UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND

A child receives a tuberculosis vaccine at a school in Bulacan province, Philippines, c. 1952. The formerly (194653) United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), special program of the United Nations devoted to aiding national efforts to improve the health, nutrition, education, and general welfare of children. UNICEF was created in December 1946 to provide relief to children in countries devastated by World War II. After 1950 the fund's efforts were directed toward general programs for the improvement of children's welfare, particularly in less-developed countries as well as those in various emergency situations. The change in the organization's name to the United Nations Children's Fund reflected this shift in function. UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1965. Much of UNICEF's effort has been in fields in which relatively small expenditures could have a significant impact on the lives of children, such as the prevention and treatment of certain diseases and the distribution of surplus food. Other activities to which UNICEF contributes include the development of health services and the training of health personnel, the construction of educational facilities and the training of teachers, and the extension of other welfare services. The activities are financed by both government and private voluntary contributions. Headquarters are in New York City. Additional reading Judith M. Spiegelman, We Are the Children (1986), chronicles UNICEF's first 40 years. Maggie Black, Children First: The Story of UNICEF, Past and Present (1996), chronicles the years from 1979 to 1995.