give them a childhood in which they are protected, healthy, and educated. To give them equal opportunities to fulfil their potential so that someday they can build a better world.
UNICEF is the world’s leading voice for children and young people as well as the voice of the children themselves. In everything we do, we work to engage and empower young people to have a voice in the decisions that affect their lives.
All children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a better world.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) opened its office in Kyiv in 1997. Over the years, UNICEF has supported the Government of Ukraine with nearly US$ 130 million assistance to develop health, water and sanitation, education and children’s rights protection programmes.
Since the beginning of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, UNICEF has been working to fulfill core commitments to meet the humanitarian needs of children, in particular access to education, psychosocial assistance, water and sanitation, mine risk education, maternal and child health care, and services for people living with HIV/AIDS.
The main goal of the UNICEF programme for Ukraine is to contribute to the progressive realization of the rights of all children in Ukraine and to the reduction of equity gaps, maintaining a balance between humanitarian, recovery and development interventions, incorporating conflict-supportive programming and peace building in the framework of ongoing key reforms in social sectors and decentralization.
Over the next 5 years, UNICEF in Ukraine will focus on five main outcomes for children:
1.Social inclusion and state policy for children
Promoting social inclusion by supporting integrated and equitable social protection policies
2. Child protection in all circumstances
Enhancing the social welfare and justice systems to ensure protection services, including alternative family care and child-friendly justice
3. Education for all children
Expanding access to inclusive and quality school education and early learning for all children
4. Early years of healthy life and beyond
Focusing on re-establishing universal immunization coverage and achieving the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV
5. Water and sustainable environment
Improving equitable access to safe drinking water in conflict-affected areas and improving hygiene practices in communities, schools and health facilities.
UNICEF is funded by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments
UNICEF Representative in Ukraine
Mr. Munir Mammadzade has assumed the role of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative to Ukraine in November 2023.
Prior to this appointment, he served as the UNICEF Representative in the Republic of Uzbekistan for the past three years, overseeing the development and management of the UNICEF Country Programme and representing the organization in all collaborative efforts with the Government of Uzbekistan and other stakeholders.
In his previous roles, Mr. Mammadzade served as the Deputy Representative in Kyrgyzstan, where he led programs and facilitated system-wide collaboration within the UN Country Team as the chair of the Programme Management Team. His extensive experience also includes work in UNICEF Country Offices in Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Nepal, as well as at the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia.
Before joining UNICEF almost 17 years ago, Mr. Mammadzade held various positions, including the Executive Director of one of the largest youth NGOs and Head of the International Department in the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office in Azerbaijan. With 24 years of professional experience in the fields of human rights, children's rights, youth, and development, he brings a wealth of knowledge to his new role.
Munir Mammadzade is a national of Azerbaijan. He is married and has an 14-year-old son.
