Who we are
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child.
We protect children's rights and safeguard their futures.
UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, works to protect the rights of every child, especially the most disadvantaged and those hardest to reach. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we do whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive and fulfil their potential.
We provide and advocate for education, health and nutrition services. Protect children from violence and abuse. Bring clean water and sanitation to those in need. And keep them safe from climate change and disease.
The world’s largest provider of vaccines, UNICEF also runs the world’s largest humanitarian warehouse.
Before, during and after emergencies, we’re on the ground with life-saving help and hope.
No matter who they are, or where they live.
Impartial, non-political and neutral, we focus on reaching every child in need. UNICEF was established in the aftermath of World War II to help children whose lives and futures were at risk – no matter what role their country had played in the war.
Since 1946, our mandate has not wavered. Today UNICEF operates the world’s largest humanitarian warehouse and oversees an unparalleled logistics network.
Our History | Convention on the Rights of the Child | Sustainable Development Goals
We keep going, with staff and partners that span the globe.
Day in and day out, our staff of over 17,000 work worldwide to protect the rights of children. To keep them safe from harm. To let them grow up healthy and educated, with a fair chance to reach their potential. And we never give up.
UNICEF brings decades of field-tested expertise, dynamic partnerships and a passion for innovation.
We hold ourselves accountable.
All UNICEF personnel have a duty to safeguard the communities reached by our work. This means ensuring no one is placed in harm’s way as a result of a programme we support, or an individual with whom we're affiliated. UNICEF conducts independent investigations so that anyone who violates our ethics, rules or regulations is held to account.
We're also accountable to the donors who keep us going. Our work is funded entirely through voluntary contributions, and we share openly where our resources come from, and where they go.