Children with disabilities are among the most deprived and marginalized children in the world. They are the least likely to go to school, and are most vulnerable to neglect and abuse. Worst of all, children with disabilities are too often invisible—ignored by governments and communities.
UNICEF is calling on the world to change attitudes and include children with disabilities in all areas of society.
Find out what you can do to help give children with disabilities a chance to make their dreams a reality.

This Sunday is Mother’s Day. But sadly, for many women around the world, the joy of motherhood is engulfed by tragedy.
Maternal mortality is a major preventable cause of death, and UNICEF and partners are using simple, low-cost interventions to save pregnant women’s lives. One of the most effective tools is a birthing kit. This Mother’s Day, you can honor a mother by giving an Inspired Gift of a Safe Birthing Kit, which helps safely deliver 50 babies. And through Sunday, every purchase you make of an Inspired Gift online will be matched dollar for dollar.

Too many children—one every 60 seconds—are still dying from malaria. Insecticide-treated bed nets, along with anti-malarial drugs, are among the most effective, simple and low-cost tools to keep children from getting this deadly, yet preventable, disease. As the world’s largest provider of mosquito nets, UNICEF is doing everything it can to have every child sleep under a lifesaving bed net. This World Malaria Day—and any day—you can help save lives by purchasing bed nets or anti-malarial drugs for children in need.

For over two years, the children of Syria have lived through shelling, endured trauma, missed out on school, fled their homes, and seen relatives die. In a recent editorial in the Toronto Star, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lane warns that “An entire generation of Syrian children and their families is at risk of being lost amidst the rubble.” The crisis in Syria is a true children’s crisis. And while UNICEF is committed to reaching Syrian families and children, the challenges remain enormous.

The conflict in Syria has taken a terrible humanitarian toll. More than anything, this is a children’s crisis. Of the one million refugees, half are children. Inside Syria, two million children are affected, and 800,000 are displaced.
UNICEF has been on the ground, doing all it can to help the children and families affected by the violence.
But a huge funding gap threatens UNICEF’s efforts on behalf of these desperate children: 78% of the funds that UNICEF needs have not been raised. Without immediate additional funding, UNICEF will have to halt many of its key lifesaving interventions.

Imagine seeing a friend killed or your home destroyed. Imagine living in a stranger’s house, sharing one room with 20 others, or sitting in a dark cave with 50 students and a teacher you have never met before. This is life for many of the children living through the conflict in Syria.
Earlier today, UNICEF USA hosted a Google+ hangout with three UNICEF staff members who have been on the ground in Syria. Here is what they had to say about the situation on the ground, what UNICEF is doing, and what more needs to be done.

Join us on Thursday, February 28, at 10:00 AM EST, for a Google+ Hangout with Ted Chaiban, the director of Emergency Programs for UNICEF. Ted Chaiban has just come back from Syria, and will report firsthand on the impact the violence there has had on children.

You’ve probably heard about the ongoing conflict in Syria. Or the typhoon that struck the Philippines. Or the food crisis in the Sahel region of Africa. But did you know that UNICEF responded to some 200 other emergencies last year? Each year, UNICEF publishes the Humanitarian Action Report, which provides a snapshot of emergencies around the world and describes what needs to be done to help children in their path.

Saturday marks the third anniversary of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010. Nearly 1.5 million children were directly affected by the disaster. The U.N. estimated that over a billion dollars would be needed for recovery, and the world’s outpouring of support to UNICEF and other organization was tremendous. We, and the children of Haiti, thank you.

As 2013 begins, it’s a good time to look back on the year gone by. For UNICEF, 2012 was filled with immense challenges—all of which we met head-on. But this year was also one in which great strides were made for child survival. Watch the Year in Review video to see some of the highlights of UNICEF’s work in 2012.