UNICEF USA

Kristi Burnham leads the U.S. Fund for UNICEF's Community & Volunteer Partnerships team.

Education and counseling centers funded by the IKEA Social Initiative have benefitted nearly 7,300 Pakistani children since their establishment in 2009. The centers were created to provide a protective environment for the most vulnerable children, where they can receive non-formal education in life skills, as well as recreational and vocational training, psycho-social support and referrals.

Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Pau Gasol visited UNICEF's nutrition, education and child protection programs in Ethiopia. Gasol learned about the Community Based Nutrition Program through which community members' work on measures to prevent and treat malnutrition—a major factor contributing to child mortality in Ethiopia. Gasol said his trip confirmed that millions of kids in the world live under very difficult conditions and need our help.

Tyler Lewis is an intern at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. For the past two decades, the landmark measure has been responsible for ensuring that Americans with disabilities receive fair opportunities for employment and improved accessibility to buildings, transportation, and community events.

International football star Sergio Ramos visited Senegal just days after his team's victory in the FIFA 2010 World Cup. Besides visiting health centres, Mr. Ramos witnessed the work of UNICEF projects that aim to protect vulnerable children from abuse and exploitation. Many of these children live in urban poverty.

A simple color-coded take-home box called the "Mother Baby Pack" is helping mothers with HIV protect their unborn babies. UNICEF developed the pack based on a technique pioneered by a local health center in Lesotho. Expectant mothers with limited access to health centers are given pre-measured doses and instructions for medicines to take before, during and after their babies are born to help them maintain a preventative routine.

Mark Engman is Director of Public Policy and Advocacy for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

At a packed hearing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on July 15, 2010, representatives from leading humanitarian organizations, including UNICEF, spoke out against child marriage as a harmful traditional practice and a gross human rights violation that puts young girls at risk and keeps them mired in poverty.

Elizabeth Hira is on the marketing team at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.
You might think that Vladyslav, a 13 year old boy living in an orphanage in Ukraine, would not have a lot in common with Bill Gates.

But you'd be wrong.

Both have their work showcased this week at the 18th International AIDS Conference, and while Bill Gates is busy trying to cure the disease, Vladyk and many other young people like him are doing the incredible work of living with it.

Today's video is a rough one. Vladyk knows-- he calls it "hard beat."

The Government of Afghanistan has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting children affected by the ongoing conflict through the establishment of a Steering Committee on Children in Armed Conflict. The violations covered by these resolutions include recruitment and use of child soldiers, sexual violence,abductions, and attacks against schools and hospitals.

Team UNICEF is pleased to announce that Cheer Registration for the 2010 ING New York City Marathon on November 7 now open! We're looking for volunteers and supporters of Team UNICEF runners to help us cheer them along the 26.2 mile route, and all are welcome to join us.